On 20 September last year, the man in his 30s received a phone call from a newspaper. The journalist on the other end said that his older brother was involved in the attack on two female employees at Nav Årstad. On Monday, he sat in Hordaland District Court on the fifth day of the trial and testified. The man himself works as a supervisor in Nav. The murder suspect’s brother told of a family in shock, who at first refused to believe that the bridge could be behind the murder. – He is not violent and does not do things like that. We didn’t believe it until his lawyer contacted us in the evening, the brother said. Had a close relationship The defendant and the brother were good friends. The two lived in the same student housing block at Fantoft between 2013 and 2016. – We could never imagine that this could happen. He was so normal around us, he said. In court, he portrayed a kind brother who was happy to help others. But he also told about a brother who had few friends. The central question in the trial is whether the 40-year-old man should be sentenced to prison or compulsory mental health care. WAS KILLED: Marianne Amundsen, head of department at Nav Årstad, was killed in the attack. The image is used with permission from her family. Photo: Ole Myklebust Amundsen Threatened women with a knife In 2015, something happened that would end with him being diagnosed with schizophrenia. At Fantoft in Bergen, two female students were threatened with a kitchen knife outside their student accommodation. The brother was with the accused just before the threat. – I remember that he was frustrated. He went down with a knife and spoke to two girls who were at the block. I don’t remember the background to the frustration, but I think it was about how life was going, said the brother. In the trial, one of the two women also testified about this incident. The defendant had sat down at the table with them and pointed the knife at one of them. – I remember his look as it was so intense and unnatural. As if something very wrong had happened, the woman explained in court. “Call the police” “Call the police, call the police”, the accused threatened the women. – I wasn’t sure if it was a joke or not, because it seemed so absurd. When I realized the seriousness, I became focused on not doing anything that could make him want to attack us, said the woman. The women escaped unharmed from the incident. The man was admitted to a psychiatric hospital and received psychological help. He was diagnosed with simple schizophrenia and delusions, but the treatment eventually ended. – After he was admitted, he became in a better mood and more focused on finding the way forward. He went back to normal form, his brother explained. Delusion about paternity It has been highlighted several times during the trial that the defendant claimed that he had a child with a woman in Norway. A witness to the attack on Nav explained that the man shouted “My life is over.” My children have been taken from me after the murder. – He was stressed because of the situation, about how he could integrate in Norway, about the matter with the child and that he could not get a job, said the brother. However, the police’s investigation shows that the child does not exist. The brother heard about the child in the years before the attack, but told the court that he thought the story seemed strange. MANY WITNESSES: The attack took place in a conversation room directly connected to the public reception at Nav Årstad. Photo: The police Think he needs help In court, the brother of the murder defendant was asked several questions about the defendant’s physical and mental health. The defendant struggled to get a job after his education, and received benefits from Nav. – After what happened in 2015, the story about the child, and frustration with Nav’s follow-up, makes us think that treatment is a better solution for him, said the brother. The public prosecutor’s office first went for a verdict on transfer to compulsory mental health care. But the indictment was changed in the autumn. The public prosecutor now believes that the man was criminally sane and announces a claim for a custodial sentence. The defendant acknowledges the actual circumstances and criminal guilt, but believes he was insane during the murder and the attempted murder.
ttn-69
– Treatment is a better solution for him – news Vestland
