Police confirm suspect knew Stavanger homicide victim

A 30-year-old man arrested in connection with the death of Christian Rydningen Auklend in Stavanger had a prior relationship with the victim, police confirmed to Dagbladet on Sunday.

Christian Rydningen Auklend, 40, was found dead in his municipal housing unit in the Våland district on Thursday morning. The suspect, detained the same day, has denied criminal responsibility.

“There was a relationship between them—they were not strangers,” prosecutor Fredrik Martin Soma told Dagbladet, clarifying that they were not family. He declined to elaborate further, citing the ongoing investigation.

A preliminary autopsy report, received by police on Saturday, concluded that Auklend’s injuries were consistent with homicide. Authorities continue to seek witnesses, particularly anyone who saw him after 8 p.m. on Friday, May 29—the last confirmed sighting at a Coop Extra Paradis store in Lagårdsveien.

The suspect remains in custody on grounds of evidence tampering risk. Police are expected to decide by Sunday whether to request pretrial detention, with a potential hearing on Monday.