Edgar Antonsen (1940 – 2 August 1993) was a Norwegian serial killer and rapist who was responsible for at least three murders and rapes committed in Vestfold and Møre og Romsdal from 1962 to 1974, some with the aid of his half-brother.
Convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975, he was prematurely released in 1988 and committed suicide five years later to avoid an impending arrest for sexually abusing a young girl.
In late July 1974, the two men were driving in a car when they chanced upon 31-year-old Oddbjørg Helene Jystad, a photographer from Oslo who was trying to hitchhike home after attending Moldejazz.
[5] On 19 October, the pair were driving their car around Ørsta when they took notice of 12-year-old Bodil Brungot, who was hitchhiking home and partying at a disco with friends until the late evening hours.
[6] The Antonsen's brothers gave her a lift, and the moment she entered their car, Terje jumped in the back and held her while Edgar drove them to the rural area of Øyesetra.
[7] In the following weeks, police continued gathering evidence in the case, further cementing the brothers' guilt after investigating a report about a burglary in a rural cabin: upon searching it, they found numerous items that were later identified as belonging to Brungot.
[2] On 5 November, after being subjected to lengthy interrogations and suffering the effects of withdrawal, Terje broke down and gave a partial confession, admitting that he and Edgar had kidnapped, raped, and killed Brungot.
Both of them were assessed for competency, with psychiatrists concluding that Edgar was an "incurable psychopath" who took pleasure in torturing people and animals, while Terje was simply easily manipulated and could be rehabilitated.
He lived in a small house isolated from any neighbours, and in his free time reportedly enjoyed painting roses on various objects and attending fairs and exhibitions.
On one occasion, the Brungots even visited their daughter's grave only to find it had been decorated with a large number of roses – when they asked friends and relatives if they had done it, they all replied in the negative.
[1] In early August 1993, the Alta Police Department received a report that a man named 'Olav Stensrud' was wanted for the rape of a 10-year-old girl, allegedly the daughter of his supervisor.
A few months after his death, Antonsen was posthumously accused of committing the so-called Tistedalen Murders by Roger Haglund, the man who was initially arrested in the case.
He claimed that he had been forced into confessing to the crimes by Antonsen, but as the former was deceased by that time and with the introduction of evidence pointing towards his guilt, Haglund later retracted the statements and was subsequently convicted of the murders.