A man in his 20s was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the suspicious death of Espen Simonsen (32) on Karmøy. The man is a native of Karmøy, and has previously been questioned as a witness in the case.
This is stated by the Sør-Vest police district in a press release.
– I cannot rule out that there will be more arrests. It is difficult to answer what remains of the investigation and what happens next, now that we have arrested a new person, says police attorney Mads Lerum to Dagbladet.
– An enormous burden
Was a witness – was charged
The police have still not ruled out that the death is due to illness, but have nevertheless charged the man with grievous bodily harm and desecration of a corpse. Lerum will not give anything concrete about what led to the change in the grounds for suspicion against the man.
– It is the results of technical investigations and the overall picture of evidence that form the basis for charging the man in his 20s. He is scheduled to be questioned today, says Lerum.
From before, a man in his 30s has been charged in the case – also for grievous bodily harm and desecration of a corpse. He was arrested in March last year, but denies any criminal responsibility. The police maintain the charges against this man. On Tuesday, Dagbladet was unable to contact the man’s defender, Silje Hellesen.
Espen (32) found dead – accused friend released
Suffered injuries before death
The deceased 32-year-old was found with several injuries on his body, which the police believe were not self-inflicted.
– It is an enormous burden for my client to be charged in a case he himself denies any involvement with. We hope the case is given the necessary priority by the police so that there can be a prompt prosecution decision, said his defender, Silje Hellesen, to Dagbladet in August.
Nor has Ove Kahrs Wangensten, who defends the now accused man in his 20s, answered Dagbladet’s inquiries. It is not known how the man stands up to the charge.
May have died of disease
Interviewed 100 witnesses
The police state that on Wednesday they will request that he be remanded in custody for four weeks, on the basis of the risk of tampering with evidence.
Nearly 100 witnesses have been questioned in the case. The police have also carried out technical investigations of the crime scene and seizures, without wanting to elaborate on the type of investigations that have been carried out, or their results.
– We still have to be reticent with information about the investigation, and the way forward. The police cannot comment on hypotheses about the cause, sequence of events or motive, says Lerum.
2024-01-30 13:18:45
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