Espen Andersen Bråthen, who killed five people in Norwegian Kongsberg last autumn when he attacked with a bow and knife, is sentenced to forensic psychiatric care.
The district court’s ruling was announced on Friday morning. The outcome was expected because forensic psychiatric experts stated during the trial that Andersen Bråthen suffers from chronic paranoid schizophrenia, a diagnosis he received for the first time as early as 2007. Prosecutors and defenders have also followed this line.
The statement means that Andersen Bråthen could not have been considered accountable when he performed his actions.
– We are dealing with a sick person. A person who is without debt capacity, said prosecutor Andreas Christiansen in his plea.
The trial took place between May 18 and June 6. The 38-year-old Espen Andersen Bråthen was charged with the murder of five people, eleven attempted murders and 13 cases of serious threat. He is also suspected of several other crimes, including throwing a knife at three police officers. He has previously pleaded guilty to all charges.
Most of the acts took place indoors in the victims’ homes. The first alarm call came from a grocery store in Kongsberg shortly after 6 pm on 13 October 2021.
Andersen Bråthen was arrested half an hour later. According to the prosecutor’s office, he had armed himself with a bow, dozens of arrows and several knives of various sizes. According to police, the bow was used to injure the victims and stabbing weapons to carry out the killings.