Espen Andersen Bråthen (40), who killed five people in Kongsberg in October 2021, has requested to be released from compulsory mental health care.
He believes the conditions are no longer met.
– I am healthy and would like to be free now, he said from the witness box in Kongsberg courthouse on Tuesday morning.
Bråthen now wants to start a new life, consisting of both work and family. He believes there is no danger that he will commit acts of violence again.
However, the court has not trusted Bråthen’s explanation that he is now healthy – and believes that there is no basis for canceling the forced mental health care. This is revealed in a judgment handed down in the Buskerud district court on Thursday.
RELEASES: The police have released a new video showing Espen Andersen Bråthen on the fatal night in Kongsberg. Video: The police Show more
– The danger is real
Bråthen was sentenced to compulsory mental health care in the summer of 2022 after the experts in the case, psychiatrists Harald Brauer and Helge Haugerud, concluded that he suffered from the mental disorder paranoid schizophrenia.
He has since lived in several psychiatric institutions, most recently in a closed and 24-hour ward at Blakstad Hospital. The court believes that there is a real danger that Bråthen will commit acts of violence again if he is released.
“The court finds proven beyond reasonable doubt that there is a qualified and real danger that Bråthen will commit serious acts of violence again if he is not subjected to continued forced mental health care,” the judgment states.
Furthermore, it says:
“In this assessment, the court shows that the danger of a repetition of new serious acts of violence is qualified and real. It indicates that Bråthen does not seem to have any insight into his own illness and that he needs close and direct follow-up”.
Following the verdict, Bråthen’s defender, lawyer Fredrik Neumann, gave the following comment to Dagbladet:
– It was not the result he wanted.
– Do you want to appeal?
– We have to decide on that before the appeal deadline expires, the lawyer replies.
Sentenced to compulsory mental health care
– Serious
In August last year, Live Sanderud, section chief at the security psychiatric section at Blakstad hospital and professionally responsible for Bråthen, wrote a report on Bråthen’s condition. There she states that he still suffers from delusions and anxiety, in addition to the fact that his emotional contact and cognitive functioning are impaired.
– The condition is assessed as complex and serious, the report states.
From the witness box on Tuesday, the section chief said that there has been no development in Bråthen’s condition since the report was written six months ago.
– He has no insight into his own illness and does not see the need for treatment, which we believe is absolutely crucial, she says and emphasizes that there is a risk of relapse – especially if he does not get the follow-up he needs.
Sanderud also said that there have been episodes where Bråthen has reacted with violence after he came to Blakstad. These cases have been caused by psychotic situations which have caused him discomfort.
The experts in the case also believe that Bråthen’s condition is still bad.
“Central to the danger of new serious acts of violence is that Bråthen reacts to the psychosis with violence to protect himself. His therapist believes that he has a high risk of violence. The experts do the same,” says the judgment from the Buskerud district court.
PROSECUTOR: Public prosecutor and prosecutor Andreas Christiansen. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB Show more
– Lifelong danger
In his final procedure, Andreas Christiansen was clear that the conditions for compulsory mental health care are still present.
– Our assessment is that there is still a lifelong risk of psychotic symptoms and new incidents of violence if the sentence is overturned, he said and submitted a claim that the forced mental health care be maintained.
Bråthen’s defender, lawyer Fredrik Neumann, for his part emphasized the fact that both experts and employees at Blakstad have registered some improvement in Bråthen’s condition, and consequently requested that the reaction be lifted.
He was therefore not allowed to do so.
– He suddenly changed
Five killed: Repeated stabbings
It was on 13 October 2021 that Bråthen walked through the center of Kongsberg armed with several weapons.
After shooting with a bow and arrow inside Coop Extra, he moved on to Hyttegata. There he attacked random people with a knife – some of them inside their own homes.
Gun Marith Madsen (78), Hanne Merethe Englund (56), Liv Berit Borge (75), Gunnar Erling Sauve (75) and Andrea Meyer (52) were all killed as a result of repeated stabbings. Three other people were injured.
KILLED: Hanne Merethe Englund (56), Gunnar Erling Sauve (75), Gun Marith Madsen (78), Andrea Meyer (52) and Liv Berit Borge (75) were killed in Kongsberg. Photo: Private Show more
When Bråthen himself explained himself to the court in May 2022, he said that he brought a bow and arrow to Coop Extra to “kill people” in a place that was often crowded.
He justified the attack by saying that he was absolutely certain that he would go blind.
– For the last three months, I was sure I was going to go blind, so I decided to go out and kill. I changed my mind because I liked the neighbors and the city. Then I got the idea that I had to kill to be reborn in a good place. I thought I had to go out and kill before I went blind, Bråthen said from the witness box.
2024-01-18 10:30:00
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