Court-appointed psychiatrists have now concluded that convicted right-wing extremist Philip Manshaus was psychotic when he murdered his step-sister because she was ethnically Chinese and then attempted a massacre at a mosque in Bærum in August 2019. They think he’s also mentally ill now, and that means his terror- and murder case must be reopened.
Commentator Andreas Slettholm called it “a sensation” while others were bewildered because Manshaus had earlier been deemed sane and able to stand trial. He also denied any mental illness at the time, and was ultimately sentenced to 21 years in prison with a special clause that can keep him in custody for life.
His own defense attorney, meanwhile, was alone in claiming he was not of sound mind and should have be committed to a psychiatric hospital instead. He’s since been re-diagnosed as “seriously mentally ill” and that he became radicalized as a result of being ill before his alleged terrorist attacks.
Manshaus himself has also changed his story, from being unrepentant and claiming to be a white supremacist in court to now saying he’s sorry he killed his step-sister and regrets his attacks. No one was hurt at the mosque when he started shooting but few people were present and two elderly Muslims quickly overpowered him. A new trial is pending.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
