Four of the six suspects in the murder of Arnar Jónsson Aspar, who was killed last Wednesday, were released from custody today following interrogations, reports RÚV.
The murder was the second of the year and it shocked the nation almost as much as last January’s killing of Birna Brjánsdóttir. Arnar was at home with his family, including his newborn child, when he was viciously attacked. He was beaten with iron pipes before being run over by a large pickup truck.
It was originally believed that the murder was related to a feud in the underworld, with Sveinn shouting at the deceased that he owed money due to a drug debt. Arnar’s family, however, has disputed that reasoning and claimed he was sober at the time.
All present at the murder scene
All six of the suspects were present at the murder scene, but police now believe that only Sveinn Gestur Tryggvason and senior Hells Angels member Jón Trausti Lúthersson were responsible for the death of Arnar. Despite this, the other four suspects have not been cleared of all charges.
Among those released are the brothers Rafal and Marcin Nabakowski, who last January were found guilt of a shooting in the neighbourhood Breiðholt, but had not begun to serve out their time when the murder took place. The two are employed by Sveinn and their lawyer told RÚV that they had accompanied him to pick up tools from Arnar.
“It was clear from the beginning that they took not part in the murder,” the brothers’ lawyer Þórður Már Jónsson said. “They had no knowledge of the reason for the trip and only later realised that someone would be killed.”
The third man—who has yet to be named—present when the murder took place also maintains his innocence, with his lawyer saying that he was simply “the wrong man in the wrong place.” The woman originally implicated in the murder has equally claimed to be innocent of the killing.
The two main suspects will remain in custody until June 23.
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