Neighbors told about unpleasant encounters with Viggo Kristiansen – NRK Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio

– It was impossible to live at Eg without noticing Viggo and Jan Helge.

A former neighbor of Viggo Kristiansen and Jan Helge Andersen said so in Sør-Rogaland district court on Thursday.

Andersen has always maintained that it was Kristiansen who was the main man in the assaults and murders in Baneheia. This despite the fact that Kristiansen has been acquitted of the murders and awarded NOK 55 million in compensation.

No technical traces of Kristiansen have been found at the scene.

Only Andersen is charged with the murder of Lena Sløgedal Paulsen. Viggo Kristiansen has status as a witness. However, the court must consider that it has been proven beyond any reasonable doubt that it was Andersen who killed the girl.

It is therefore important for the defense to build on Andersen’s explanation.

Today was set aside for several so-called character witnesses. What was it like having those two in the neighborhood? Viggo Kristiansen is described by several as a very challenging boy in his teens and early adulthood.

– Viggo Kristiansen could be very nice to those who did not rebuke him. But he had a behavior that no adults would have accepted, said a former social worker who also lived in the neighborhood.

Both neighbors who first explained themselves in court said that Jan Helge Andersen was more passive and reserved, while Kristiansen could almost terrorize them by shouting foul words at them and being violent when playing with much younger children.

NRK followed the court day directly.

Played with little girls

– These 20-year-old boys wanted to play with girls aged 10-12. – The girls played with joy mixed with horror, said the former social worker.

She said that she followed the boys. And after the murders, her children were not allowed to bathe alone at the 3rd stamp.

The other neighbor said that he experienced several episodes of violence with Kristiansen.

– Once he threw a much younger boy into the bushes head first. When I wanted to bring it up with him, he became very aggressive.

Andersen, on the other hand, found it difficult to read.

– It was very difficult to get a clear impression of Jan Helge. I have no recollection of how he related to others.

The neighbors were called as witnesses for the defence. Over the course of the day, however, the image of Kristiansen was nuanced when former comrades and colleagues told about their experiences.

His sister-in-law also told about a kind brother-in-law, who was a babysitter for her son on the day Stine Sofie Sørstrønen (8) and Lena Sløgedal Paulsen (10) disappeared, 19 May 2000.

– Absolutely everything around Viggo in particular became suspicious

A former friend of Kristiansen, and classmate of Andersen, said that he was one of the few who would defend Kristiansen.

– Absolutely everything around especially Viggo was made suspect. I found him to be a loving person. One that was awkward.

He believes it was sensational at the time that someone wanted to say positive things about Kristiansen. He himself contacted the police in October 2000 to tell about his experience with Kristiansen.

– Rightfully so, the people behind this were demonised. It was a terrible crime. But I also believed at the time that Viggo was innocent.

A former colleague said that he too found Kristiansen to be considerate.

– He had a great capacity for work, and was always cheerful.

The man worked together with Kristiansen as a rubbish collector in 1999 and 2000.

– Viggo never tried to drag the conversation onto something else. He was in for questioning several times. I was surprised that he had to go in for so many interviews.

It was also a former friend who notified the police himself about Kristiansen and Andersen. He said that the two of them were supposed to be with him on the search operation, but that Kristiansen had delayed it for so long that it was too late. The girls were found murdered.

– I got a bad feeling, he said.

At the end of the day, it was read out from the interrogation behind closed doors. It dealt with a case in which Viggo Kristiansen was acquitted of criminal charges, but ordered to pay compensation.