Fredrik Fasting Torgersen
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- Gender
- male
- Country
- Norway
- Location
- Oslo, Norway
- Date of birth
- October 1, 1934
- Age at first offence
- 23
- Characteristics
- rape
- Victim profile
- Rigmor Johansen, 16
- Method of murder
- ???
- Date(s) of murder
- December 7, 1957
- Years active
- 1957
- Date of arrest
- —
- Status
-
Released
Sentenced to life in prison on June 16, 1958; released January 24, 1974
Background
Fredrik Ludvig Fasting Torgersen was born October 1, 1934. He was a Norwegian convicted murderer.
Rigmor Johansen was a 16-year-old girl whom Torgersen was convicted of murdering.
The offence
Torgersen was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of the 16-year-old girl Rigmor Johansen in 1958.
Sentencing
Torgersen was sentenced to life in prison on June 16, 1958.
Outcome
Torgersen served 16 years in prison before being released on January 24, 1974.
Torgersen continuously claimed his innocence.
Appeals
Torgersen’s calls for resumption of proceedings were denied by the Supreme Court in 1976 and 2001. The independent Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission also denied his calls in 2006.
Aftermath
The case was the subject of a play by author Jens Bjørneboe, titled The Torgersen Case. Torgersen wrote several books.
Several public figures, besides Jens Bjørneboe—particularly the former chairwoman of the Norwegian Author's Union Ebba Haslund—claimed that Torgersen was innocent.
The case remained prominently visible in Norwegian public debate both in the 1950s, the 1970s, and the 1990s, and in recent years.
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