Man acquitted of homicide charge

Cries were heard in court this morning when a 26-year-old man was acquitted of a homicide charge.

The case dates back to November 2012 when 16-year-old Maria Fuglø Christiansen was found dead in the sea by the Hvannasund embankment in Borðoy.

Based on an autopsy, the police concluded at the time that there was no evidence of assault. However, the body was exhumed in September 2013 because the police had noted certain irregularities in the case.

A second autopsy came to the same conclusion as the first one. But tip-offs from the public along with technical advances in recent years clarified certain leads.

Case reopened

Three years ago, police reopened the case after it emerged that the girl had been dating a young man, who had been charged with attempted murder in Norðdepil on 14 July 2013. This prompted suspicions that the young man may have been involved with the girl’s death.

In the summer of 2019, the man was arrested and later charged with killing the girl by pushing her into the sea and leaving her to drown.

But a jury today cleared the defendant of the charge, citing inconclusive evidence and unreliable witness statements as the key factors behind their verdict..

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

Translated by prosa.fo

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