Seven crewmen from a Greenlandic trawler appeared before the District Court of Reykjanes today to testify on the death of 20-year old Birna Brjánsdóttir who was apparently murdered in January.
A 30-year old Greenlandic sailor, Thomas Frederik Møller Olsen, is accused of having murdered Birna on January 14. The case of first the disappearance and then apparent murder of Birna has gripped the Icelandic nation and created a media frenzy.
Møller did not take the stand today, due to a delay in a medical examiner's report. He will testify on August 21, according to local news site Vísir. He is detained in an Icelandic prison but did not attend proceedings today.
Birna's blood found in Møller's rental car
Møller has admitted to picking Birna up in a rental car while out on the town in downtown Reykjavík on the night of January 14. He denies killing her and claims he dropped her off in Hafnarfjörður, a suburb of Reykjavík, alive.
Read an extensive timeline and description of events: Police report reveals new details about the murder of 20-year old local girl
Birna was found dead on a rocky beach near Selvogsviti lighthouse on the south coast of Reykjanes peninsula on January 22. Møller was arrested three days earlier on board the trawler Polar Nanoq which had left Iceland on the 14th. He was charged for her murder on March 30.
Evidence of a substantial amount of Birna's blood that had been cleaned up was found in the rental car.
A friendly and popular man
Seven of Møller's ship mates appeared before the three judges this morning. None of them claimed to know what Møller had been up to on the night of Birna's disappearance, other than the fact that he had been out partying with another crewman. The second crewman was initially arrested in connection to the case but was later released.
The sailors described Møller as a friendly and popular man.
A few of them testified that they had seen Møller in the rental car that police spotted on surveillance cameras from downtown Reykjavík and in other areas that fateful night. Some had seen him with a wet rag coming from the car that was parked on the pier where the ship was docked.
Terrified upon receiving messages from a journalist and his girlfriend
The first mate of the ship testified that Møller had become terrified when he received a message from an Icelandic journalist asking him if he knew anything about the girl's disappearance. Møller was given a tranquilizer to calm him down.
He's also said to have received a message from his girlfriend telling him he was under suspicion in Iceland of having something to do with the case.
After that, the sailors claim Møller was unable to speak or eat. He became extremely neurotic.
Do you think they're coming to get me?
The captain testified that when Icelandic police officers were on their way to intercept with the trawler on a Coast Guard helicopter, Møller was told that the ship had suffered an engine failure.
The ship's cook told the court that when they heard the helicopter arriving Möller asked him: Do you think they're coming to get me?
After the sailors' testimony, the trial was adjourned until next month.
Seven crewmen from a Greenlandic trawler appeared before the District Court of Reykjanes today to testify on the death of 20-year old Birna Brjánsdóttir who was apparently murdered in January.
A 30-year old Greenlandic sailor, Thomas Frederik Møller Olsen, is accused of having murdered Birna on January 14. The case of first the disappearance and then apparent murder of Birna has gripped the Icelandic nation and created a media frenzy.
Møller did not take the stand today, due to a delay in a medical examiner's report. He will testify on August 21, according to local news site Vísir. He is detained in an Icelandic prison but did not attend proceedings today.
Birna's blood found in Møller's rental car
Møller has admitted to picking Birna up in a rental car while out on the town in downtown Reykjavík on the night of January 14. He denies killing her and claims he dropped her off in Hafnarfjörður, a suburb of Reykjavík, alive.
Read an extensive timeline and description of events: Police report reveals new details about the murder of 20-year old local girl
Birna was found dead on a rocky beach near Selvogsviti lighthouse on the south coast of Reykjanes peninsula on January 22. Møller was arrested three days earlier on board the trawler Polar Nanoq which had left Iceland on the 14th. He was charged for her murder on March 30.
Evidence of a substantial amount of Birna's blood that had been cleaned up was found in the rental car.
A friendly and popular man
Seven of Møller's ship mates appeared before the three judges this morning. None of them claimed to know what Møller had been up to on the night of Birna's disappearance, other than the fact that he had been out partying with another crewman. The second crewman was initially arrested in connection to the case but was later released.
The sailors described Møller as a friendly and popular man.
A few of them testified that they had seen Møller in the rental car that police spotted on surveillance cameras from downtown Reykjavík and in other areas that fateful night. Some had seen him with a wet rag coming from the car that was parked on the pier where the ship was docked.
Terrified upon receiving messages from a journalist and his girlfriend
The first mate of the ship testified that Møller had become terrified when he received a message from an Icelandic journalist asking him if he knew anything about the girl's disappearance. Møller was given a tranquilizer to calm him down.
He's also said to have received a message from his girlfriend telling him he was under suspicion in Iceland of having something to do with the case.
After that, the sailors claim Møller was unable to speak or eat. He became extremely neurotic.
Do you think they're coming to get me?
The captain testified that when Icelandic police officers were on their way to intercept with the trawler on a Coast Guard helicopter, Møller was told that the ship had suffered an engine failure.
The ship's cook told the court that when they heard the helicopter arriving Möller asked him: Do you think they're coming to get me?
After the sailors' testimony, the trial was adjourned until next month.
