LØRENSKOG (VG) At the beginning of the disappearance case, the police had to prioritize between investigation and life-saving efforts. It has left its mark.
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After three years, it may appear to the public that the police are on the spot resting in the investigation of the Lørenskog case:
- Anne-Elisabeth Hagen, who disappeared on 31 October 2018, has still not been found.
- Her husband Tom Hagen is charged with murder, but denies all guilt and will no longer be questioned.
- A man in his 30s has been charged in the case, but several signals indicate that the case against him may go against dismissal.
- The tracks at the scene have so far not led the police to unknown perpetrators.
- The same can so far be said about the cryptospore, as far as VG knows.
Police investigators are nevertheless positive, and believe it is possible to track down unknown perpetrators.
LES VGs SPECIAL: The unknown cryptospores
Unique and complex
The Lørenskog case is described as unique due to its complexity. It is also very comprehensive.
Approximately 700 interrogations have been carried out, large quantities of seizures have been obtained, including approx. 2500 objects and over 6000 hours of video. So far, the police have received over 4,000 tips.
Between 20 and 30 people from the Eastern police district, Kripos and Økokrim are still working on the case.
However, investigators believe they can solve the riddle – despite the fact that it has now been over 1000 days since Anne-Elisabeth Hagen disappeared.
Careful planning
Prosecutor in the Lørenskog case, Gjermund Hanssen, now gives new descriptions of how the police view the case, and why it is so demanding to solve:
– There are several elements that make the case challenging and time consuming, says Hanssen, and further explains:
– The obvious thing is that these are perpetrators who through long and meticulous planning have taken many steps to hide their tracks, and who have actively tried to mislead the police, Hanssen says.
It is in itself difficult to maneuver in the crypto world, but the police have also had to develop new advanced methods to get further and closer to a solution. This has naturally taken time, Hanssen says.
LES VGs SPECIAL: KRYPTOMANNEN
Three consequences
The prosecutor also explains that the initial phase of the investigation was demanding, because in some cases the police had to prioritize between life-saving efforts and investigation. For ten weeks, the police chose to close the kidnapping case.
The main hypothesis was kidnapping – and that Anne-Elisabeth’s life was in danger. Now the police believe she was killed.
– This demanding initial phase also forms the basis for several challenges that we still have with us further in the case, says Hanssen, and mentions several concrete examples of consequences of the police choosing to work covertly for the first time:
- One had to wait with the big survey
- There is less timely witness information
- It was demanding for the forensic technicians to work in secret on the Hagen property
– A lot of good investigation was done in that phase anyway – electronic clues were obtained and a number of witness interviews were conducted with orders for confidentiality – but the challenges we faced then, that we today, when we are in another phase, in some cases must go the long way, says Hanssen, and further explains:
– An example is mapping the crime scene – where we have to use video to a greater extent than being able to use up-to-date witness information, which we could have obtained with an open witness interrogation shortly after the disappearance, Hanssen says.
– Have you concluded internally on whether it was a good or bad decision to close the case?
– Evaluations are made all the time, but I do not want to comment on these internal evaluations in the media.
LES VGs SPECIAL: THE LAST INTERROGATIONS OF TOM HAGEN
No time limit
The prosecutor says that the current investigation plan extends until the new year.
– There is no external time limit for the investigation. The complexity and scope of the case indicates that the investigation will continue throughout 2022, Hanssen says
– What can you – after three years of investigation – say about the crime the police are facing?
– In addition to the very serious nature of the case, the crime appears very well planned, and seems to have been carried out in a way where the perpetrators have gone to great lengths to hide their tracks and have actively tried to mislead the police.
– What does it take for this case to be resolved?
– It does not make sense for me to set any clear premises or preconditions for this as the case stands now. A final prosecution decision will be made by the Attorney General when the case is considered sufficiently informed, or there are no longer relevant investigative steps to perform.
Hanssen states that the crypto-track is the police’s clear main priority in the coming investigation period.
– This does not mean, however, that other investigative steps have been abandoned, and we are still actively working on the action-related clues in the case that may say something about the action Anne-Elisabeth Hagen was subjected to and who was behind it.
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