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Prosecutors seek 21-year preventive detention for defendant in Orkland murder case
🇳🇴 Norway /Crime & Justice

Prosecutors seek 21-year preventive detention for defendant in Orkland murder case

From Aftenposten · () Norwegian

Translated from Norwegian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources In the courts
  • Prosecutor Per Morten Schjetne asked a court in Trøndelag to sentence Jørn Andersen to 21 years of preventive detention, with a minimum term of 14 years, in the Orkland murder case.
  • Andersen denies criminal guilt; prosecutors allege that he killed Marita Løfshus Haugen with a machete and say forensic traces linked the weapon to him.
  • Andersen previously served a prison sentence for killing an former girlfriend and later received preventive detention for serious violence against another former partner.

Prosecutors have asked for 21 years of preventive detention for Jørn Andersen, who is accused of killing 35-year-old Marita Løfshus Haugen in Orkland, central Norway.

State prosecutor Per Morten Schjetne told Trøndelag District Court that “anything other than preventive detention is completely out of the question” in his assessment. He requested a 21-year term with a minimum period of 14 years, less 277 days Andersen has spent in custody.

Haugen was found dead outdoors at Løkken Verk on Saturday evening, December 13 last year. Police launched a murder investigation and arrested Andersen, 54, at his nearby home later that night. Investigators believe Haugen was killed with a machete belonging to Andersen. Police found the weapon and linked traces on it to the defendant.

Police have said the two had recently ended a romantic relationship. No witnesses saw the incident. Andersen was under the influence of drugs when he was arrested and has previously declined to be questioned by police, according to statements from investigators. His defense lawyer did not respond to an attempt by NTB to make contact.

Andersen, formerly known as Jørn-Are Andersen Sæle, was convicted in 2000 and sentenced to 15 years in prison for killing his former girlfriend, Linn Charlotte Nesblom, 16, in Meløy in Nordland. During his imprisonment and parole period, he seriously assaulted another former girlfriend. A court sentenced him to four years and six months of preventive detention in 2011, and he was released in 2016.

I can say immediately that, as I assess it, anything other than preventive detention is completely out of the question.

— Per Morten SchjetneThe state prosecutor argued for preventive detention during closing submissions.
About this summary

Originally published by Aftenposten in Norwegian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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