– Every day there is something that makes me think ‘oh, Jessica would like this’ or ‘now Jessica should be here’, says Lori.
The Canadian woman is the mother of 31-year-old Jessica, who took his own life in Bredtveit prison in Oslo on 11 March last year. It happened in front of shocked inmates.
Shortly afterwards, both the police and the State Administrator started investigations.
They are still ongoing.
– The case is still in the investigation phase, confirms the prosecuting officer Christian Stenberg.
He says they are investigating widely to shed light on all sides of the case.
This winter, among other things, some of those who were in prison when Jessica died have been questioned.
Responds to time use
It happened in February. Almost a year after Jessica’s death.
– I don’t know what they have been up to. Have they slept, asks the mother Lori.
Jessica (right) with her sister Jackie on their wedding day. Jessica was separated from her husband some time before she left for Norway.
Photo: Private
The family’s lawyer also reacts.
– It is objectionable that the police have not conducted any interrogation before, says Sofie Grøndahl.
Since the suicide, a lot has happened around Bredtveit. Among other things, inmates have been moved to other prisons.
Bredtveit prison since the suicide
Development at Bredtveit prison after suicide on 11 March 2023.
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31-year-old Jessica takes her own life in a common area in Bredtveit prison. Barely a week earlier, she had been sentenced to three years in prison in a drug case. Canadian Jessica had been in custody ever since she was arrested in May 2022. The police are starting a routine investigation.
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13.-16. In March, the Civil Ombudsman paid an unannounced visit to Bredtveit prison. They also visited a separate department at Ullersmo called Zulu. Several of the sickest inmates at Bredtveit were moved there in January and February 2023. Alerts about the situation in the prison were the reason for the visit, which was planned before the suicide on 11 March.
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Just a few days after the visit, the Civil Ombudsman sent an urgent letter to the Minister of Justice where they were concerned about “critical and life-threatening” conditions in the prison. According to the ombudsman himself, it is the first time they have sent such an emergency alert after an inspection.
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On the same day, Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp) comes up with what she calls immediate measures following the Civil Ombudsman’s notice. Among other things, she promises increased staffing and fewer inmates at Bredtvet. She also wants to turn Skien prison into a women’s prison to improve the situation for women serving time in Norway.
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The state administrator warns that they will open an inspection of the health care system after the inspection. Almost a year later, the inspection is still ongoing, NRK is told.
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Some time after the suicide at Bredtveit prison, prison manager Doris Bakken resigns. The Correctional Service confirms this in April, but by then Bakken has already been out of work for a while. She was a manager at Bredtveit for many years, and had repeatedly gone out in the media and been concerned about mentally ill inmates.
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The civil ombudsman will present his final report after the visit to Bredtveit. There, the inmates who are locked up for large parts of the day describe extensive use of isolation and belt beds, and extensive self-harm.
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It is known that the family of the deceased Jessica is demanding NOK 100,000 in compensation after the death of her daughter. At the same time, they have also several times in recent months demanded an investigation into the death and warned of a possible lawsuit against Norway.
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At the end of November, Statsbygg announces that they will close operations at Bredtveit prison. The reason is concern for fire safety following an inspection by the fire service. In December, it is decided that the women in the prison will be moved to Ullersmo.
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Since the suicide, women have been steadily moved out of Bredtveit prison. At the end of February, there are less than 20 women left there. These will be moved on 27 February to a separate ward at Ullersmo prison.
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Grøndahl fears it makes it more difficult to get an overview of who they should talk to. And after such a long time, it is harder to remember details of what happened.
– But it is still great that they are actually questioning key people now, says Grøndahl.
Police attorney Stenberg explains the use of time as follows:
– Several of those who had to explain themselves had to be exempted from confidentiality. It has taken some time, explains Stenberg.
Warnings before suicide
The family and their lawyer believe the death could have been prevented.
While the prison believes it was not possible to foresee.
Despite the fact that Jessica was clearly ill in the days before the suicide.
Several inmates have told NRK that Jessica changed her demeanor in the days before she died. And when NRK was there on Women’s Day on March 8, three days before, Jessica was noticeably unwell.
In a recording NRK is sitting on, you can hear her shouting and expressing that she is scared. An employee then tries to calm her down.
Lawyer Sofie Grøndahl at Elden law firm believes that the police’s use of time may go beyond the investigation of Jessica’s death.
Photo: Elden lawyers
Attorney Grøndahl says they are aware that employees were concerned. And that her health was questioned a few days before.
– There are two warnings that have come concretely right before the suicide, says Grøndahl.
And last year, the Civil Ombudsman sounded the alarm about “critical and life-threatening conditions” in the prison after an inspection there. One of the things they reacted to was the failure to map the risk of suicide among inmates.
Grøndahl believes that the sum of what they know both about Jessica and routines in the prison shows a failure.
– Based on the information we have, we feel that the follow-up she has received is inadequate and not justifiable.
The prison will not comment on either Jessica’s state of health, the recording from NRK or the lawyer’s statements.
Considering lawsuits
The state administrator in Oslo and Akershus opened supervision of Oslo University Hospital (Ous) after the suicide.
The family is now waiting for the results of the police investigations and the supervision case.
If it ends up that no one is held responsible, they will sue Norway.
– Someone must be held accountable. Because it’s simply not right, says Jessica’s mother Lori.
She thinks it is natural that the Norwegian state is responsible for taking care of foreign nationals who are imprisoned in Norway. Like Jessica.
“Forever 31” is written on this banner that hangs at the parents’ home. Jessica never reached the age of 32.
The family believes Jessica’s human rights were violated in prison.
Both the right to life. And because she stayed held for 10 months in custody without good enough follow-up, as they see it.
– We will have to come back to what the lawsuit will cover when it is relevant, says lawyer Grøndahl.
The family has previously notified that they too wants compensation after her daughter’s death.
– Violation of the human rights article on the right to life is serious. It must be adequately compensated, says the lawyer.
Sentenced a few days before
The verdict against Jessica came barely a week before she died.
She was sentenced in the district court to three years and three months in prison for importing drugs into Norway. With deductions for the time she was in custody.
The family knew nothing about her planning to go abroad. Before they were told in May 2022 that Jessica had been arrested at the airport in Norway.
The family remembers Jessica as a happy and caring woman. Among other things, she worked as a nurse in her native Canada.
Photo: Private
She was still in custody when she died, approx. ten months later.
She was served the sentence a couple of days before. Lori believes Jessica should receive extra follow-up in the days afterwards.
According to her, her daughter struggled with a strong sense of guilt for what she had been convicted of.
– She made a mistake that cost her her life.
The judgment was not final when Jessica died.
5 year old daughter
Throughout the trial, Jessica’s mental health became an issue.
She ended up getting a lower sentence due to “significant psychological difficulties” and the burden of serving time in a foreign country far away from her family.
Including his little daughter. The girl recently turned 5 years old.
According to Grandma Lori, she often asks for her mother. A picture of Jessica hangs on the wall at the grandparents’ house.
– She talks to the picture, tries to feed it and shows drawings she has made, says Lori.
This picture of Jessica hangs on the wall at her parents’ home. Mother Lori says that Jessica’s daughter talks to and shows drawings for the picture.
Photo: Private
NRK has been in contact with the girl’s father. He accepts that we mention the daughter in this case, without using her name.
For her sake, NRK does not use Jessica’s or Lori’s surname either.
On March 11, a year after the suicide, the family remembered Jessica’s life.
In her spirit, the day was marked on her favorite beach in Florida. Smiling, as they remember Jessica.
– I want people to know that Jessica’s spirit lives on. I will never forget her.
Jessica’s sister, daughter and parents at Jessica’s favorite beach a year after her death. Mother Lori in the middle.
Tags: Interrogation carried year suicide Bredtveit womens prison Greater Oslo
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