15-year-old Benjamin Hermansen was stabbed to death by neo-Nazis in Holmlia, south of Oslo, in January 2001. He was the victim in Norway’s most famous racist murder case. The first memorial service was held the following day, and one of Benjamin’s close friends spoke. – Benjamin was a boy who liked justice, and I will continue to fight for that justice, I promise, said Victor Lopez. Photo: Facsimile, Dagbladet “What everyone will remember from Holmlia yesterday is a straight, brave and grown-up Victor Lopez (15) who gave a speech to Benjamin”, wrote Dagbladet. Victor spoke at the funeral and several memorial services. Brushed back hair, dark suit. WORDS OF MEMORY: Here Victor Lopez speaks to over 700 people present in the sports hall at Holmlia. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB In the time after the murder, torchlight processions were organized across the country against racism. But young people who grew up in Holmlia knew that neo-Nazism was not completely eradicated. Victor said that he received threats on the phone. Eight months after Benjamin, Victor Lopez himself was found dead, right by the footpath in a wooded area at Holmlia. The police concluded that it was suicide. Those who knew Victor think otherwise. Playwright gets curious When playwright Malmfrid Hovsveen Hallum was to write a new play for young people, she knew straight away which historical event she wanted to appear in. The Victor Lopez case had been in the back of her mind for many years. OPENED OLD WOUNDS: – The first person I met was Victor’s brother. We met in a cafe, it was snowing. It was very nice, but also very special… I ask about what hurts the most for the person I’m talking to, she says. Photo: Patrick da Silva Sæther / news – One of the reasons why I remembered the case was probably that a dead boy was found who was a high-profile friend of Benjamin Hermansen. Why didn’t all warning lights flash? It piqued my curiosity, she says. ENGAGED: In the time after the Benjamin murder, Victor was several times in the media, such as when he helped organize a support concert at Holmlia. Great Norwegian artists performed, here Anne Grete Preus. Photo: Rune Holm Schulstad / Aftenposten Then Malmfrid contacted the family. Conversations with Victor’s family, girlfriend and friends turned into the play “Prometheus is dead”, which had its premiere recently. In the performance, seven young people gather on a rooftop to talk about a dead friend and brother (Prometeus/Victor). They will try to move on in life, but carry anger and unanswered questions. Malmfrid emphasizes that what she has written is drama, she has made up characters and conflicts. But the play is based on true experiences. DEALING WITH GRIEF: – I hope that the text can say something about the love and care the young people felt for each other. And what it means to be young and experience such a huge loss. It feels important to give a voice to those who have not been heard in this case, says Malmfrid H. Hallum. Photo: Patrick da Silva Sæther / news For several years, those closest to him have wanted answers to what really happened to Victor, the time he allegedly took his own life. One of the people who has pondered the most is she who was his girlfriend. The bereaved search for answers In 2001, Tracy Ann Premdas was with Victor Lopez in the second year. IN MOURNING: One of the commemorations after Benjamin. On the left, his girlfriend Tracy. Photo: Morten Holm / NTB The rest of Norway gradually moved on from the brutal Benjamin Hermansen murder. For the friends at Holmlia, the sadness and fear remained. The young people told, when the newspapers sometimes made the trip, that there were still neo-Nazis to be afraid of. Tracy feels a lot of anger when she thinks back. – Now we have politicians and celebrities who promote racism, it is a topic. That time? There weren’t many like Victor, she says. She gets engaged by talking about it. – He won that match, he was named in the newspaper. The hatred runs deep, she says. Victor’s death and the time afterwards changed her. She has struggled with trusting people and has spent a lot of effort on anger management and therapy. – I didn’t feel heard. DON’T FORGET: At home she has a picture, in front of it is a “Chile” bracelet she got from him (Victor’s parents are from Chile). Tracy’s fifteen-year-old daughter knows all about Victor, and her nephew is named after him. Photo: Thomas Kvitvik / news Those left behind still feel that they lack answers. What happened that Wednesday night would change the lives of those closest to Victor forever. Doubts about police work It was September, it was raining, it was 14 degrees in the air. Victor had been exercising, and walked his dog a little before 9 p.m. He took the same walk at about the same time every evening. According to the family, he was supposed to meet a friend who was out on the same errand, the dogs were supposed to play. But 25 minutes after he left home, Victor was found by two sisters who were on their way home from swimming practice. GAMLELINJA, HOLMLIA: By this walkway Victor was found in September. The picture is from November 2001. Friends and acquaintances still lit candles at the place where he died. Photo: Annemor Larsen / VG Four police officers came to the scene, as well as an ambulance. After a short time on the scene, the police concluded that it was a suicide. That same evening the priest was notified, who in turn told the family that Victor had died. The family immediately went to the place where he was found. Among other things, they found a rope a little beyond. They handed it over to the police and asked them to investigate further. The next day Kripos came. The task they had was to “investigate the scene with a view to whether the conditions are of such a nature that the deceased may have carried out the act himself.” The crime scene had not been cordoned off, and many people had put down candles and flowers. The autopsy that was later done showed no signs of violence from other people. But the details surrounding Victor’s last night in life contained too many questions for the family and girlfriend to believe in suicide. On several occasions, both immediately after the death and in the years since, the mother has written letters to various authorities asking them to investigate her son’s death again. Two people were questioned in the case: the girl who found him, and her boyfriend. Tracy Ann Premdas told police she had seen tracks in the grass that could look like a body had been dragged. She tried to speak out about Victor’s visible role as an anti-racist. She experienced that it was not taken seriously, she says. – That the police did not realize that he received threats? They just came to our house and immediately said “it was suicide”, she says. Now she hopes that the play will contribute to the police having to look at the case again. Is the piece ethically sound? “Death does not go away”, says one of the characters in “Prometheus is dead”. – What sticks out most for me is how this is still an unprocessed trauma. Everyone I have spoken to feels great sadness, anger and frustration, even though it has been a long, long time, says Malmfrid. It is not entirely unknown that it is difficult for those closest to them to understand that a much-loved person ends their own life. In 2001, the district committee in Holmlia sent out a letter warning against spreading rumors and conspiracies. The police had then declared that the death was a suicide. In the play, the young people who gather to talk about Prometheus (Victor) say quite explicitly that he was killed. This is what the lover says in the play: “He was hung there so that everyone could see him. Why do you refuse? Are you afraid that someone will think that not one child was killed, but two? Because that’s what happened. So why are you pushing it under the rug? Those guys were fifteen years old.” Has writing the play and thus ripping up this case given Malmfrid any ethical concerns? She says she has thought about it a lot. But: – This piece is not a post in a debate. It is only built on experiences that are out there. Their stories are also part of our shared history, says Malmfrid. MOURNING WORK: – Most of all, the play is about the deeply human project of surviving grief, says Malmfrid Hallum. Photo: Tomas Kvitvik None of those she has spoken to see Victor’s death any differently today than they did over twenty years ago. She herself has moved into a new role in the case. The power of language Last year, the family was handed over all the case documents from the police for the first time. Malmfrid was with Victor’s mother Isabel Carajal when it happened. The script for the play was almost finished at that time. But seeing the police’s own words created a new curiosity. – As a professional, I am interested in language, and how the language we choose can also limit the perception of something, says Malmfrid Hallum. She has previously worked with police documents and material from, among other things, the Stasi archive in East Germany, and wrote a master’s thesis in literature where she delved into investigative psychology. The fact that the death was called “suicide” right from the first messages were given may have influenced the way it was further investigated, the playwright believes. A rumor was conveyed to the police early on that it was the end of the girlfriend, and that Victor was therefore in despair (it was not the end, Tracy clarified in the interview from which news has read a report). It happens that investigations that are over 20 years old do not stand up to the scrutiny of today. Malmfrid has applied for and received a writing grant, and will continue to work on a book about the Victor Lopez case. The work on “Prometheus” has shaped who she is now, she says. – Do you see anything problematic in the fact that you first make a play, and then move on to follow the Victor Lopez case further in reality? – It is necessary to be aware of one’s role. At the same time, the play was completed almost a year ago and I am at the very beginning of writing a book that highlights other perspectives. I see it as important to write this book, says Malmfrid. CLOSE ON: Malmfrid H. Hallum has gotten to know Victor’s entire family well in the work on “Prometheus is dead”. Here with mother Isabel Carvajal, brother Francisco Lopez and Tracy Ann Premdas. Photo: Thomas Kvitvik / news “You must be more angry” Both the family of Victor and his girlfriend Tracy are present the night “Prometheus is dead” premieres at Vega Ung Teater in Oslo. The play is part of the DUS project (Den Unge Scenen), and will hit young people between the ages of 13 and 19. “I was sick with grief,” says the lover in the play. GREEK GODS: Seven different young theater groups around Norway perform “Prometheus is dead” this spring. In the play, the boys from Holmlia are mixed up with Greek gods: Atlas (Benjamin) and Prometheus (Victor). Atlas was the one who carried the whole world on his shoulders, while Prometheus was the wise one, the one who thought ahead. Photo: Tomas Kvitvik It is not everyday to meet the 15-year-old version of yourself again. – There were a few tears, it was unavoidable, says Tracy on the way out. – Does the play provide any form of comfort? – It’s nice that new young people get to know about Victor, know the story. I was very happy about that with this piece, says Tracy. We talk a bit, but Tracy wants to get a message before the next performance. She wants to say something to the girls who share the role of the “girlfriend” in the play. We go back into the hall. Tracy hugs the actors and thanks them for the performance. She smiles, but the message from the girl who was once Victor Lopez’s real life girlfriend is clear. “You need to be more angry,” is her message. TO BE SOMEONE ELSE: Olivia Ingvoldstad, who plays the “girlfriend”, is both praised and directed by Tracy Ann Premdas after the play. Photo: Tomas Kvitvik. The letter points to what the family believes are errors in the investigation, and has a request that the police look at Victor Lopez’s suicide again. The Oslo police have previously refused to view the Victor Lopez case as anything other than a suicide. news has asked the police new questions in connection with this article, without having received answers to them. news has seen the police documents from the case. “Prometheus is dead” by Malmfrid H. Hallum “Prometheus is dead” draws inspiration from both Greek tragedy, mythology and hip-hop music. The play is based on the true story of Victor Lopez (1985-2001). The script was written on behalf of Den Unge Scene (DUS). DUS sends out newly written plays to youth theater groups throughout Norway. “Prometeus is dead” will be performed in the spring of 2023 in Trysil, Drammen, Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger and Tromsø, as well as by the sign language theater Manu. Read more: Den Unge Scene Hello! Do you think something about what you read? Or do you have tips on other exciting things? Feel free to write to me. More mysteries from reality?
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Victor Lopez was Benjamin Hermansen’s friend who died in 2001 – Culture
