And that led Judge Betina Heldmann to close the doors to the court hearing. She believed that it would “hinder the information of the case”, as it is stated in the Code of Judicial Procedure, if Gotthard did not give an explanation to the court on Tuesday.
Thus, the murder accused priest has succeeded in a maneuver that the infamous killer Peter Lundin tried back in the year 2000. A maneuver that Lundin did not succeed in at the time.
Lundin had confessed to police that he had killed his girlfriend and her two sons. That explanation would have him to give in court so that one could advance the case as a confession case.
But the court in Rødovre would not agree to that at the time, and the Eastern High Court agreed. The two courts said at the time that it should not be up to the accused to dispose of the public in the administration of justice.
Still, Betina Heldmann chose to close the doors precisely because Thomas Gotthard will not give an explanation with journalists and listeners present in the courtroom.
If Thomas Gotthard does not confess in court, then the case must be conducted with ordinary evidence and judged by both judges and juries. Such a case is already scheduled to take place later in the autumn.
This is how it ended in its time in the Lund case. Here one had to wait five months for a decision at a jury trial. However, the courts at the time ruled that the consideration of a public administration of justice outweighed the consideration of obtaining a confession and thus the possibility of concluding the case more quickly.
Later on Tuesday, if Thomas Gotthard confesses, a court hearing will be held, which has the character of an actual confession case. Here, the court will presumably account for what has been explained behind closed doors.
Whether there will be a court hearing later Tuesday, however, depends on whether Thomas Gotthard makes a confession or not.
Maria From Jakobsen was reported missing by a family member in the autumn. After a few weeks, her husband, Thomas Gotthard, was arrested and jailed. However, police had not found any body.
Before the summer holidays, however, the North Zealand Police announced that they had found “earthly remains” from Maria From Jakobsen, and that they were thus sure that she was dead. At that time, charges had already been filed for the murder and disposal of corpses.
Source: The Nordic Page