– He thinks the incident is very tragic. He is distraught and sad, and understands that the family finds it deeply tragic, says lawyer Annette Myrhaug to Dagbladet.
Called myself
Myrhaug defends a 51-year-old man who is accused of having shot and killed Phillip Johansen Smedsrud (29) in his own home in Lier outside Drammen last summer. He called the police himself on 13 July and told them what had happened, the day after the murder.
The 51-year-old is linked to the act, but denies criminal guilt after the charge.
FOUND IN HOME: Smedsrud was found shot in the accused 51-year-old’s home near Lierbyen. Photo: Frederik Ringnes / NTB Show more
– He has explained himself to the police, and pleads not guilty to premeditated murder. He will have to take a decision on criminal guilt again when he knows what a possible indictment looks like – and does not rule out that he may then come to admit something, says Myrhaug.
She elaborates that the eventual indictment could potentially include other, milder sections of the criminal code than the charge.
– Close friend
The case has now been fully investigated by the Sør-East police district, and will be assessed by the prosecution with a view to indictment and thus a trial.
– I am working on the case to prepare it for submission to the State Attorney, the prosecuting officer in the case, police attorney Ann Iren Svane Mathiassen, tells Dagbladet.
“I am familiar with the search. If a weapon was there then, it is regrettable that the police did not find it.”
Ann Iren Svane Mathiassen, police attorney in the South-East police district
Dagbladet is informed that the 51-year-old and Smedsrud belonged to a charged environment in the Drammens area.
– He describes the deceased as a close friend, says lawyer Myrhaug about the client.
DEFENDER: Annette Myrhaug from Adokatfirmaet Wangberg represents the 51-year-old accused. Photo: Annika Byrde / NTB Show more
Two weeks after the murder, the deceased 29-year-old’s mother Mariann Smedsrud described her son as a dear family member.
– Ever since he was a little boy, he has always been kind, gentle and helpful, she told Dagbladet then.
– No parent should have to bury their own son, she emphasized.
Bad constitution
It is not known on what basis the man accused of murder denies criminal guilt. However, Dagbladet is aware that during the investigation he has spoken a lot about his chronic health problems:
Previously convicted of threats
During the first imprisonment meeting in Drammen on 14 July, the man appeared to be in a bad condition, with a very unsteady gait.
– He is struggling and has a long history of major health problems – but the actual act that led to the death is not connected to these, says Myrhaug, and continues:
– He is strongly affected and troubled by these health problems, which he has been for a large part of his adult life. He believes he has not received sufficient help.
Christian Flemmen Johansen, legal aid lawyer for Smedsrud’s family, feels that the accused 51-year-old places great emphasis on the health problems in his explanations.
HELPING THE FAMILY: Christian Flemmen Johansen is an assistance lawyer for the deceased Smedsrud’s next of kin. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB Show more
– I cannot see that his health problems have anything to do with his actions and behavior towards the deceased – there is no explanation for what happened, he says to Dagbladet.
– Long time
Johansen says that Smedsrud’s family thinks it has taken a long time to complete the investigation.
– But they also see that the police have done a thorough job following the murder. They therefore also understand that it takes time, says the lawyer.
Police attorney Mathiassen denies that the investigation has taken a long time.
Charged for suspicious death
– On the contrary, it is a fairly quick investigation when a murder case is fully investigated in six months, she says and continues:
– The matter is, of course, serious. Therefore, we also have to do a lot of good research.
The murder weapon was not found
The man accused of murder has a long criminal record, and was convicted as late as just over two weeks before the murder for threatening to kill his own GP. In the same case, he was also convicted of keeping a rifle and a sawed-off shotgun at home without permission, according to the report VG.
In the same month, June, he was also convicted of drink driving.
RESPONSIBLE FOR PROSECUTING: Police attorney Ann Iren Svane Mathiassener responsible for prosecuting the case. Photo: Terje Bendiksby / NTB Show more
In November it came in one TV 2– article stated that the police searched the 51-year-old’s home on 10 July – two days before the murder. There they found a firearm and several knives, which were seized – but he still had a weapon at his disposal when he shot Smedsrud.
Relatives of the deceased 29-year-old are strongly critical of this, and believe that the murder could have been prevented if the police had searched the apartment more thoroughly.
– I am familiar with the search. If a weapon was there then, it is regrettable that the police did not find it, says police attorney Mathiassen to Dagbladet.
The accused liungen has undergone a forensic psychiatric examination, in order to gain clarity on his criminal sanity. However, he is in custody in prison, says Mathiassen.
– There is no reason to have him with the health care system, she says.
2024-02-08 21:09:17
#case #fully #investigated
