– This is a very serious failure by the Attorney General. Let me be clear about that. This is too cowardly, thunders lawyer Sigurd Klomsæt.
He is the defender of one of the three boys who in October 1994 were blamed for the death of five-year-old Silje Marie Redergård in a toboggan run at Tiller in Trondheim.
Lawyer Sigurd Klomsæt is the defender of the 6-year-old who was among the three boys blamed for the death of Silje Marie Redergård
Photo: OLE JØRGEN KOLSTADBRÅTEN / NRK
Klomsæt reacts to the Attorney General’s upholding the decision of the state attorney in Trøndelag, who on 17 February dropped the case against the three boys on the basis that the suspects were under the age of criminal responsibility.
This means that the police are unable to prove who perpetrated violence against the girl and that the boys must therefore be considered innocent.
The three boys wanted an even clearer acquittal.
Therefore, they appealed the ruling to the Attorney General with a demand that the case be dismissed on the grounds that “no criminal offense is considered proven”
The Attorney General has nevertheless landed on the same grounds for dismissal as the State Attorney
– I am both surprised and pissed off. I believe this is below the level at which an Attorney General should handle a case like this, says Klomsæt.
It was after Brennpunkt broadcast the series “Murder in Akebakken”where independent specialists criticized the police’s work, that the public prosecutor ordered a new investigation into the case in December 2021.
NRK explains
What happened when three children were blamed for Silje’s death?
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Murdered in the toboggan run
On 15 October 1994, five-year-old Silje Marie Redergård was found partially undressed, abused and dead in the wet fresh snow on a toboggan run in the town of Tiller.
The following day, the police chief in Trondheim told that Silje was mistreated and left for dead by three playmates aged four, five and six. Earlier in the day, they should have told in questioning how they themselves or their friends had used serious violence against Silje.
In the documentary series “Murder in the sledge”, NRK Brennpunkt has gone through the police documents together with a number of experts.
The experts conclude that there is no technical evidence that the boys were behind the crimes against Silje, and that they were subjected to illegal interrogations and pressure.
New investigation
After considering the case and what emerged in the documentary series, the public prosecutor asked the police to start a new investigation.
Washed clean
On 17 February 2023, state prosecutor Per Morten Schjetne concluded that the three boys, who are now in their 30s, are innocent of Silje’s death. A new investigation has not revealed who perpetrated violence against Silje.
The children who were blamed for their friend’s death
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Found dead in a toboggan run
Silje Marie Redergård was found dead at Tiller in Trondheim in 1994. The survivors have never received an answer to what happened to her.
Photo: Private / NRK
It was 15 October 1994 that five-year-old Silje Marie Redergård was found dead in a toboggan run at Tiller in Trondheim.
There she was subjected to violence before she froze to death.
One day after Silje was found dead, the police pointed to three boys, who were then 4, 5 and 6 years old, as those responsible for the death.
The boys were too young to be tried, but the case nevertheless had major consequences for the lives of the three afterwards. The stigma as murderers has followed the boys almost all their lives.
Afterwards, the police in Trondheim received a lot of criticism for the way the case was investigated. Among other things, experts have been critical of the manner in which the interrogations of the boys took place.
Criticism of the investigation eventually grew so great that the police in Trøndelag decided to investigate the case again. Several new interrogations are done and the evidence that is still preserved is re-examined.
On 17 February 2023, the three boys were able to let loose their joy.
The public prosecutor concludes that they cannot prove who inflicted violence on the girl. The case against the three boys was dropped on the basis that the suspects were under the criminal age.
– Not what we hoped for
Now the Attorney General has also reached the same conclusion, and writes in the ruling:
“The Attorney-General finds it deeply regrettable that the investigation in 1994 suffered from such major weaknesses that the course of events has not been able to be determined more closely, with the stress this has entailed for both the three suspects and Silje’s survivors”
The boys who were blamed for the death are disappointed by the decision of the Attorney General.
Photo: Ole Jørgen Kolstadbråten / NRK
– At least the Attorney General comes with some form of apology for the poor police work in 1994. But at the same time I find his decision cowardly, says the 6-year-old, who is now in his early 30s.
In the decision by the Attorney General, it is pointed out that the police’s work in 1994 was so bad that it is now no longer possible to establish who subjected Silje to violence.
– It was the poor work of the police that put me in this situation. How strong evidence is needed to prove my innocence, asks the 6-year-old.
He believes that the Attorney General’s reasoning shows that the regulations are too bad.
– I feel like I’m left with blackheads. The presumption of innocence has been turned on its head. Although it has been established that we are to be considered innocent, a veil of uncertainty hangs over us, he says.
The 6-year-old will only feel that he has been fully acquitted when it is established that “no criminal relationship is considered proven”.
– I, and my lawyer, will now go a few rounds on what we are going to do. Time will tell what happens, but I am basically not satisfied with the way things are now, says the 6-year-old.
The 5-year-old shares the objections the 6-year-old has to the attorney general’s decision.
– It was not what we hoped for and fought for, he says.
Will not discuss the decision
NRK has been in contact with First State Attorney Thomas Frøberg at the Attorney General’s Office for a comment on the case.
– The case has been subjected to a broad, new investigation, without this providing grounds for changing the original justification for the closure. We do not consider it appropriate to enter into a further discussion about the content of the decision, he writes in an e-mail.
The police in Trøndelag have been presented with the criticism from the Attorney General, but do not wish to comment on it. Nor does Silje Marie Redergård’s mother want to comment on the decision.
2023-10-04 05:00:01
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