Police were dealing with another family tragedy in Norway this week after a woman admitted to killing her mother and her brother in their visibly rundown house in the town of Ski, south of Oslo. The woman, in her 40s, has admitted guilt but police were withholding many details in the murder case.
Norwegian media have reported that police were first called to the house on Saturday afternoon, where they found the bodies that on Monday were indentified as Marit Taagerud, age 74, and her son Håkon Taagerud, age 47. The identity of the woman now charged with killing both of them was not publicized, in accordance with local press custom, but she was the daughter and sister of both victims. Nor would police say if she had called police herself on Saturday.
Police said they had seized the weapon used in the murders but wouldn’t reveal what it was. Now would they reveal the charged woman’s motive, but confirmed that she had spoken about it during police questioning. Police also said they had called in professionals to evaluate her mental health.
State broadcaster NRK reported on Monday that the elder victim, killed on Friday according to an autopsy report, had been ill for many years and required constant care. Local municipal officials were reviewing what kind of health care services she had sought or received. “It’s natural for us to of course examine her case,” Øyvind Henriksen, director of the local municipality Nordre Follo, told NRK. “If things weren’t handled as they should have been, we will address that.”
It’s the second family tragedy in the past week as the holidays approach, a time of year when police often face a rise in murders and suicides. There was no custody hearing on Monday. The woman charged was reported to instead be under the care of medical personnel.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
