Man admits to murder and house fire in Haugesund
The man who has been charged with killing his cohabitant in connection with a fire in Haugesund on New Year’s Day has admitted to committing the act.
The woman was found dead after a fire in a residential building. The preliminary autopsy report has shown that she probably died of a stabbing.
The woman’s cohabitant, a man in his fifties, was arrested and charged with murder shortly after the emergency services moved out to the fire.
Quarrel
Earlier, the man has denied the charge, but during an interrogation, he changed his explanation on Monday.
“At the beginning of the interview, he gave the impression that he wished to change his explanation, and explained that he was behind the act of murder of his cohabitant. The accused has previously explained that he acted in self-defence and that the act was accidental, but this he has now altered,” Prosecutor Marte Engesli Lysaker writes in a press release.
According to the accused, there has been a dispute between him and the deceased before the act, and he has provided a relatively detailed account of the course of events.
“How he reacts to the question of criminal liability, as well as any motive for the act, will be the subject of further questioning,” the Prosecutor elaborates.
Releases the name of the victim
In the same press release, the police write that it was 49-years-old Anne Kari Bjelland who was killed. Her name is released after consultation with the relatives.
Bjelland leaves three children motherless, one of whom is a minor. The children are Bjelland’s and the man’s children together.
She is not yet formally identified, but the police state that there is no reason to believe that the deceased is another person than Anne Kari Bjelland.
Will verify the explanation
The work on forensic examinations, witnessing, as well as safeguarding and reviewing electronic tracks continue. The police will now check the explanation by the accused against the technical findings.
“We do not want to go into further details about the explanation of the accused, but can confirm that he is cooperative,” Lysaker concludes.
It is allegedly the accused himself who lit the fire before he drove off from the scene on a motorcycle. He was arrested after being involved in a traffic accident.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
