Five Danish Fishermen Charged With Killing a Shipmate

Five fishermen have been detained by authorities in the village of Thyboron, Denmark in connection with the violent death of a new shipmate. 

On the morning of January 30, Danish authorities received a request for assistance from the fishing vesel Inger Katrine, which was operating in the North Sea. The crew reported that a crewmember was unresponsive and lifeless, and asked for a medevac. A helicopter flew the victim to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. 

Weather in the North Sea was foul at the time, and it was not safe for the Inger Katrine to return to port in Thyboron, nor was it practical for the authorities to board the vessel to investigate. She finally entered the harbor on Wednesday, and local police arrested her crew at the pier. The vessel and a fish hold full of plaice were detained while investigators scoured the ship for clues. 

On Thursday, a local court heard charges that the crew had killed their crewmate by means of assault and strangulation. The coroner's autopsy report laid out details consistent with a violent attack, including bruising, bleeding in the throat, three fractured vertebrae and bleeding in the eyes from burst capillaries, according to TV Midvest. 

The closed-door hearing lasted all day, and in the evening, the court ordered all five men held in custody for four weeks, in line with a request from prosecutors. All of the accused have pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter, and they have appealed the court's detention ruling.

Local media have identified the victim as Alf Villum Jensen, 41. His widow, Louise Villum Jensen, told local media that Alf was nervous before this trip.

"He had never met that crew before, but he said they had told him that in the last year they had never had a new man last more than a fortnight. I tried to cheer him up, said that it would be fine, because he was good at that. But I could tell he knew it wasn't going to go well," she told Dagbladet Ringkobing Skjern.