Woman likely unfit to stand trial for father’s attempted murder

A woman in her 20s accused of attempting to murder her father in Bærum is likely unfit to stand trial, Oslo District Court ruled on Monday, citing psychiatric evaluations that found she has paranoid schizophrenia.

The incident occurred on 21 April in Sandvika, where the woman’s father, in his 60s, sustained stab wounds to the neck, back, and side, Dagbladet reports. Police responded with a large presence.

Two court-appointed psychiatrists concluded the woman’s perception of reality was severely disturbed at the time. She believed her father controlled her, that she was trapped in a staged reality, and that killing him was the only way to escape. The court ordered her transfer to a psychiatric institution.

Ullevål Hospital, which had treated her for four days in April, disputed the diagnosis and opposed institutionalisation. However, the court sided with the psychiatric experts, noting the hospital lacked sufficient grounds for its assessment.

The woman had been held in pre-trial detention since April, with her custody extended to 18 July. Prosecutors had requested her transfer to an institution following the psychiatric report.

Defence lawyer Cecilie Nakstad criticised the hospital’s rejection of treatment, telling Dagbladet that such cases are often dismissed on weak grounds.