It was on the night of 1 January this year that the full alarm was raised when the police received a report of a serious incident in the village of Straumen in Sørfold municipality in Nordland.
When the police arrived at the address, they found five people, three of whom were dead.
The police later released the names of two of those killed.
- Elin Nordhei Bordi (46)
- Terje Åsmund Nordhei (46)
In addition, a young man aged 19 was found dead.
He is charged with the murder of the other two, his mother and stepfather. As well as the attempted murder of his underage half-sister.
The police believe that he first killed his mother and stepfather, before injuring his half-sister. The police then believe he took his own life.
During today’s press conference, the police went through what they thought happened on the night of New Year’s Day.
The police hold a press conference at the police station in Bodø.
Photo: Marius Guttormsen / NRK
The sequence of events
Police prosecutor Kristine Pedersen spent plenty of time informing. According to her, the investigation has shown that all the participants in the New Year’s celebration had left – and that the family then went to bed.
The accused 19-year-old was the last to go to bed.
- Once approx. between Between 04.30 and 04.50 on the night of New Year’s Day, the first accused killed Terje Åsmund Nordhei. This happened in the bedroom, and he probably died quickly.
- The accused then killed Elin Nordhei Bordi. This also happened inside the parents’ bedroom. The police’s investigation has established that there was a fight between the accused and Elin Nordhei Bordi before she died.
The noise caused the youngest sister, aged 11, to wake up.
She went to see what was happening – and is said to have been attacked and sustained knife injuries.
The police say that they have no indications that drugs other than alcohol were used.
Photo: Lise Ailin Rosvoll Berntzen / Saltenposten
The older sister was on the floor above – and woke up to the noise. She ran to see what was happening and met the accused and chatted with him.
She decided to run downstairs and call 911. While doing so, she locked herself in the bathroom. Based on what she stated about then, the police had reason to believe that the ongoing life-threatening violence was involved.
The police implemented procedures to deal with the incident accordingly.
The 16-year-old sister held the line to AMK, until the police patrol arrived at the house.
The police operations center received useful information from the sister, including the code for the key box outside the front door. The first patrol on the scene locked themselves in, and cleared the home sufficiently for paramedics to enter the house.
At the same time that the 16-year-old sister was talking to AMK, the accused took his own life.
From the funeral of the three dead in Røsvik Church.
Photo: Petter Strøm / NRK
Great need for information
Based on the investigation, the police believe they have a clear picture of what happened.
This is based on the forensic investigations carried out at the crime scene, analyzes of traces at the crime scene, temporary autopsy reports of the three deceased, as well as the statements of the accused’s two underage sisters who were at the address when this happened.
– The need for information in cases where the police believe that the perpetrator is among the deceased is often great, as no one has been arrested and remanded in custody. From the police’s side, it has been clarified that there will be no indictment or trial. Against this background, the police want to share what the investigation has uncovered, and what still remains to be found out, says police attorney Kristine Pedersen during the press conference in Bodø.
The home in Sørfold where three people were found dead.
Photo: Ola Helness / NRK
The police’s investigations have confirmed that the murders were committed with a knife, and that it is injuries caused by a knife that are the cause of death for all three dead.
Several knives were seized on New Year’s Day, and the investigations into these have now been completed.
The police believe that two knives were used in the incident.
A knife was used to take the lives of Terje Åsmund Nordhei and Elin Nordhei Bordi. The same knife was also used to injure the accused’s 11-year-old little sister, while the other knife was used by the accused to kill himself.
Not likely with clear answers
The police say they will continue the investigation in the future.
The most important part of the investigation is now aimed at finding out why this happened.
Among other things, the police have gone through electronic seizures and questioned a number of people in the accused’s circle of friends, both family, friends and colleagues.
The investigations the police have carried out so far have found no clear motive, and there are so far no indications that this was planned.
– As we find no clear motive or clear motive, it is natural in this type of case that one of the hypotheses is that the accused may be mentally ill or psychotic. But it will be very difficult, or perhaps impossible, to find an answer to that when the perpetrator is dead. We may never get a definitive answer as to why this happened, says Pedersen.
Police attorney Kristine Pedersen.
Photo: Petter Strøm / NRK
The police have also obtained the accused’s health history, and this must be investigated further.
The police stress that for the sake of those left behind, it is important to investigate further.
– This is to see if it is possible to give both the bereaved and society in general more answers as to why this happened. It is unlikely that unequivocal answers or final conclusions can be given in a case where the accused is dead, but all hypotheses that can provide an answer as to why this happened are being investigated, says Kristine Pedersen.