The flag at City Hall in Ålesund hung at half-mast on Tuesday to honour the victim of a murder last month that shocked the west coast city. All public transport in the city also stood still for a full minute when her funeral began at 3pm.
“We’re doing this to show our sympathy for the family and what happened,” a spokesman for Nettbuss Midt-Norge told news bureau NTB.
The funeral of 21-year-old murder victim Anja Weløy Aarseth was held at the Storetveit Church at Fana in Bergen but received little media coverage at her family’s request. The ceremony itself was reserved for family and friends.
Aarseth was first reported missing after she’d borrowed her grandmother’s car and headed out for a round of jogging in a popular recreational area of Ålesund, where she was a student. Her body was found three days later, and police said she’d been sexually assaulted before being strangled.
Police arrested a young Norwegian man with a history of assault just days later based on a DNA match. He has admitted to both the assault and the murder and remains in custody awaiting trial.
newsinenglish.no staff
