The camera was turned on and off four times before the car fire.

It was just one of six surveillance cameras that worked in the hours leading up to the car fire, but it also went on and off four times before the fire. When the fire started, the camera was off.

On Friday morning, police officer Marius Bø Nilsen entered the PST witness box. He spent several hours with surveillance cameras in connection with the car fire in Røa and put together a video of the most important incidents. This video is now playing in court.

Among other things, Nilsen has reviewed video from a hidden camera that was placed outside the couple’s property. As for the property’s cameras, only one of the six worked that night, but this one was also turned off when the fire started.

The hidden PST camera worked the entire time, but it only covered the driveway and street outside the property. The camera did not cover the car. Bertheussen and Wara knew that a hidden camera had been placed off their property.

Nilsen has also reviewed the movements recorded by the sensors at the property that night.

Bertheussen and Wara’s car caught fire on the night of March 10 last year. Bertheussen was home alone when the car began to burn. Four days after the car fire, Laila Anita Bertheussen was arrested.

Both Bertheussen and Wara are present in room 250 on Friday. It is the last day of evidence in the case. Proceedings in the case will begin Wednesday.

Nilsen continuously comments on what you see on the video and the timing of the movements recorded by the sensors on the property. It says, among other things, that the camera that filmed the car the night before the fire was out of service for a short period. There were four camera cuts that afternoon and that night.

The video also documents that police drove to the property multiple times that night and stayed there for a few minutes before continuing. That night there were no permanent security guards outside the house because Justice Minister Wara was abroad.

Unknown man on neighboring property

The road camera captured an apparently drunk man passing the Bertheussen / Wara property. This man first entered a neighboring property and was there for almost five minutes. Then he went to another neighboring property. It was there for 78 seconds before heading out and down towards Ullern. He disappeared from the photo about half an hour before the fire started.

When asked by the judge if any floodlights were activated on the Bertheussen / Wara property during the relevant period, Nilsen replied that it did not happen.

The man has not been identified.

– Someone pulled the cable

At 01.12, the front door of the house was opened for ten seconds. Right before that, according to Nilsen, the headlights went out for a while.

At 1:13 a.m., there was again a pause in the chamber lasting more than two minutes. It was the second of four breaches that afternoon / evening. At the same time, sensors have registered that the exit door was opened in just under two minutes. The door was closed at 01.15.39.

Ten seconds after the door was closed, activity was recorded on the PC to which the camera was connected. Then the camera connection was restored.

At 1:20, the front door was reopened and was open for ten minutes and 38 seconds. At 01:23, another violation of the video system was recorded. This pause lasted only 13 seconds.

According to Nilsen, this may indicate that someone has pulled and entered the cable.

New camera breaks just before the fire started

The fourth and last offense was registered on 01.25.49. This pause lasted just under six minutes. During this breach, the front door was open. The door was closed at 01.30.

There was also a movement on Bertheussen’s phone lasting just under four minutes during this period.

– When the camera was reconnected, you can see that there is a fire in the car, says Nilsen from the witness stand.

At 01:32, a vertical movement was registered on Bertheussen’s phone. The prosecution believes that he then went up to the second floor bedroom.

At 01:38, a taxi passenger saw something suspicious in the Wara / Bertheussen plot. He asked the driver to drive back to the couple’s property and later discovered the fire. He was the one who alerted the police

The taxi customer knew that the then Minister of Justice Wara lived there and told the police.

Then the car was opened. Before the conversation, the taxi driver and the passenger had tried to put out the fire with snow.

Before long, the police were outside the house. Also, a dog patrol was in place after a few minutes and did a search of the property. 17 minutes had passed since the fire was discovered.

After the video was shown, Prosecutor Formo was able to briefly say that the switch in the surveillance system worked all weekend. He asked if there could be other perpetrators setting the car on fire.

Nilsen then replied that whoever did it must have a good understanding of the facility. Nilsen was also able to say that they did not see any unauthorized persons entering or leaving the property. It was the taxi driver, his client, police and firefighters who had been on the property.

So there’s no trace in the snow

After Nilsen, it was a police officer from the Oslo Police District who took the witness stand. He was part of the first police patrol at the scene after a report of the car fire.

This patrol was also off the property in Røa at 12:45 AM, approximately 50 minutes before the fire. He then stayed there for four minutes before continuing. According to the policewoman, there was nothing abnormal there at the time.

When news of the fire came, she was one of the first to arrive.

– We were told to check that the defendant was at home. My partner and I rang the bell several times, but no one answered the door, the officer told the court.

They looked for footprints in the snow in the garden next to the house, but they didn’t see any traces. Bertheussen has previously said that he had seen footprints in the snow between the house and the hedge.

Wanted with dog for clues

After the lunch break, the court received a telephone explanation from the dog handler who arrived at the home shortly after police were notified of the car fire. The dog is approved and trained to search for people and objects that have been in contact with humans.

– I started with a search of the car, but I knew there were other policemen. So I went back to Vækerøveien and went down. Hiked a trail and ended up in a backyard. Then I came back, the policewoman said.

Eventually the police officer and the dog ended up on Bertheussen and Wara’s property. The plot was searched without the dog reacting to anything.

– If a perpetrator had moved through the hedge and property, would the dog have marked him? asked actor Formo.

To this, the dog handler replied that the dog would have.

Attorney Heiberg took the floor and wondered if the dog had marked other places off the property. The dog hadn’t either.

– There were a lot of people walking in Vækerøveien. How is it possible that the dog has not marked anything? Heiberg asked.

– I am aware that there are many people in Vækerøveien. Therefore, I focused more on the rear of the property and not so much on the main road.

The police officer later repeated that it was not so relevant to search for clues in an area where many people had passed.