Prosecutor Vibeke Gjøslien said the murder of Jonas Aarseth Henriksen appeared to be a pure execution, planned and ordered by an individual referred to as the 'Orderer'. The 'Orderer' has admitted to paying for vandalism and violence against Jonas before the murder, while the 'Shooter' accepted a violent assignment to harm Jonas physically and financially. According to defense lawyer Marius Dietrichson, the 'Shooter' was paid 35,000 kroner to injure Jonas, not to kill him. The defense maintains the assignment was only to injure, not to kill.
The prosecution believes the 'Orderer' wanted Jonas killed out of jealousy because Jonas had a brief relationship with the 'Orderer's girlfriend during a break. All communication between the accused occurred on an encrypted messaging service, limiting police retrieval. According to NRK Buskerud, Jonas's mother Elin Aarseth described how friends took time off work and used vacation days to attend the trial. His sister Ida Aarseth Pedersen said the attendance showed how fine Jonas was and what he meant to others. Jonas's father Trond Henriksen said he never imagined getting a tattoo three years ago. According to NRK Buskerud, Trond Henriksen described the appeal trial as surprisingly heavy and expressed hope for more honest explanations about what really happened.
Friends take time off from work and use vacation days to be here. It means incredibly much to us.
It was not in my thoughts three years ago that I would end up with a tattoo.
It has been surprisingly heavy. I thought it would be easier since we were more prepared for how everything works, but it has actually been the opposite.
Some things in life become less painful when you have gotten a little used to them, but these things just feel more and more painful when we have to dig into it. At least when we feel that we do not get the full truth and an understanding of how it has been.
We do not have confidence in the stories that came in the district court, so it is the honest explanations about what really happened and what the plan behind it was that we hope to get out.
When you do this, you have high hatred for someone. This is pure terror.
They were to harm him, they were to hit him in the leg with a crowbar, he was not to die. The court's task is to see if this can be explained from a perspective of innocence.
All communication has taken place on an encrypted messaging service, so it is very limited what the police can retrieve. Especially when the physical phones are gone.
It has been a conscious strategy of the accused. It is not coincidental, there is no doubt that the accused know what the police can find in such a case.