Nina Bråthen, 46, was found dead with a bilateral neck fracture. Now the Kripos experts on cold cases will look at death with new eyes.
In early October, VG published an extensive article about Nina, who was found dead in her apartment in Fjell in Drammen on 23 July 2019.
At the time, doctors could not establish a precise cause of death, but Nina had a double-sided hyoid bone fracture in her throat. The fracture indicated that she had been strangled by a hand grip.
VG sought and gained access to the entire investigation and was able to reveal that it was twelve weeks before the Drammen police sounded the murder alarm.
A criminal technical expert alerted internally because he feared for Nina’s legal safety and it took up to four months before important investigative steps were carried out.
Three years later, the case remains unsolved and Nina’s death remains unknown listed on the list of unsolved murders of Kripos.
Now the Southeast Police District has decided that the Nina case will be re-examined.
– And we thought the review should be done by someone who has never looked into the case before, prosecutor Kjell Johan Abrahamsen tells VG.
Therefore, the police district recently contacted the Cold case unit in Kripos, which has now agreed to look into the case.
– We are very grateful for that, says Abrahamsen.
The cold case unit, or cold case section, is headed by Espen Erdal. Among other things, the unit was heavily involved in the investigation of the Birgitte Tengs case, which recently ended with a murder charge.
The group will start the Nina case in the new year.
– This issue will have the highest priority on our part, says Erdal.
Three questions
Specifically, the Sør-East Police District wants the Cold Case group to provide them with feedback on three questions:
- What can we do to find the cause of Nina’s death?
- Should the Nina case be on the Kripos unsolved murders list?
- And what can we learn from this case?
The police district is open to the fact that they may have overlooked something in the Nina case, even though it has been investigated extensively and with many resources, Abrahamsen says.
Cold Case manager Erdal says they will now go through all interviews and reports and finally assess whether can and must more is being done to find out how Nina died.
Prosecutor Abrahamsen says it was natural to ask for such a new review, after VG’s articles on the unsolved case.
– It is always interesting to know if we have developed tunnel vision, have not had our eyes open to relevant hypotheses or if the investigative steps have been conducted too late, says Abrahamsen, and continues:
– We do not immediately believe that there is evidence for this. While nothing materially new has emerged in the VG cases, it was natural to ask industry experts for their views on the matter, she says.
– Uncertainty in the matter
Cold Case manager Erdal says they will look into the case thoroughly, with possible new investigative steps in mind.
The case will be assigned both a police specialist and a specialized investigating officer for the prosecution, as well as investigators, analysts and a forensic technician. Everyone works at the Kripos section for cold cases.
– When we first enter such an issue, we want to do it correctly, Erdal says.
– What do you think about the Nina case?
– I have registered that there is uncertainty in this matter. So I think it deserves another in-depth review and I think it was wise for the Southeast Police District to want new eyes to look into the case, Erdal says.
However, it is clear that people, and especially Nina’s relatives, must have realistic expectations.
– It’s not obvious that putting new expertise on the case results in clarification or a breakthrough, he says.
