Dead person found in Larvik is linked to the Stavern case – Dagsavisen

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The police were notified of the discovery at 12:45. The person was found by a hiker in a popular hiking area not far from the sea. The area is located between Larvik and Stavern, around four kilometers from the home of the missing woman.

– The person was found on land. There is a coastal path near the discovery site, but I cannot say more about the area at the present time, police attorney Ole Jacob Garder in the Sørøst police district tells NTB.

Garder says that there are two things that make them see the find in connection with the Stavern case:

– One is that no other people are missing in the relevant area. The second is the clothes that the dead person is wearing. At the same time, I would like to emphasize that the person has not been formally identified.

The woman’s next of kin notified

Garder adds that this is an area that has not previously been searched. The relatives of the missing woman have been notified.

– Whether the person may be exposed to something punishable or not, it is far too early to have any idea about, says Garder.

Several media outlets have received information that the person appears to have been dead for a while, but the police attorney does not want to comment on that.

The police have been looking for the woman on land and in the sea in the Stavern area since the beginning of January.

The person was found by a hiker in a popular hiking area not far from the sea. The area is located between Larvik and Stavern, around four kilometers from the home of the missing woman. (Geir Eriksen/NTB)

Hoping for an answer before the weekend

Garder says they hope that the person will be sent for an autopsy at the Forensic Medicine Institute in Oslo on Wednesday evening and that they will have something they can go out with before the weekend.

– But we can’t say that for sure. It depends on time and resources at the Institute of Forensic Medicine.

It was on 2 January that a man in his 50s was found dead in a home in Stavern in Larvik. His roommate, a woman in her 40s, was shortly afterwards charged with murder and wanted internationally.

This request was later withdrawn. The police have acknowledged that the suspicion against the woman has been weakened and apologized to the next of kin for the handling of the case.

The woman still charged despite weakened suspicion

The woman is still charged, but the police believe it is no longer most likely that she killed the man. The background is, among other things, the preliminary autopsy report.

– Why is the woman still charged with murder if there is no reason to suspect that she killed the man?

– The competence to decide whether the charge should be dropped rests with the Attorney General. In order for the Attorney General to be able to assess the case, there must be completed reports, such as the final autopsy report of the man. It is not clear, and thus the charge is upheld, says Garder to NTB.

– Painful

Ellen Holager Andenæs, who is the solicitor for the missing woman’s family, spoke to the next of kin on Wednesday.

– For them, it is painful that it now seems clear that the missing person is dead. At the same time, it is a relief that she has been found. It means that they may be able to see the end of a very difficult time, Andenæs adds VG.

Lawyer Sol Elden has been appointed as legal counsel for the man’s survivors. She tells VG that they have been informed that a dead person has been found in the Larvik area.

– Beyond that, we do not know any details at the present time and must await dialogue with the police.