A man in his 30s has admitted to stealing a car whose owner had left her keys in the ignition when she parked it to run into the kiosk of a gasoline station in Vestfold County. The man claims, however, that he was not aware that an eight-year-old boy, the woman’s son, was sleeping in the car’s backseat.
He’s been charged with car theft and was ordered held in custody just before the weekend for at least four weeks while police investigate the circumstances of the crime. They believe that if released, there was great risk the man would steal a car again.
The defendant, however, seemed shaken by what he claims was an unintentional kidnapping of the sleeping child. When he discovered the boy in the backseat, he stopped the car and let him out, reported local newspaper Tønsberg Blad.
The boy was unharmed, and told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) that his mother now realizes she must never leave her keys in the car again.
newsinenglish.no staff