A Norwegian man in his 40s has been jailed and charged with murdering his wife and attempting to murder their daughter in Gjerdrum, northeast of Oslo. He has accepted the charges against him, with his own defense attorney confirming that he intended to kill his wife, their daughter and himself, but had regrets during the process.
Defense attorney Hilde Mo told newspaper Romerikes Blad on Thursday that he also now regrets murdering his wife. She said the background for his attacks involved marital trouble, a looming divorce and financial difficulties.
Police were called to the family’s home in Gjerdrum, site of another tragedy just four years ago, late Wednesday night by the assailant himself. There they found a woman in her 30s dead and a little girl critically injured. Police wouldn’t immediately reveal the nature of the injuries or what sort of weapon was used.
It’s the latest case of domestic violence in Norway that turned fatal. Neighbours told state broadcaster NRK that the family of three had moved in to the apartment they rented just last summer, but had informed the apartment owner that they were terminating the rental contract in October because they were splitting up.
Local residents were gathering Thursday evening at the local church and a community center. “We experienced four years ago that it helps many to get together and talk with a neighbour or others, to share grief,” Mayor Karl-Arne Johannessen told NRK. Added local pastor Jakob Furuseth: “We unfortunately have experience in how it helps to stand together in a tragedy.”
NewsinEnglish.no staff
