Marius Borg Høiby denied release – must remain in custody until sentencing
Marius Borg Høiby (29), son of Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit, has been refused his request for release from custody. Oslo district court rejected on Monday his application to replace custody with electronic monitoring.
Marius Borg Høiby denied release – must remain in custody until sentencing
Marius Borg Høiby (29), son of Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit (52), was on Monday refused his request for release from custody. Oslo district court declined to replace custody with electronic monitoring, according to 20 Minuten.
Høiby wished to move back to a rented house at Skaugum, where he has lived for several years, close to his ailing mother. The defence justified the application with the crown princess's worsening health condition. Høiby attended on Monday an information meeting at the royal estate where experts from the National Hospital informed about the crown princess's condition.
"I'm going through a very difficult time," Høiby said in court. "Sitting in prison while I know how ill my mother is, is unbearable." He stressed that he did not wish to go home to celebrate.
The police had already rejected the application over the weekend. Police prosecutor Hilde Hermanrud Strand understands that Høiby's situation is difficult, but does not believe that his mother's health condition reduces the danger of new criminal acts. "The mother's health condition is not suitable to reduce the risk of reoffending sufficiently," said Strand. The district court followed the police's assessment.
On Friday, the Norwegian royal household announced that the crown princess has been placed on the waiting list for a lung transplant. "The development of the crown princess's lung disease is serious," the statement said, and she must receive a donor lung "as soon as possible". Mette-Marit suffers from chronic pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable disease in which scar tissue forms in the lungs and progressively restricts breathing.
Marius Borg Høiby, Mette-Marit's son from a previous relationship, has been in custody since the main hearing began in early February. The verdict is expected on 15 June. He is charged with more than 40 offences, including several rapes. Earlier in May, Oslo district court also rejected an application for release, citing the psychological strain from the custody conditions.
Source: 20 Minuten