The short version
- Two adults and two young adults were found dead in a house in Torpo in Ål municipality on Saturday evening.
- The police are investigating the case as a murder and suicide.
- The local community is strongly affected, and on Sunday many have made the trip to the local church to light candles.
View more
– It’s just so tragic, says Ola to VG.
Together with his wife, he has lived in Torpo for 20 years.
The small village of approximately 400 inhabitants is marked by grief and shock after two adults and two young adults in the same family were found dead in a house on Saturday evening. The police are investigating murders and suicides.
– The police cordon was right there, and we realized it was about serious things, says Ola.
VG meets the couple at home in the living room, on the floor above the local Joker shop, where Ola is a co-owner.
The two describe the house, which is also their home, as the center of Torpo.
– Here is the bus stop, the joker and mailbox delivery. It is the most central thing at Torpo, explains Ola.
On Sunday afternoon, there are few people to be seen along the streets in the village.
During the store’s opening hours, on the other hand, the lower floor of Espegard is a gathering place for the local community, says the wife:
– It’s a village shop, after all. Everybody knows everybody. There is a coffee corner there, where people like to sit and drink coffee and chat.
She describes the togetherness at Torpo as established and safe. Overnight, however, the atmosphere changed for the local community.
– It is in a way so unreal. I couldn’t even dream that something like that would happen.
Now there is a pressured atmosphere, the married couple describe.
– This will be a topic of conversation for a long time to come. It will have a very strong impact on the village, she adds.
Many of the residents visit the local church on Sunday afternoon, which stays open to give people a place to gather and light candles. Two flags hang at half mast. People give each other long hugs and offer comfort to those in need.
Everything from teenage gangs to families and the elderly have made the trip.
The police received a report of concern from a family member at approximately 3 p.m. They moved out and checked the outside of the house, but found no reason to enter.
When they went back to the house five hours later – at 8pm – they entered the house and found four dead. They also found weapons.
– The people who live there are handsome, decent people. So it is clear that this comes as a shock, says Else-Brith.
The couple are not alone in that opinion either.
– There have been no signs that there could be anything wrong there, not at all, said a neighbor VG met on Sunday morning.
The neighbour, who does not want her name in print, says that she was not close to the family, but met them occasionally on walks.
– We sometimes had a little chat. We have a very pleasant time here. It is quiet and peaceful, and we welcome everyone. It is a nice place to live.
Mayor Solveig Vestenfor says that the village is in “shock and grief” – see video:
