UPDATED: The southern coastal city of Arendal was shaken this week by the murder of a woman right outside the pharmacy where she worked in the city center. The victim was a 35-year-old Swedish citizen and police initially had no suspects, but arrested and charged a man on Thursday.
Police responded in force after the woman, later identified as Miriam Daniela Ayres Cea, was found slumped on the pavement just outside the Boots pharmacy in downtown Arendal at around 9:30am on Tuesday. Police confirmed to newspaper Aftenposten that she’d been at work at the pharmacy that morning.
On Thursday police told state broadcaster NRK that they believe the woman was stabbed to death with a knife. Local newspaper Agderposten reported that police had found the murder weapon, while police said at a press conference Wednesday that they can’t rule out that the woman may have been a random victim of a violent assailant.
A full murder investigation was underway, and police announced late Thursday that they’d arrested and charged a suspect. Prosecutor Vanja Bruvoll told reporters on Friday that the man arrested has a history of making threats with knives but has refused to answer questions. “He hasn’t wanted to clarify his situation nor has he responded to the charges against him,” Bruvoll said.
The suspect has a series of convictions for theft, threatening employees of state welfare agency NAV and, most recently, threatening two people with a knife outside a 7 Eleven story in Oslo last autumn. That case is due to be handled in court in May. He now lives in a public housing project a few kilometers from downtown Arendal. Police said they hadn’t yet established any ties to the woman who was killed.
“This is a deep tragedy that affects many here in the city,” Arendal Mayor Robert Cornels Nordli told NRK. He insisted that Arendal, best known as a summer holiday destination and for its annual late summer gathering of top politicians, business leaders and other community activisits, remains a safe city. It’s the latest, however, in a recent string of other murders in Norway since New Year.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
