Gunnar Jóhann Gunnarrson, the Icelandic man who shot his brother Gísli to death in Norway in April last year, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison, Vísir reported this morning. The Grapevine previously covered the story when the trial began in September. In accordance with coronavirus restrictions, the verdict was presented to Gunnar in prison.
The verdict seems to be in line with the prosecutor’s case, which demanded 13 years on the grounds that Gunnar killed his brother deliberately, having threatened him beforehand.
The defence’s case was that it was an accidental shooting and that Gunnar should be sentenced to only 4 or 5 years, for manslaughter by negligence. This argument was put forward by Gunnar’s defence lawyer, Bjorn Andre Gulstad. Clearly, the prosecutor’s case was found to be the most convincing.
Gunnar Jóhann claimed that he only meant to intimidate his half-brother and that the shots had been fired by accident. He had threatened both Gísli and his grandmother two months earlier, however. He had argued with Gísli after learning that Gísli had entered into a relationship with his ex-wife, and based on his threats was banned from approaching them. He also had a criminal record in Iceland for both rape and aggravated violence.
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