Because he “cannot be held criminally responsible,” a Danish man who murdered five people in a bloody bow-and-arrow rampage in a Norwegian town was given a life sentence in a mental institution.
In addition to shooting a barrage of arrows from both inside and outside a grocery store, Espen Andersen Brathen, who terrorized the quiet streets of Kongsberg in October, also fatally knifed his victims.
The prosecution claims that on the day of the attacks, Brathen had a bow, 60 arrows, and four knives at his disposal.
The 38-year-old, who has battled mental illness for a long time, entered a plea of guilty to the charges of murder and attempted murder last month.
The defendant “clearly had comprehension and functional disorders because of his condition” at the time of the attack, the judges wrote in their verdict, which was delivered on Thursday.
The verdict stated, “The court determines that the defendant cannot be held criminally accountable for any of the counts.”
Authorities said that Brathen had a history of illness and had lived for years in Kongsberg, a town of 25,000 inhabitants located 50 miles west of Oslo, the capital city.
The man was on their radar, according to the PST, the Norwegian security agencies in charge of counterterrorism.
He was quickly sent to a medical facility after being quickly apprehended 35 minutes after the initial reports of an attack.
Three specialists who observed him came to the conclusion that he had paranoid schizophrenia.
Both the prosecution and the defense contended that he couldn’t be punished criminally and supported psychiatric commitment over a jail term.
He killed four ladies and one male, ranging in age from 52 to 78.
Gunnar Sauve and Liv Borge, a married couple who were murdered in their flat on the ground floor, were among the victims.
Another victim was identified as a 75-year-old artist named Gun Marith Madsen who used a frame to help him walk.
Hanne Englund, a ceramic artist in her 50s, as well as Hamburg native Andrea Meyer, 52, perished at the hands of the killer.
48-year-old Rigoberto Villarroel, a local police officer, and his family were inside the store when Brathen started shooting his fatal arrows.
While on the phone with his coworkers to alert them to the situation and warning other shoppers to flee, Brathen shot at him, leaving an arrow stuck in his back.
The brave cop stayed at the entrance of the store shouting warnings to onlookers, but Brathen managed to slip away while shooting other arrows, leaving at least one sticking out of a wooden house on Wednesday night.
The suspect fled approximately 250 meters down a hill, abandoning his bow and a quiver of arrows in the process, until he arrived at Hytegatten, one of Kongsberg’s most historic streets with a mix of clapboard houses from the 18th century and more contemporary buildings.
He killed Mr. Sauve, a former legal official, and Ms. Borge, a former employee of an electricity company, in their ground-floor apartment in Hytegatten, which had sweeping views of the Numedalslgen River, which runs through the community.
Mrs. Madsen passed away at her ground-floor apartment at the end of the same street, some 100 meters from Mr. Sauve and Ms. Borge’s house.
According to neighbors, two men who lived in the apartment above her raced to help when they heard a disturbance but were unable to save her.
It was previously discovered that Brthen also killed Hanne Englund, a woman in her 50s, after breaking into her Hytegatten studio home and barricading himself within.
Locals characterized the mother of two, who had been in a committed relationship, as “warm-hearted,” “flamboyant,” and “beautiful,” with many friends in the community.
She was also well-known for hosting an annual midsummer party in her garden for all of her neighbors.
Due to the town’s low crime rate and the inherent confidence that Norwegians have for their neighbors, many residents are claimed to have frequently left their doors unlocked.