This day, a 58-year-old man – according to the police – was brutally killed at the shelter site in Vadum. Subsequently, his body was burned.
The police believe that the 45-year-old man, who is currently sitting on the dock at the Court in Aalborg, is the murderer.
But he refuses. He denies being at the shelter site when the killing happened and claims he last saw the 58-year-old on Thursday evening.
Therefore, on Thursday, a large number of witnesses were summoned to tell about what they had noticed this Friday.
And there are many citizens who have seen a man at the shelter site during Friday, when the murder took place – but the question is, was it the murderer?
New explanation
Friday 4 August and Saturday 5 August are the two decisive days in the case of the so-called shelter murder.
It was on Saturday that the badly burnt body of the 58-year-old was found in a shelter, and the police believe that he had been killed on Friday by several stab wounds and by violence at the shelter site.
The 45-year-old has been in custody for over a year, and until the trial began, he has denied any knowledge of the person killed.
But when he took the witness stand he came up with a new, and somewhat surprising, explanation.
He explained that he had been with the victim at the shelter site on both Wednesday and Thursday, where they spent the night and drank together.
Just not Friday and Saturday.
Because according to the 45-year-old, three unknown men had also been present, and the 58-year-old had taken them into town with them and later been driven away by them.
So the 45-year-old defendant had been alone from Thursday evening to Friday morning, when he went home, the explanation went.
– He sat stoned
On Thursday, prosecutor Mette Bendix then summoned a number of witnesses to tell what they had seen that Friday at the shelter site.
Two witnesses – a mother on a walk with her children and a woman on a walk with her grandson – had been right inside the square in the afternoon, where they sat down in a shelter to eat some food.
They had also greeted the man who was sitting at one of the other shelters without doing anything.
– He sat stoned. He sat completely still and stared into the air, said one witness.
Other witnesses described the man as confused.
Several had also noticed a mattress inside the shelter. Some described it as messy, others had noticed that it was bulging as if there was something underneath.
And then most witnesses noticed that the man had a dog. That observation has been important for the prosecution because the 45-year-old has a dog that he takes with him everywhere.
Could recognize the defendant in the photo
But none of the witnesses knew the man, and thus no one has been able to identify the defendant with certainty.
But some of the witnesses subsequently took part in a so-called photo confrontation with the police.
It doesn’t take place like in movies, where several people are lined up, but here it is a photo folder where the witnesses can point to the person they think they recognize.
Here, one of the witnesses could recognize the defendant in the photo folder, while the other two were more uncertain.
58-year-old picked up sleeping bag
There were also witnesses who had seen the now deceased on Friday.
And one of the explanations contradicts what the 45-year-old has told.
It was a witness who had known the victim since childhood who explained that he met the 58-year-old late in the morning when he was out walking the dog.
Here, the 58-year-old should have said that he had spent the night in the shelter from Thursday to Friday, but that he had slept badly.
That’s why he was on his way home to get a sleeping bag so he could sleep better the next night – that is, on Friday.
It was the witness’s opinion that the now deceased had to return to the shelter site the same day.
– He waved and smiled
And then there was a witness who claimed to have seen the 58-year-old at the shelter site in the morning.
Here she cycled past the shelter site, and there she saw a man sitting by a shelter.
– He smiled and waved at me, the witness said.
The next day she cycled back by the same route, but this time there was a police cordon at the shelter site, and it dawned on her that something was wrong.
Later, she saw a post on Facebook with a picture of the now deceased, and then she had no doubts.
– It was him I saw, explained the witness.
The next court date is December 4, when several witnesses will testify.
2024-11-21 16:38:00
#Witness #spoke #58yearold #homicide #victim #wanted #shelter
What impact does witness testimony describing the defendant as “stoned” have on the prosecution’s case in the shelter murder trial?
**Interview with Legal Expert: Clarifying the Shelter Murder Case**
**Interviewer**: Welcome to our program. Today we have legal expert Dr. Anna Kristensen with us to discuss the ongoing shelter murder case in Vadum. Dr. Kristensen, thank you for joining us.
**Dr. Kristensen**: Thank you for having me.
**Interviewer**: So, we’re hearing a lot of testimonies from witnesses who were at the shelter site the day of the alleged murder. What do you make of their descriptions of the 45-year-old defendant?
**Dr. Kristensen**: The witnesses described the man as appearing “stoned” and confused, which adds a layer of complexity to the prosecution’s case. It raises questions not just about his state of mind, but also about his ability to recall events accurately. These descriptions might be critical, as they indicate a certain detachment from reality, which could influence his involvement in the crime.
**Interviewer**: Some witnesses noticed a mattress that seemed bulging, which has been highlighted for its potential relevance. Why is that significant?
**Dr. Kristensen**: The state of the mattress might hold physical evidence that could either corroborate or contradict the prosecution’s narrative. If there’s something hidden underneath, it could relate directly to the events that occurred. The prosecution will likely argue that this suggests foul play, while the defense may try to downplay its significance.
**Interviewer**: The defendant has provided a new explanation during his testimony, claiming he was not present during the murder and that the victim left with unknown men. How does this change the dynamics of the case?
**Dr. Kristensen**: This new statement is a classic defense strategy, where the defendant distances himself from the crime scene. However, it also introduces the need for further investigation into these alleged unknown men. The burden of proof still lies with the prosecution to demonstrate that the defendant was indeed at the shelter site during the time of the murder.
**Interviewer**: Witness identification has proven to be uncertain, with only one witness recognizing the defendant in a photo confrontation. How does this impact the credibility of the evidence?
**Dr. Kristensen**: Eyewitness identification can be notoriously unreliable. While one witness did recognize the defendant, the uncertainty from the other witnesses weakens this piece of evidence significantly. In court, the defense will highlight these inconsistencies to question the reliability of the prosecution’s case.
**Interviewer**: with the ongoing trial and the significant time the defendant has spent in custody, what can we anticipate in the coming days?
**Dr. Kristensen**: We can expect more witnesses to be called and possibly the introduction of physical evidence that will either support the defendant’s story or the prosecutor’s claims. The outcome will heavily depend on how well both sides can present their narratives and the court’s interpretation of reasonable doubt.
**Interviewer**: Thank you, Dr. Kristensen, for your insights on this complex case. We’ll continue to follow the developments closely.
**Dr. Kristensen**: Thank you for having me.
