Expert slaughtered the interrogations of Viggo Kristiansen – NRK Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio

In connection with the new trial against murder accused Jan Helge Andersen, Fahsing has been given the mandate to assess the interrogations of Viggo Kristiansen before and after his arrest in 2000.

Lena Sløgedal Paulsen (10) and Stine Sofie Sørstrønen (8) were found raped and killed in Baneheia after they disappeared on 19 May of the same year.

Viggo Kristiansen was questioned three times as a witness in the case, before he was charged and arrested as a result of the explanation given to the then cameraman Jan Helge Andersen.

NRK followed the entire court day. You can read everything that happened here:

The chief inspector began by giving a historical review of the Norwegian police’s interrogation techniques, where the dividing line was 2001. In 1999, there was a circular from the Attorney General on guidelines following the case against the cousin in the Birgitte Tengs case. Before 2001, police officers did not have formal training in interrogation techniques, and interrogations were largely aimed at eliciting confessions.

– In my department, confessions were celebrated with white marzipan cake.

Fahsing has gone through all these interrogations, and while he criticized the interrogations before the arrest as too little detail, for lacking follow-up questions and leading questions, heavier fire from the expert was brought forward when he assessed the interrogations after the arrest.

– I have to say that I have never, or I don’t think I have ever seen the police, so early in an explanation, tell a suspect that “we do not find you credible”, said Fahsing.

– The fact that it has also been written down is even more unusual. It is not really the task of the police to determine credibility. So this is relatively startling.

I think the interrogators were under pressure

The chief inspector, who works at the Norwegian Police Academy, pointed to several examples where it was made clear to Viggo Kristiansen that the police thought he was lying, and that Jan Helge Andersen was telling the truth.

– There are two things you are left with. You can see that the police are noticeably clearer that Jan Helge Andersen is explaining himself correctly. And you can see that Viggo Kristiansen is strikingly clear that they are wrong.

Fahsing further read out that Viggo Kristiansen had said:

“What I am telling is the truth and if Jan Helge wants to go with an innocent man, you are judging an innocent man.”

– Secondly, the problem is that from the outset the police seem completely locked into the hypothesis that Kristiansen was the main perpetrator. This despite the fact that Kristiansen’s explanations appear fairly consistent, said Fahsing.

The chief inspector also criticized that the police did not record audio and video of the interrogations, despite the fact that they had received a circular from the Attorney General six months earlier that this should be done.

– Here we are talking about Kripos. They had the resources to do it, Fahsing said.

– Both the interrogators and the investigation management seem to have had an almost blind belief that Andersen’s confession was true. Those who were set to interrogate Kristiansen were probably themselves under great pressure. I have never seen an interrogation where the suspect is so clearly, clearly and frequently accused of lying and that this appears so clearly in the interrogation protocol.

– False premises

The confession from Andersen was given on incorrect terms, says Fahsing.

– People have asked questions such as “Could it be that you are also a victim in this case?” So it is understood that it was Viggo who was the main man, and you were just there.

The chief inspector also pointed out that the British-Icelandic professor Gisli Gudjonsson has warned against relying on Jan Helge Andersen’s explanation. Gudjonsson has previously written a report commissioned by Viggo Kristiansen’s defenders

Fahsing believes it is natural that Kristiansen would not explain himself. Especially as Viggo Kristiansen was told in the second questioning after the arrest that there was almost no point in denying any longer because Jan Helge Andersen had told something else.

– Kristiansen was not heard and in the end chose not to explain himself, and in that respect it is not particularly sensational, said Fahsing.

Finally, he summarized.

– Although some things work well, the quality appears as far from today’s standard as it is possible to get.