A Norwegian appeals court concluded on Monday that the same young man raped and murdered two little girls found dead at the Baneheia recreational area in Kristiansand in May 2000. The now-44-year-old defendant, Jan Helge Andersen, may also end up spending much of the rest of his life in jail.
The verdict, handed down Monday by the Gulating Appeals Court in Bergen, most likely ends the legal nightmare that began 25 years ago for the parents of eight-year-old Stine Sofie Sørstrønen and 10-year-old Lena Sløgedal Paulsen. The two girls, who were good friends, had gone swimming in the lake at Baneheia in the hills above Kristiansand on the unusually warm evening of May 19, 2000. They never returned, and their bodies were found by search crews several days later.
Andersen had initially admitted to raping and murdering the younger of the two girls, and falsely implicated former friend Viggo Kristiansen with the rape and murder of Paulsen. Andersen also claimed Kristiansen had forced him into the crime, and both ended up serving lengthy jail terms by Norwegian standards.
Kristiansen, however, continued to claim that he’d had nothing to do with the murders and assaults that shocked the entire nation at the time. His case was eventually taken up again, and new DNA evidence and techniques proved he couldn’t have been involved. He was cleared and has won compensation after what’s widely regarded as one of the most serious travesties of justice in Norwegian history.
That case also resulted in new charges being filed against Andersen, who was put back on trial and lost his first round in court. He appealed, however, prolonging the nightmare for the girls’ families and many others.
Andersen appealed again on Monday, but many legal experts believe his case is finally over, both because of new evidence against Andersen, his own conflicting versions of events and that it’s highly unlikely Norway’s Supreme Court will hear his appeal. Even Andersen’s own defense attorney thinks Monday’s verdict is final, telling state broadcaster NRK that legal options are “extremely limited” regarding what can be appealed at this point. Police arrested Andersen at the courthouse on Monday, just after the court’s verdict was read aloud.
Since Andersen has already spent 19 years in jail for the rape and murder of the eight-year-old girl, the appeals court could only sentence him to two more years, since Norway’s longest jail term is 21 years. Appeals Court Judge Elisabeth Deinboll, however, added what’s called forvaring to his two-year term, which can keep convicts in prison longer if they’re deemed an ongoing threat to society.
In Andersen’s case, expert testimony had raised the likelihood of pedophilia that could lead to new assaults. Investigators recently found material including assaults on children on his personal computer. NRK reported that the appeals court judge herself said Andersen has “an enormous potential for violence,” adding that she believed “there is a concrete and real risk that he can commit new, serious crimes.”
Andersen was also ordered to pay more than NOK 8 million in compensation to Paulsen’s parents, also to cover lost income and pension benefits over the years. Their attorney, Mette Yvonne Larsen, said Monday’s verdict “gives the parents some peace.”
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund
