– It is our opinion that over the course of six years, Kripos has carried out what is possible for the Norwegian authorities to do in an investigation in another country, state attorney Anne Karoline Bakken writes to Staff Stavanger Aftenblad.
A man who died in a traffic accident following Østbø disappeared has previously been suspected of having killed the Norwegian woman.
Kripos has been waiting for South African police to carry out more interviews, take more DNA samples and other investigative steps for almost a year and a half. Kripos dropped the investigation into the suspected murder of Marie Sæther Østbø in March this year.
– Norwegian police have worked hard to achieve the closest possible cooperation with South Africa’s police authorities. A continued investigation case unfortunately does not guarantee decisive progress in the now six-year-old investigation in South Africa, writes Staff.
Østbø’s father is still going to do what he can to find out what happened to his daughter, says his lawyer Anne Kroken to the newspaper.
State Attorney Staff says that the case is not closed because South African police do not respond to inquiries, but because Kripos has done what can be done from the Norwegian side in the investigation.
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2024-07-05 20:53:10
