It is almost three months since Viggo Kristiansen (41), convicted of murder and rape, had his criminal case reopened.
The Readmission Commission believes that there is a reasonable possibility that Kristiansen would have been acquitted if the judges in 2002 were aware of the evidence that is currently available in the case.
The ball is now with the Oslo Public Prosecutor’s Office, which took over the case from its colleagues in Agder when it was reopened.
This is how they have worked
The public prosecutors Andreas Schei and Johan Øverberg have spent the last few weeks getting acquainted with the extensive investigation.
Within a few months, they will propose to the Attorney General whether a new trial is to be conducted, or whether Kristiansen is to be acquitted without new evidence.
– EXPERIENCED: State Attorney Andreas Schei, pictured here in 2018, has brought many serious criminal cases to court, but few are as extensive and complicated as the Baneheia case. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB
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Schei states that they have both been shielded from many of their usual tasks to make time for the Baneheia case.
– The investigation we are getting into has basically ended. Much of what we have spent time on so far, together with the police, has been to assess what is possible to proceed with and investigate further, says Schei.
– How has that job been so far?
– There are many investigative steps that are no longer relevant. Up against the telecommunications certificate, for example, there are completely different technical solutions today, he says.
– When it comes to a number of other technical investigations, it is a problem that we no longer have access to parts of the fitting. Also some witnesses are not relevant to question now, due to the time that has passed.
– Is it frustrating for you?
– There has been a lot of work done by the police at the time, and it is clear that there are things that would or could have been done differently today, he says.
– HEAVY TIME: The horrific murders of Lena Sløgedal Paulsen (10) and Stine Sofie Sørstrønen (8) in May 2000 affected the whole country. Photo: Morten Holm / NTB
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Traveled to Baneheia
Schei also confirms that it has been decided to carry out specific investigative steps in the case, but he does not want to say anything about what kind of investigation is in question.
– You’ve said before that The mobile phone certificate and the DNA certificate are natural areas to look at. Are new studies being done on this evidence?
– I do not want to go into what is being investigated further at the moment, says Schei.
The Oslo police district has not wanted to answer how many investigators are working on the Baneheia case this spring, but Schei states that there are “enough people” and “very good people”.
Schei and Øverberg themselves were on a trip to Baneheia last week to orientate themselves in the area and at the scene.
– It was useful for us to get some references on things, says Schei.
Considering new interrogations
– Is it relevant to conduct new interrogations in the case?
– Yes, it is something we are considering, but in that case there will not be so many.
If so, what kind of witnesses are we talking about?
– I do not want to go into that now.
– Is it relevant to conduct new interrogations with Viggo Kristiansen and / or Jan Helge Andersen?
– We’ll get back to that.
Appealed to the Supreme Court
Shortly after the case was reopened, Kristiansen applied for release for the first time. According to the 41-year-old, the reason why he has not previously applied for parole is that he first wanted to prove his innocence.
Now that the case has reopened, he is convinced he will not be convicted again.
Therefore, it was a defeat for Kristiansen when the Borgarting Court of Appeal decided that he should be imprisoned pending what happens with the reopened criminal case.
As a general rule, a convicted person must be released if their case is reopened, but the court believed that consideration of society’s need to be protected from Kristiansen had to weigh more heavily.
On Friday, Kristiansen delivered his appeal to the Supreme Court.
The public prosecutors have opposed his release and will give a brief comment on Kristiansen’s appeal before the Supreme Court considers the case.
Will spend months
In parallel, Schei and Øverberg will thus decide whether they believe a new trial should be conducted.
– When do you submit a recommendation to the Attorney General?
– It is difficult to answer, says Schei.
– Before the summer?
– We have previously said that we will be finished in a few months, and that is still what we envision.
Both Kristiansen and the relatives have expressed that they want a new main hearing.
Kristiansen has been sentenced to 21 years in custody for being the main culprit behind the rapes and murders of Stine Sofie Sørstrønen (8) and Lena Sløgedal Paulsen (10) in Baneheia in Kristiansand on 19 May 2000.
He has always denied criminal guilt.
Kristiansen’s storage period expires on 12 September. If the detention is to be extended, the prosecuting authority must file a case by 12 June. Schei does not want to comment on how they view that question a month before the deadline.
Kristiansen’s former friend, co-defendant Jan Helge Andersen (40), was sentenced to 19 years in prison. He has finished serving his sentence.
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