The Bjørgvin Prison in Bergen set off full police alarms Monday evening after guards suddenly lost sight of a 17-year-old murder suspect in their custody. He jumped over one of two fences surrounding the prison’s recreation yard but was later found, still on prison grounds.
It was initially feared that the teenage boy, who has confessed to murdering a 13-year-old girl in their small hometown of Varhaug, had escaped, prompting police to send out several patrols and even stop and search cars in the area. The teenager was found around 15 minutes after he disappeared. He claimed he wasn’t trying to escape but rather just wanted to hide.
His remand custody has been extended by a local court while police continue to investigate the murder of 13-year-old Sunniva Ødegård. She never came home after visiting a friend on Sunday evening July 29 and was later found dead on a pedestrian walkway only about 100 meters from her home. The 17-year-old was arrested the same night and later confessed that he killed her. His motive remains unknown.
Ødegård was buried last Friday in the graveyard surrounding the historic Varhaug Church on Norway’s West Coast at Jæren. Around 400 people took part in the funeral after the murder that shocked the small town. “We feel paralyzed, and are in deep sorrow,” said Pastor Gaute Øgreid Rasmussen.
newsinenglish.no staff
