The man currently in police custody suspected of murder in Barðavogur on June 4th received a sentence for violence in 2020. This is reported by mbl.is.
In addition to being convicted of a violent crime, the man was also convicted of violating child protection law for the same incident. In that instance he was convicted for behaving violently, aggressively, and disrespectfully towards a young boy.
As stated in the article by mbl.is, this was, as far as is known, the first time that the man, Magnús Aron Magnússon, was convicted of a criminal offense. The incident in question took place in October 2019. Magnússon was underage at the time; just under eighteen years old. He was born in December 2001.
Apparently Magnússon received a 30-day prison sentence for the offense in question, however, the sentence was suspended for two years. Magnús received his sentence on June 24th, 2020. By that account, he was still on probation when the murder in the residential building in Barðavogur was committed.
Continued custody is expected
Einar Guðberg Jónsson, police officer with the police in the Reykjavík metropolitan area, says in an interview with mbl.is that he expects the police to demand continued custody of the suspect, who was sentenced to just over three weeks in custody upon arrest, based on public and investigative interests. The custody expires on July 1st.
According to Jónsson, a custody until the beginning of the trial will likely be requested. He says the police are well on their way in the investigation but that they are waiting for certain key elements, such as a report from a forensic pathologist and medical data.
Neighbors were worried
Magnússon is believed to be struggling with mental health problems. There have been several reports of neighbors being adamant that he should not have been living in a general residential area at all, but in a special living situation through the health care system. It remains unknown whether any requests have been made for him previously in the health care system.
It has been reported that neighbors and other residents in the Langholt-district in Reykjavík have long been concerned about Magnússon’ threatening behavior. For instance, there have been reports of him being violent against dogs in the neighborhood.
This article was originally published in Icelandic.