Murder charge in Halden: Unclear what happened

– He is tired, is injured himself and in a bit of a bad shape, says the accused’s defender, Tor Magnus Fagermo, to NRK.

The defense attorney says that the man is connected to the incident, but that the sequence of events is unclear. He pleads not guilty.

– It is as serious a charge as you can get. He is shocked that this has been the result here, and he has no clear idea of ​​what makes it a fatal result here.

Fagermo tells VG that it is highly accidental that his client ended up in this situation.

– He was in the building because he was going to visit someone else in another apartment, says the defender.

Unclear relationship

The accused in his 30s and the deceased in his 40s were not related, the police say.

– Clarifying the relationship between them is something the police are focusing on in the investigation. The same applies to a possible motive for the act, writes Sørøst police district in one press release.

The police carried out an initial questioning of the accused man on the night of Sunday.

– The man has agreed to detention and that the detention be treated as office business. It will happen on Monday in Søndre Østfold district court, it is further said.

Asking for tips

If anyone has seen anything related to the incident, the police would like them to report it, says police attorney Nina Marthinsen to NTB.

– We have already started with several witness interviews, and we are waiting for answers from a preliminary autopsy, but it is still far too early to say anything more regarding the cause of death now, she says.

Marthinsen will also not say anything regarding whether there were witnesses present when the murder took place.

– There were two present when the police arrived: the deceased and one more, i.e. the accused, she says.

Reported disturbance

The murder is said to have taken place in an apartment in Elvegata in Halden. Earlier in the evening, there were reports of a disturbance from the same apartment complex, but the police prosecutor will not provide further information regarding what this entailed.

The man in his 30s was admitted to hospital following the murder, slightly injured. After a few hours he was discharged once more, arrested and charged with murder.

The police were alerted to the case by people near the crime scene not far from Fredriksten fortress around 10.30pm on Saturday evening.

Found indoors

Many police cars and three ambulances rushed to the scene. Health personnel attempted life-saving efforts, but were unable to save the life of the man in his 40s.

The violent incident happened immediately before this, the police told NTB.

The police’s incident leader at the scene, Frode Pettersen, said on Saturday evening Halden Arbeiderblad that they received reports of noise at the site from people who live in the apartment complex.

There are six rental properties at the address in question.

This is the 20th murder case that the Norwegian police have gotten their hands on so far this year, according to NTB’s overview of murders in 2024. A total of 25 people have been killed in this country so far this year.