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CRIME

Man stabs and kills his mother in Denmark

A 21-year-old man with mental problems has admitted to repeatedly stabbing and killing his own mother, police said on Thursday night.

Published: 6 November 2015 09:03 CET
Man stabs and kills his mother in Denmark
Photo: Colourbox
A 55-year-old woman on the island of Funen was stabbed and killed by her own son on Thursday. 
 
Her 21-year-old son voluntarily went to Odense University Hospital’s psychiatric unit and told personnel that he had killed his mother. When hospital staff alerted police, officers arrived at the woman’s home to find her dead from repeated stab wounds. 
 
Funen Police said in a press release that the murder weapon was found at the address but that the timing of the death was uncertain. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday. 
 
Speaking to BT, police spokesman Henrik Justesen said it was too soon to speculate on a motive. 
 
“We don’t know but we are clearly talking about a sick man because it isn’t normal to kill your mother,” he said. 
 
Local news site fynsk.dk reported that the 21-year-old man was receiving psychiatric treatment. He was an inpatient at the hospital’s psychiatric ward until this summer when he was released under an outpatient treatment plan. 
 
The man is due to make a preliminary court appearance on Friday. 

CRIME

Denmark to add war crimes to criminal code

Denmark is to give international war crimes a specific paragraph in its criminal code, ending its position as one of the last European countries not to have specific laws on war crimes.

Published: 21 March 2023 11:58 CET
Denmark to add war crimes to criminal code

The government confirmed on Tuesday that it supports a motion by the opposition Socialist People’s Party (SF) to introduce a war crimes paragraph.

“I think it’s important to say first and foremost that war crimes are already illegal in Danish criminal law,” Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard told news wire Ritzau.

“It is not written in as specific clauses in the criminal law, but all offences that are war crimes are criminal,” he said.

“But with all that said, I think that SF has an important point in saying that the time has now come for us to introduce an independent criminalisation of war crimes. I think that would send out an important message to the world, and especially to victims,” he said.

“I will therefore, when the motion is discussed tomorrow [Tuesday, ed.] say, that the government backs criminalising war crimes independently under Danish law,” he said.

Hummelgaard plans to initiate a committee to look into how laws against war crimes can be written and added to the criminal code.

The committee will also consider whether sentences for war crimes should be higher than existing sentences given from crimes such as murder and torture.

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