Man (22) killed in Porsgrunn: - Sweet, kind and nice
PORSGRUNN (VG) An 18-year-old woman was arrested on Monday night and charged with the murder.
- There has been a relationship between the two over some time, says police inspector Odd Skei Kostveit to VG.
The police were notified of the incident shortly after midnight.
Kostveit confirms to VG that there have been witnesses to the incident, but he does not want to comment on whether there have been more people present in the apartment than the accused and the deceased.
The parents of the deceased have been notified.
- I have only had initial contact with the survivors, who of course are having a very hard time now, says lawyer Hanne Wold Johansen at Elden Advokatfirma.
- The survivors naturally have many unanswered questions now, and look forward to the investigation providing as many answers as possible, she continues.
VG is aware that the deceased was previously a board member of a local political team.
- I knew him. I can't say anything other than that he was a kind, decent and pleasant person. He has made a good effort for us, says the chairman of the local team.
VG has chosen to anonymize both the party and the chairman out of consideration for the deceased - who has not been active in the local team for the past two years.
The accused 18-year-old will be produced for remand later on Monday and has already agreed to two weeks' imprisonment with a ban on letters, visits and the media. The accused was initially described as a man, but identifies herself as a woman, according to the police.
Kripos is assisting the further investigation.
Defense attorney Heidi Ysen informs VG that she is traveling and has only had a short conversation with the accused on the phone on Monday morning.
- I do not want to comment on the matter further until we have met physically and talked about the matter in more detail. But I can say that we have agreed to remand for two weeks, and that this is going on like office business, says Ysen.
- How does she respond to the charge?
- I don't want to comment on that, we have to wait for a formal questioning, she says.
The police stated on Monday morning that they were in contact with the accused and the victim earlier in the evening in connection with a minor disagreement.
- There was nothing in that dialogue with the police that would indicate that this was of a serious nature, the police write in a press release.
Police Inspector Kostveit tells VG that the first contact with them was by phone at around 10 p.m., and that it did not trigger any operational measures.
- Was it a misjudgment?
- I cannot comment on that now. We will have to see that eventually, answers Kostveit.
Later the murder alarm went off.
- We received a message about what initially looked like a bodily injury. We responded and a man was sent to hospital. A little later we get a message from the hospital that the man's life was not saved, says police inspector Magnar Pedersen to NTB.
According to the police, none of the people involved is registered at the address.
Moved in on Friday
The homeowner tells VG that the two involved moved into the apartment on Friday. The homeowner inherited the apartment earlier this year.
- We have not been able to sell the apartment. Then we found out that we should rent them out. They moved in on Friday, says the landlord about those who lived there.
The homeowner is abroad - and found out about what had happened through the media.
- It's awful. It is unthinkable. They seemed so happy. We only had a good impression of them, she says of the tenants.
- This is very sad and our thoughts go out to the relatives. I have confidence that the police will handle this in a good way and the municipality will set up a crisis team for those affected, says Mayor Janicke Andreassen in Porsgrunn to VG.
A neighbor tells VG that he heard shouts and screams from an apartment in the area before the police arrived.
- I also heard something that sounded like a shot. The police arrived shortly afterwards, and they cordoned off the entire area, he says.
The police say in a press release that they have control of what they assume is the murder object, and that this is not a firearm.
The arrest itself took place at 00:30, according to the police, who worked at the scene until Monday night and, among other things, set up several roadblocks.
- We are quite clear about what has happened, but for the sake of the investigation we do not want to say anything about it, says police inspector Pedersen to VG.
The deceased will be autopsied.
- We have technicians on site, and carry out inquiries and question any witnesses and people in the circle, Odd Skei Kostveit tells VG.
The accused will be produced for psychiatric observation on Monday.
- It is a precedent
