Man admits suffocating woman with plastic bag in Hamar killing

A 40-year-old man has admitted in court to killing Heidi Sagen, 58, by placing a plastic bag over her head until she suffocated, Dagbladet reports. Prosecutors allege the victim was taped down and subjected to violence before her death in February 2025.

The man, one of three defendants in Hedmarken and Østerdal District Court, pleaded guilty to criminal liability for the killing during Monday’s hearing. He faces up to 21 years in prison with preventive detention.

Prosecutor Jo Christian Jordet stated in his opening remarks that the plan had originally been to rob Sagen at her home in Hamar. The defendant explained in court that he knew the victim through drug sales and claimed she had stolen from him and his accomplices.

According to his testimony, the group threatened Sagen with a knife, taped her hands and feet, and demanded she reveal the location of the allegedly stolen items. When she screamed in response, he fetched a plastic bag and placed it over her head. “I suffocated her, unfortunately,” he stated.

A second defendant, a man in his 50s charged with aggravated robbery resulting in death, denied criminal liability, though his lawyer confirmed his involvement in the robbery itself. A third defendant, also in his 40s, denied all charges of aggravated robbery.

Court documents describe both the victim and the accused as part of Hamar’s drug milieu. Prosecutors noted that substance use among witnesses and defendants complicates testimony, urging the court to consider this in its assessment.

Sagen’s body was discovered hidden under a bed in her home, with bloodstains visible on the floor. Investigators believe she was killed in the hallway before her body was moved. Two of the defendants were masked during the attack.

The defendant’s lawyer, Ole Magnus Strømmen, called the case “an acknowledged matter” and expressed a wish to proceed “as quickly and respectfully as possible.” The accused offered an apology in court, stating, “I have dreaded this day. To the extent possible, I want to say I’m sorry.”