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Monday, October 7, 2024

Murder suspects held in isolation

The Oslo City Court has ordered two men charged in the murder of 16-year-old Sigrid Giskegjerde Schjetne to be held in prison for at least the next four weeks, the first two in full isolation. Police now believe the teenager was intentionally run down by a car driven by one of the suspects.

“As the case now is described, the court finds it most probable that Sigrid Giskegjerde Schjetne was the target of willful homicide, and that it wasn’t any traffic accident,” wrote the court in its order directed at the 37-year-old murder suspect Thursday evening.

Alibis rejected
The custody order was based on fears that the suspects would tamper with evidence if released. “The court believes that given the serious nature of the charges, four weeks (in remand with isolation) is not unreasonable,” the court wrote.

Police contend that neither of the two men, who are friends, has a plausible alibi. Police have indicated they have technical evidence showing that the 37-year-old drove through a toll station at Abildsø, not far from the Østensjø area where Schjetne disappeared.

The body of Schjetne, who disappeared while walking home on the night of Saturday August 4, was found partially hidden in a forest area behind the workshop the men used in connection with their car hobby. Police have seized several vehicles belonging to the men and are carrying out intense examination of both the cars and the area where Schjetne was found.

Not sexually assaulted
No exact cause of death has been revealed but police said Thursday afternoon that there were no signs in the autopsy report that she’d been sexually assaulted. Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported Thursday night that police think she was run over but did not die immediately from her injuries. VG Nett reported that police think the injured Schjetne was picked up after being hit and taken somewhere else, where she was killed before her body was hidden in the woods.

Both suspects deny having anything to do with Schjetne’s disappearance and death, but even the 37-year-old’s defense attorney, John Christian Elden, told NRK that from the evidence presented so far he sees a basis for negligent homicide. He disputes the charges it was intentional, however.

Views and News from Norway/Nina Berglund

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