the Police did last summer, a breakthrough in the investigation of the rape and murder of the widow Marie-Louise Bendiktsen (59) in July 1998.
Nearly 20 years after the murder, a man was arrested at Gardermoen in June of last year. Yesterday was the indictment against the 38-year-old srilankeren made of the Troms and Finnmark public prosecutors.
the Man worked in the garden to Bendiktsen when she was killed. He came as a refugee to Norway in 1997 and lived in a residence adjacent to the asylmottaket at Sjøvegan up to 1999.
the Man indicted for the murder of Marie-Louise Bendiktsen (59) in 1998, the Police’s strongest evidence
He refuses straffskyld for the murder and makes himself totally rejected to the indictment. In court, his defenders go for the full disputed this claim.
the Battle goes, first and foremost, it is the police’s strongest evidence in the case. During the investigation in 1998, it was found and secured material on the scene at Sjøvegan, Troms, norway.
A team in the Troms police districts and Kripos’ Cold Case-the group worked intensively with the case since the summer of 2017, and finally managed rettsgenetikerne at Oslo university hospital to framdyrke a full DNA profile of the findings from 1998. The profile matched the defendant 38-year-old from Sri Lanka.
MORDBRANN: the Fire in Sjøvegan in the Troms has been one of Norway’s large-scale, unresolved drapsgåter. Now, 20 years after, have the police removed from the defendant. Video: Nicolai Delebekk / Reporter: Audun Hageskal Show more
The proof is heavy, ” says attorney general and the prosecutor in the case, Thorstein Lindquister, to Dagbladet.
– Have an explanation
The accused man has been questioned by the police in many tens of hours since last summer, and refuses straffskyld for all conditions. His defense Alexander Greaker says that the 38-year-old working with the police and allow themselves to interrogate.
He has given an explanation. We believe that the technical evidence is important in the case. He has given his explanation of how it is that we have found it. We have considered his credibility around it, and built up the case around it. It is, among other things, to see if his explanation actually can vote, ” says district attorney Lindquister.
Worked in the garden of the victim
Police and prosecutors think obviously not on the defendant’s explanation about the DNA found, but there may be controversy about the evidence in the trial, which should go in three weeks from the 14. march.
– Not evidence of murder
DNA is no evidence of rape, murder and ildspåsettelse. The client has submitted a reasonable explanation around this theme during his politiforklaringer. I don’t want to go into detail on his explanation at the present time, ” says defender Alexander Greaker to the Newspaper.
There has never been anyone charged or accused in the case, which is one of Norway’s big drapsgåter.
KILLED: the Widow Marie-Louise Bendiktsen (59) was found raped and killed in their own home. According to police, she was stabbed 13 times before the house was burned down. Photo: Private Show more
According to the indictment against the man raping he Bendiktsen before he stabbed her 13 times with a knife or a knivliknende subject in several places on the body, so that she died.
He is also accused of having started the fire in the residence that led to that house was badly burned corpse of Bendiktsen was burned. In the indictment it is stated that the killing happened in the time between at 22: 00 on the evening of Monday 13. July and Wednesday 15. July 1998.
Troms and Finnmark public prosecutors believe the murder was committed to hide another crime, and that there are particularly aggravating circumstances.
Deceased witnesses
There is, however, especially that 20 year old cases are brought to justice. In addition to the technical evidence, the witness be important to give the case an overall picture.
– It will certainly by on the challenges in bevisførselen that it’s been such a long time. Witnesses have partially gone away, and it will be difficult to get people to explain themselves about how they moved in 1998. Politiforklaringer given the time it will be important, ” says the prosecutor.
The now defendant husband has family in Norway, but has not stayed stuck in the country for several years. He first came to Norway as a refugee in 1997 and lived on the asylmottaket at Sjøvegan up to 1999, but was expelled in 2014.
After this he stayed in Sri Lanka, and has only been in the Uk on a tourist visa. 38-year-old previously convicted, among other things, for having attempted to rob a woman and for the aggravated theft.
the Investigation, nevertheless, has been wide since 1998.
– It is an investigation that has been going on for 20 years. Everything is not relevant, but our we have had the unknown perpetrator has gone in all directions, before it was prick up into against the defendant. Everything hangs together, but what happened in the investigation in the course of 2018 is important, ” says the prosecutor.
As the Newspaper publicized in the fall, is that since murder carried out the interrogation of more than 1400 witnesses. After the arrest is also completely new persons questioned – witnesses, the police were not in contact with in the period right after Bendiktsen was killed.
20-year-old murder: DNA traces found from the charged