49-year-old admits to knife attack at hostel in Copenhagen, but denies intent to kill
A 49-year-old man is charged with killing a 52-year-old at Himmelekspressen hostel in Copenhagen. He admits to stabbing the man, but denies being guilty of wilful murder.
36 lesions on the deceased – defendant claims he did not know the blade was exposed
A 49-year-old man appeared on Monday in Copenhagen District Court charged with stabbing a resident to death at the hostel Himmelekspressen. According to B.T., he admits to stabbing the 52-year-old man, but maintains that it was not his intention to kill him.
"I wanted to use the knife as a sort of internal knuckleduster, so I would not break my hand when I hit him," the defendant explained during the court hearing.
The incident occurred on 28 February 2025 around 02:00. The defendant does not deny that he inflicted the cut wounds on the victim, but claims that he was not aware that the blade was exposed on the folding knife during the blows.
The prosecutor presented the autopsy of the deceased, which showed 36 lesions on the head, neck, arms and hands. Several stab wounds were so deep that they penetrated the skull. When the prosecutor confronted the defendant with his earlier explanation that he had only struck the victim three or four times, he fell silent.
"That does not add up so well," he responded.
The prosecution is requesting that the 49-year-old be placed in Sikringen – the specially secured psychiatric ward in Slagelse – for an indefinite period.
In addition to the knife murder, the man is charged with arson on his own doormat on 4 June 2024. He admits to this charge and explains that it occurred during a psychosis in which he believed that people would break into his flat.
The defence rejects the request for placement in Sikringen and instead believes that the defendant should be placed in an ordinary forensic psychiatric ward without a fixed length of stay.
Source: B.T.