– The central aspect of this case is the sentencing. There are circumstances surrounding the murder that need to be elucidated, but in all essentials there is agreement on what has happened and must be taken as a basis, said prosecutor Kirsti Jullum Jensen during the trial.
A man in his 30s pleaded guilty to all charges when the trial about the nail murder in Tana started on Tuesday. The points were about murder and drug offences.
The victim was Marcus Unsal, who was shot and killed with a nail gun.
– There are some circumstances surrounding this murder that make it extra serious, state prosecutor Kirsti Jullum Jensen told NRK on Thursday.
This is the scene of the murder in Tana in June 2023.
Shot 20 times
According to the indictment, Unsal was shot 20 times with a nail gun.
11 of the nine centimeter long nails hit Unsal in the head, while the rest hit him in the chest and back.
Marcus Unsal was on holiday in Tana. He was reported missing by his family, and it took ten days before he was found.
Photo: private
Threatened the children of the accused
The defendant told the court about several deliveries of drugs that he had sold for the deceased, but he had several times been late with the payment.
In the car at the scene of the murder, they discussed a new delivery of drugs.
– Then he says: All right, I was supposed to get the last delivery. But this time he doesn’t have as much patience. He says that if I don’t show up on the day when he calls me next, he’ll come and slice my kids up. Then it just goes black for me.
He then used the nail gun that was in the car, which the defendant and his roommate had used when they replaced the front door a few days earlier.
From that moment on, his memory is a black hole.
– When I come to, Marcus is lying there on the ground next to my car.
Then I thought: What the hell have I done now?
He describes the murder as an impulsive act of panic.
He also believes that the nail gun must have been in direct contact with Unsal’s body during all the shots, as he did not know that it could be used from a distance by manually holding up the safety.
Anja Karin Hellander is the defender of the accused in the murder case in Tana, which is being heard in the Inner and Eastern Finnmark District Court in Vadsø.
Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn
Known the deceased from before
The accused father of two told the court that the problems were building up for him. He was on sick leave for long periods, was in the process of refurbishing his childhood home while also renting an apartment for himself and his family.
The defendant had been diagnosed with ADHD and, according to his explanation, was heavily overmedicated, so that he only slept a couple of hours each night.
When Nav came to the conclusion that he had been paid far more than he was entitled to, the money problems became acute. It was then that he made contact with Marcus Unsal, with whom he went to school in Swedish Övertorneå. He offered to sell drugs for him.
The first delivery was autumn 2022.
Has not been imprisoned before
Defense attorney Anja Karin Hellander said that the defendant is very distressed, and that it may be necessary to read out previous explanations about circumstances he is now unable to remember.
She emphasized that he had no previous history of violence. He has been punished for breaking the Road Traffic Act and the Medicines Act, but has not been in prison.
Hellander also wanted to prepare the murder victim’s mother, who was present in court, that hearing the explanation could be painful.
– He in no way tries to shift the responsibility onto the victim. If one feels that things are being negatively charged, it is not meant as anything more on his part than an attempt to shed light on the matter.
Found in the terrain
It was last summer that Marcus Unsal was reported missing in the village of Rustefjelbma.
Ten days later, he was found several kilometers away, at Smalfjordvann. The body was lying out in the terrain on a remote dirt road.
The prosecutor in the case went into what the 30-year-old did after killing Unsal, to hide the act.
The defendant took the phone to Unsal and threw it in the Masjokelva. Later, he sent several text messages to his mobile asking where Unsal had become, and that he could not wait any longer.
These were messages that led the police astray in the case for a long time, and they thought there were others involved.
The defendant himself took part in the search operation for the victim, together with friends. He cried over this in court.
It was this type of nail that was used when Marcus Unsal was killed.
Dreaded the trial
The defendant is aware that there are probably many years in prison that await him, said defender Anja Karin Hellander before the trial began.
– Appearing in court is something he dreads. The murder is something he regrets, and feels guilty about.
State prosecutor Kirsti Jullum Jensen says that the trial will mainly be about determining the specific punishment.
Photo: Ida Louise Rostad / NRK
Assistance lawyer Heidi Marie Harto Reisvang said that the situation has not been easy for those left behind.
– They naturally think that the case is very difficult. They have had a hard time since the murder happened, and not least since the deceased disappeared.
Assistance lawyer Heidi Marie Harto Reisvang says that the family is looking forward to putting the trial behind them.
Photo: Frank Nygård / NRK
Reasonable at the moment
Forensic psychiatric assessments carried out by the defendant describe the man as sane at the time of the crime.
According to the defender, several of the witnesses are surprised that the defendant could have done something like this.
– The defendant also has no previous history in connection with violence, says Hellander.
Harto Reisvang says that the next of kin are not looking forward to the trial.
– But they are still looking forward to putting this part of the case behind them.
Three days have been set aside for the trial in the Inner and Eastern Finnmark district court in Vadsø
Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn / NRK
2024-02-20 18:02:40
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