– When he saw me, he understood what was going to happen. I saw it in his eyes. The 27-year-old, who admits that he shot Bård Lanes, remembers the meeting between him and Lanes outside the solarium at Kilen in Tønsberg well. In the days before, he pursued the Lanes to find a “desolate place” where they would take him. The plan was to break the legs with a baton. The result was that he emptied an entire magazine when he fired at Lanes with a converted starter pistol. The 27-year-old said he has thought a lot about what has happened. In court, he took the floor himself: – You know what, I feel put in a situation that I don’t care about. I have been too kind to my friends and rushed. It was too easy for me to say yes. I’ve been like that since I was little. Therefore, he offered the 31-year-old co-accused to beat up Bård Lanes. – I had taken “a brother” in hand to carry it out. Four men have been charged with the murder of Lanes in April 2021. The trial started this week. – Who will threaten me? He pointed at the other defendants and said that none of them agreed that there could be talk of a murder. And he said that it would have been wrong of him not to say anything in the courtroom. He has not said a word to the police during the investigation. – I have tried to be orderly and respectful towards the relatives and say that it was not the intention. That this should not happen. – You have not been threatened to explain yourself, asked state attorney Åsmund Yli. – No, who would have threatened me? Nobody can threaten me, replied the 27-year-old. – Have you been paid to explain yourself? – No, check my account. – Is that where the money should come in? The public prosecutor is very curious about whether he owes people money and hints that the 27-year-old took the job to pay off debts. – No comment, he answers questions about his debt situation and named people he may owe money to. The murder of Bård Lanes (33) in Tønsberg At around 10.15pm the police received a report that a man had been shot in a shopping area just outside the center of Tønsberg. The victim is 33-year-old Bård Lanes, who had been to a tanning studio with his girlfriend. Surveillance footage shows Lanes leaving the premises. On the outside, he is startled and takes off running. He calls the police himself and says that he has been shot, but dies of his injuries shortly after the incident. A few hours after Lanes is shot, the police receive a report of a car fire in a residential area at Sem outside Tønsberg. Three men are arrested in connection with the fire. The police initially say that the shooting and the car fire are being investigated as two separate cases. Photo: Ole Berg-rusten / NTB One of the men who was arrested in connection with the car fire is charged with complicity in murder. The other two are released. The police publish surveillance images from the night of the murder and are looking for a suspected perpetrator. Photo: The police The police arrest the man who was wanted with surveillance images from Kilen. He is charged with murder or complicity in murder at Bård Lanes. The arrest takes place in Drammen. A third man is arrested, charged with complicity in murder. He was also arrested in connection with the car fire, but then released. In a press release, the police write that there must have been a conflict between Bård Lanes and one or more of the accused. The police also state that a tracking device was found on the deceased’s car after the murder. They believe that Lanes was monitored for several days before he was shot. A fourth man is being held in custody. This man was also initially arrested in connection with the car fire, but then released. All three who were arrested after the fire are now charged with having had something to do with the murder. The state prosecutor is bringing charges against a total of four men who have been charged and remanded in custody in connection with the murder of Bård Lanes. The case is heard by the Vestfold District Court from 21 March. Show more “When the time was right” the 27-year-old was invited to Tønsberg by a 31-year-old co-accused a few days before the murder. – We were looking for his (Lanes’) car for a long time. When we found it, I attached the tracking device to the car. Then he couldn’t come in on us and I could know where he was, when the time came, the 27-year-old told the court on Wednesday. To track the Lanes, they used an app called TrackSolid. He also told about several details from the night of the murder. In a Volkswagen Touran, they followed Lanes on Tjøme and Nøtterøy, believes the public prosecutor, who presented images from surveillance cameras from shops, kiosks and crossroads on the Tjøme-Tønsberg stretch. – I did not want others to be present, said the 27-year-old, referring to the place where the attack on Lanes was to take place. In the trial, he repeats that Lanes was not meant to be killed. – If I had planned to kill him, I would have shot him in the head. Bård Lanes was killed in April 2021. The trial after the murder continues until the beginning of June. Encrypted calls The public prosecutor believes the four communicated over the encrypted service Wickr. All four had accounts there. The public prosecutor believes that there has been a lot of communication between the four on this platform. At the same time, it is not easy to know who is saying what, and the messages disappear after a while. The public prosecutor also does not have insight into what has been said, but has the times when the messages were sent from the various accounts. In that way, they try to show a pattern of times when the replies have been sent, to show that they have replied to each other’s messages. – I don’t know, I don’t remember, the 27-year-old answers about part of the communication there before the murder.
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– You haven’t been threatened to explain yourself? – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
