MISSING: Beate-Catrin Antonsen was only 38 when she was found dead. She left behind two daughters who tell VG that they need answers to what happened to their mother. Photo: Private
VESTERÅLEN (VG) The police admit that early on they let the investigation become a little too bound by a hypothesis that the mother of two took her own life.
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Mother of two Beate-Catrin Antonsen (38) was found dead in Vesterålen in 2016. The police prematurely admit the hypothesis of suicide, and take self-criticism on several points. Police were only asked for assistance 18 months after the death. The police have changed their practice to avoid similar mistakes in the future. Beate-Catrin’s boyfriend was charged with murder, but the case against him was dropped in 2020. He denied doing anything wrong. Show more
In August 2016, Beate-Catrin Antonsen (38) was found dead outside the house she rented in Bø in Vesterålen.
Only a year and a half later did the local police ask for assistance from Kripos to investigate the case – and charged Beate-Catrin’s boyfriend with murder.
The boyfriend has denied having been involved in Beate-Catrin’s death, and the case against him was dropped on the state of the evidence in 2020.
VG has gained access to the entire criminal case and uncovered several errors and misunderstandings in the investigation:
The death was initially registered as probably suicide. The rope that the police found under Beate-Catrin was destroyed before the criminal case was concluded. Nor was DNA secured from the rope. The forensic report was interpreted incorrectly. It took over two years before the misunderstanding was cleared up. It took half a year before the police carried out a reconstruction. It took 18 months before the police asked Kripos for assistance with the investigation.
After Kripos became involved in the case, Nordland police district initiated an internal evaluation of the investigation.
This resulted in a report in which the police and prosecution authorities criticize themselves on several points.
NORDLANDSBYGD: The white house Beate-Catrin rented is right down to the water’s edge in Bø in Vesterålen. Photo: Tore Kristiansen / VG
The police: Too high a threshold
– In a long investigation that continues over several years and through a time where there has been an ongoing investigation boost in the Norwegian police, there are of course several learning points, writes prosecutor Stig Morten Løkkebakken to VG.
– Among other things, we have identified that back in 2016 we had too high a threshold to request assistance from Kripos.
The prosecutor states that the police district has introduced a new practice after Beate-Catrin’s death.
– In addition, we saw that initially in the investigation we were a little too bound by the fact that the case was coded as a suicide, writes Løkkebakken.
He emphasizes that this was discovered and adjusted by the investigators themselves, early in the work. But he writes that the police district has nevertheless introduced a new practice also in this field:
– To ensure that we keep the focus on keeping all possibilities open, a practice has been introduced that no cases are initially coded as a suicide, but as an unsolved death or a suspicious death.
ANSWER: Prosecutor Stig Morten Løkkebakken answers on behalf of the Sortland sheriff’s office and the Nordland police district. Photo: Terje Mortensen / VG
VG has asked for access to the evaluation report to see which errors the police themselves point to – and to understand the background to why the errors occurred.
The police district will not make the report public.
– These reports are designed, and have content, which is not intended for anyone other than the police, writes Løkkebakken in the refusal.
– A prerequisite for evaluation reports to be successful is that those who participate in evaluation and feedback must be able to give completely free and unfiltered feedback on the incident and the handling that was carried out.
The head of public prosecutions writes that work has been done over the years to build a culture of openness and feedback:
– By providing access, it will be predominantly likely that feedback and self-evaluation will be influenced by the likelihood that these can find their way to the public.
MOTHER: Turid Lill Antonsen engaged a private investigator to try to get answers to what happened when her daughter died. Photo: Tore Kristiansen / VG
VG also does not get access to slanderous parts of the report – or to the learning points the police district has arrived at.
The public prosecutor in Nordland has upheld the police district’s decision.
– There is reason to believe that a processed report with only conclusions and learning points will be able to give an incomplete and misleading picture, writes First State Attorney Hilde Stoltenberg.
VG has appealed the refusal to the Attorney General, who is still processing the case.
Defendant: Sure he was innocent
Nordland police district states that no employees have received any work-related reactions following the evaluation.
– How difficult was this case and the aftermath for the Nordland police district?
– For our part, this has been a long and demanding investigation with a picture of evidence that was difficult. Fortunately, we have had good support and help from Kripos, but of course – especially in view of the burden that the investigation has put on the survivors – we would have liked to have finished solving the case, writes Løkkebakken.
THE SEAS: The whole case about the death and the police’s response here.
DEFENDER: Sol Elden Photo: Tore Kristiansen / VG
Beate-Catrin’s boyfriend is not alive today. His defender Sol Elden says that her client has always said he is innocent, and found it very difficult to stand in the long murder investigation.
– Not only had he lost his partner, but being accused of having killed her afterwards, he took that very seriously. He was absolutely clear that he had done nothing wrong.
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Published: 16.10.23 at 05:48
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2023-10-16 03:48:36
#Takes #selfcriticism #secret #police #report #BeateCatrins #death
