Høiby Admits Violence but Disputes Key Claims in Frogner Case

0:00 Ah Caalarogu Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Crown and Controversy Norway. I'm your Palace Intrigue host Mark Francis. Thursday, Marty turning point in the trial of Marius borg Weibi for the first time, Crown Princess Metamrit's son gave extended testimony about the relationship at the center of many of the charges, the relationship with the woman known in Norwegian media as the Frogner Woman. The day began with Hoiby taking the witness stand to respond directly to her testimony from the previous two days. As always, we're using AI to translate the quotes and in some places into polatd the words to adjust for tenses. Weiby opened that by telling the court that he did not recognize the version of events she had described. The explanation I heard yesterday, I don't recognize it. I felt that a lot was exaggerated and some of it simply wasn't true. The statements set the tone for much of his testimony throughout the day.

1:03 Hoebe acknowledged a number of specific incidents, but pushed back against the broader narrative presented by prosecutors and the alleged victim. The court then moved through the charges connected to the relationship one by one. In several instances, Hoeby admitted that incidents had occurred. He acknowledged spitting in the woman's face during an argument in the summer of twenty twenty four. He also admitted breaking her laptop during a fight. According to his description in court, the incident began during an argument in which the woman said she was planning to travel to see a former partner. I took the laptop and snapped it in two, he told the court. Asked what state of mind he was in at the time, he replied simply, I was angry and sad. Another charge concerns intimate images of the woman taken without her consent.

1:51 Weiby admitted responsibility for one of those incidents. I did it, He said it should never have happened, but he denied other allegations involving images and rectus courtings. One charge involves a claim that he filmed that the woman without her consent during a trip to Berlin early in the relationship, Whereby told the court he did not believe that description was accurate. She saw that I was filming and didn't stop me, but asked me to delete it, adding that he believed the recording had been deleted at the time. To this day, I don't understand where that video came from, because we sat together and deleted it. During the testimony, the judge also questioned him about a violent argument in which he allegedly struck the woman with an open hand, where he told the court he does not clearly remember the moment, but he said the description sounded plausible. It sounds like it happened, adding it was incredibly stupid. It should never have happened. No one deserves that. He told the court that arguments often revolved around accusations of infidelity and substance abuse. There was a lot of alcohol, he said.

2:52 At another point, he spoke about how arguments between the two could escalate. He described what he called the woman's calm demeanor during conflicts, calling it the scariest thing you can encounter. She becomes completely calm and emotionless. According to his account, she would sometimes say things such as that she had never loved him or that she planned to sleep with other people, delivering those statements calmly during arguments. Earlier in the day, the court also heard additional testimony about an incident at the Oslo nightclub Michael's Weeby said he had been drinking heavily that night and acknowledged that the woman's description of events from that evening was largely accurate. There was a lot of alcohol, he said. According to the earlier testimony, that night ended with an argument in which he grabbed her and shouted at her. After leaving the club, Hoiby went to an after party where he met another woman. The prosecution alleges that he later raped her while she was asleep. Hoyby denis that allegation. Later in the proceedings, the court turned to another incident involving property damage. The judge asked about a moment when hoybe punched through a glass door during an argument. Webby told the court he remembers breaking the door, but does not remember threatening the woman in the way she described. The most significant moment of the day came when the court began addressing the violent incident that ultimately triggered the police investigation into Hoyby. That incident occurred on August fourth, twenty twenty four, in the woman's apartment in Frogner. According to prosecutors, the confrontation involved shouting, physical violence, and a knife thrown into a wall. It was the event that led to

4:23 Hoiby's first arrest and set the entire criminal case in motion. When the judge reached that part of the indictment, Hoeby appeared visibly emotional. He told the court the episode was difficult for him to discuss. That incident is pretty massive and it takes a lot out of me, he said. He then made an important statement about his position. I admit the violence now, he told the court. But he added that he only partially accepted the legal classification of the offense. The reason I partially admitted is that I don't believe it meets the requirements for it to be gross. At that point, the court decided to stop the testimony for the day, more crowning controversy in just a moment.

5:04 Police confirmed Thursday that they have opened a separate investigation into possible interference with the justice process. The investigation stems from testimony suggesting that a close friend of Weeby may have attempted to influence what the Frogner woman said during police interviews. Her lawyer, Meta Yvon Larsen questioned the witness about that possibility in court. Did you give her any advice about what she should say to the police, she asked. The witness initially said he did not remember, before giving different answers afterward. Larcental reporters she believed the responses were unclear. I think I got quite vague answers, she said. Asked whether she believes the witness had tried to influence her client, Larsen responded, my impression is yes. Police later confirmed that a case has now been opened. When court reconvenes today, the first item will be the reading of additional messages connected to the allegations involving Nora Hauckland. After that, Weeby will continue his testimony. He is expected to give a full account of the August fourth, twenty twenty four incident, the violent confrontation in the Frogner apartment that ultimately led to his arrest, and the start of the investigation. That testimony is likely to be one of the most closely watched moments of the trial so far. Portions of this program are assembled with the assistance of AI, including help with translations, summarizations, and news gathering from publicly available sources.

6:24 While we've taken care to reflect the reporting accurately. Translations and interpretations may contain errors. Listeners should treat this as an informational overview, not a verbatim court record. Nothing in this program should be considered a factual finding or legal determination. And there you have it. If you like to email us addresses the Palace intrig at gmail dot com. Please follow us on Spotify, Apple and the Apple of your choice IM Francis. Thanks to John McDermott. This is Crown and Controversy Norway,