The Birgitte Tengs case: – Police on site:

HAUGESUND (Dagbladet): – I remember a lot. The image is burned out. I saw his calves and her legs. I thought, God, is there a human lying here?

The farmer who found Birgitte Tengs took his place on the witness stand in room 14 of the Haugesund court on Thursday. There he detailed how he found the murdered Birgitte Tengs near Gamle Sundveg on Karmøy on 6 May 1995.

27 and a half years after the discovery, he still seemed impressed by the experience.

– He kept throwing up

The farmer recounted how he quickly contacted the police upon discovery. He himself has experienced having to persuade them to move. He said it was something that bothered him a lot afterwards.

– I thought a lot about the fact that I had to convince them. They wouldn’t believe it, but I called again and said you have to come, you have to come, bring an ambulance and everything. It was very frustrating. They obviously thought that was not the case and that it was a hoax call, the man said.

After the police arrived, he was one of those who helped cover up the crime scene. Among other things, plastic was collected from the farm, which was used to cover the area. He was also one of those who were absent looking at the deceased.

– They asked me if I wanted to come and see. And then I saw. I didn’t want to believe what I saw, when I saw Birgitte laying there. I was about to vomit. The police were a little further down the road. Then I stood there and watched. It was absolutely hell for me, said the farmer.

– Not seeing the problem

Who had been at the scene of the crime, and with the possible transmission of murder suspect Johny Vassbakk’s DNA to Tengs’ tights, was once again the focus of the court on Thursday. The farm user said that, among other things, he reacted to what he perceived as someone from the police fumbling with Tengs’ handbag.

Two of the first police officers who were on the scene and worked both testified in court.

They told of a completely different practice from that seen today, in order to avoid potential contamination of the crime scene or of the deceased. Completely without protective equipment, several police personnel rushed to the central part of the crime scene, where Tengs lay dead.

Looking for answers to the hitchhiker mystery

– I think we secured the crime scene as well as possible according to the methods of the day, said one of the officers in court. At the same time, he added that he himself had been to the house of the deceased three times, one of which after he himself had carried out inquiries in the neighborhood.

– I don’t see the problem in that. We had a path that was used by all who entered. I don’t think I helped destroy anything.

– Did you use protective equipment or take precautions, Vassbakk’s defenders asked.

– No, answered the police officer briefly.

– I’ve warned

Vassbakk’s defenders, attorneys Stian Bråstein and Stian Kristensen, disagree that the lack of protective equipment and thoughts of crime scene contamination are unproblematic. They point out that the DNA evidence in the case was found with today’s technology, used on Tengs’ tights. A kidnapping they believe has been handled carelessly since day one.

– The attitude that it wasn’t problematic is fine if you think back to 1995. The challenge is that you use today’s technology to look for evidence. They didn’t know what the contamination was. So obviously you can’t take precautions for that. You weren’t worried if you lost a hair or something, defenders say and add:

– The problem becomes when you now analyze microscopic material like the evidence for here. Both the Institute of Medical Examiners and the Medical Examiner’s Commission have previously warned against this case.

Unsure of value

Nor was prosecutor Erik Lea, who along with John Christian Elden represents Tengs’ parents, impressed with the police’s description of the crime scene work.

– Now I’m not a policeman, but it probably happened like this in 1995. You don’t do it like that today. We’ve heard there’s back and forth at the crime scene, and what they remember and what they don’t remember. It’s quite obvious that this has gradually become a tainted crime scene. But whether it was tainted so it could be used as a defense, I don’t know, says Lea.

Prosecutor Thale Thomseth tells Dagbladet that nothing that transpired at the crime scene on Thursday changes their opinion on the possibility of contamination of the defendant’s DNA. He points out that the prosecution has always been clear that crime scene discipline and the way evidence was gathered was different 27 years ago.

– At the same time, they did work by the standards of the day, it is important to clarify. Nothing that appeared in court today was unknown to us. So we made assessments on that before the indictment was filed, Thomseth says.

– He will name two other men

The cousin again central

In addition to the crime scene and the potential contamination of Vassbakk’s Y-chromosome, which was found on Tengs’ tights, the court again focused on the deceased’s cousin who had previously been convicted by the district court and acquitted by the appellate court of the charge of murder.

Public Welfare lawyer Elden tells Dagbladet Thursday they experienced it as more evidence on the cousin than the defendant.

– Both defenders and prosecutors seem very interested in the cousin’s confession. Parents have noticed, too, Elden says.