– On 19 May 2000 something outrageous happened in Baneheia in Kristiansand. Something that should not happen, said prosecutor Johan Øverberg when he started his introductory speech in Sør-Rogaland district court in Sandnes on Tuesday.
Stine Sofie Sørstrønen (8) and Lena Sløgedal Paulsen (10) left home at 18.15 this evening to swim in the lake 3. stampe in Baneheia in Kristiansand. When they did not come home at the agreed time, they were reported missing. Two days later, they were found stabbed to death and raped in a remote part of Baneheia, well hidden under branches.
– This is a crime that requires clarification and answers. A misdeed that requires a reaction and punishment, Øverberg said.
Tele-evidence and observations
In his opening statement, the prosecutor largely went through what is already known and not contested. This applies, among other things, to the undisputed parts of the sequence of events, witness observations by Andersen and Viggo Kristiansen and the so-called telephone evidence.
The latter in particular was very important in the acquittal of Kristiansen in 2022. He had sent several text messages while his mobile phone was connected to a base station that did not cover the area of the crimes.
Several people saw Andersen and Kristiansen – both in pairs and separately – in Baneheia around the time of the murders. Others also saw the two girls ahead. Øverberg briefly visited the course of events following the duo ended up in the police spotlight, which has received much criticism followingwards. He then gave the floor to his colleague, state prosecutor Andreas Schei, who explained DNA evidence.
News
After lunch, Schei went on to tell something that was not publicly known before: in March 2024, Jan Helge Andersen was reported to the police for possession of abuse material and texts that sexualize children. Some of the material was found as far back as the winter of 2021-2022, when the police searched his digital devices.
During the investigation following the reopening of the case, a dropped rape complaint once morest Andersen was also found. The woman who reported him received compensation. Among the reasons for the closure was uncertainty as to whether Andersen was over the criminal minimum age at the time of the crime.
The Baneheia parents’ legal aid lawyer Audun Beckstrøm pointed out that new investigations show that Stine Sofie Sørstrønen may have been alive longer than previously thought – perhaps for several hours following she was stabbed.
Explanation postponed until Thursday
All four parents of the two girls are present in court. Sørstrønen’s mother Ada Sofie Austegard wiped her tears in the row behind Beckstrøm as he made his comment.
Initially, it was planned that Andersen should begin his statement on Tuesday followingnoon, before the court goes on an inspection in Baneheia on Wednesday. Towards the end of the day, defender Svein Holden made it clear that it was not what Andersen wanted.
– Andersen finds it very difficult to start today. We have plenty of time. I have a hard time understanding that we should push this now to earn an hour. I would strongly advise the court to reconsider, Holden said.
He interrupted judge Tor Christian Carlsen to make his statement, which he later regretted when Carlsen announced that the explanation had to wait until Thursday.
Indicted in January
In 2002, Jan Helge Andersen was sentenced in the Agder Court of Appeal to 19 years in prison for the rape and murder of Sørstrønen and complicity in the rape of Paulsen. He singled out Viggo Kristiansen as the main man behind the murders, and Kristiansen was sentenced to detention instead of prison.
Andersen was released on probation in 2016, while Kristiansen had his criminal case reopened in 2021. In 2022, Kristiansen was cleared and acquitted of the murders. He has always claimed that he is innocent – and was not present during the murders.
In January this year, charges were brought once morest Jan Helge Andersen for the murder of Sløgedal Paulsen. The new murder charge once morest Jan Helge Andersen assumes that it was he – and he alone – who raped and killed both Stine Sofie Sørstrønen (8) and Lena Sløgedal Paulsen (10).
Andersen denies criminal guilt
– Not guilty, answered Jan Helge Andersen when he was asked in the court in Sandnes by district court judge and administrator Tor Christian Carlsen if he admits guilt following the indictment.
The 43-year-old defendant sat leaning forward with folded hands when he answered the judge. He is wearing a white jumper, blue jeans and a gold chain around his neck, and he calmly followed while prosecutor Øverberg began.
The indictment once morest Andersen assumes that the Baneheia murders were committed by him, and that he acted alone. The defendant disputes both of these points, and sticks to the explanation that his comrade Viggo Kristiansen was involved and participated in the misdeeds.
In Sør-Rogaland district court in Sandnes, the indictment once morest Andersen will be heard over a full eight weeks. On Wednesday, the court will visit. Andersen will begin his explanation on Thursday.
Viggo Kristiansen will eventually testify in the trial. Two and a half days have been set aside for his explanation.
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2024-04-16 13:51:41
