A Latvian man in his 30s who lives in Hamar was in police custody this week, charged with fatally stabbing a colleague while taking part in a company Christmas party at a rented facility at Holmenkollen.
The victim was a Polish man in his 50s who also lives in Norway. Both he and the defendant worked at an employment agency that had rented a tent-like structure called a lavvo on a hillside across from the famed Holmenkollen Ski Jump. Newspaper Dagbladet reported that 70-80 people had attended the employment agency’s Christmas party but that it had ended and most had left when the stabbing occurred at around 2am on Saturday.
The Latvian man’s defense attorney, John Christian Elden, told newspaper Aftenposten that an argument had erupted between his client and the man from Poland. Police told news bureau NTB that the murder defendant has been in trouble before, and was sentenced to 21 days in prison last year for making threats with a knife.
The Oslo-based ski association Skiforeningen, which rents out the lavvo for parties, called the murder “very tragic.” The leader of the company that hosted the party Friday night said employees were deeply disturbed by the murder. “We are helping police,” he said, also with getting in touch with the family of the murder victim.
newsinenglish.no staff
