A trans-identified male is being investigated by Norwegian authorities for the brutal murder of his partner, a trans-identified female. Initial media reports which had previously identified the suspected killer as a man were altered soon afterwards to describe him as a “woman” despite him being biologically male, with the victim, a biological female, being described as a “man.”
On the evening of November 27, 2023, a 22 year-old female who went by the name Oliver Ravn Rønning was beaten to death with a baseball bat at her apartment in Porsgrunn, which she had just moved into days before with her partner. Rønning is a female who identifies as a man, while her partner is a male who identifies as a woman.
The suspect, 19, was known to local law enforcement for having been reported in multiple previous cases of domestic violence against the now-deceased Rønning.
One episode of such violence occurred on October 12, when the male suspect reportedly sat on Rønning, choking her and pounding her head against the floor. Following this incident, police assessed the male perpetrator as being at a “medium risk” for recurring violence.
On October 31, just two weeks later, the same situation was reported to authorities again: the trans-identified male choking Rønning while beating her in the head. After this incident, the suspect was re-classified as having a “high risk of violence.”
However, despite being aware of ongoing abuse, authorities did not take appropriate action to prevent the homicide – a matter which has now been taken up by Marit Storeng, head of prosecution investigations in the Bureau of Police Affairs.
News outlet Kragerø Blad reported that the trans-identified male suspect “began to dress in girls’ clothes” while in high school, and was described by those who know him as someone who “could become enraged over little things.”
Reduxx has located social media profiles belonging to the victim wherein Rønning used a pseudonym to exhibit her sketches.
In one YouTube video, recorded in 2022, Rønning talks while illustrating a self-portrait and severe self-harm scars can be seen on the young woman’s forearms.
In a rambling monologue she compared to an appointment with a psychologist, Rønning praises the value of suffering, saying: “Pleasure has a tendency to dull out the more you experience it, like a drug that you build resistance to… but pain isn’t as fleeting. Pain is a solid way of awakening the senses. That’s why I want to feel more of it. There’s something freeing about the lack of respect you find in pain and distress… I have a tendency to get addicted to the darker parts of life.”
On her Instagram, Rønning posted copies of her artwork, many of which featured themes of depression, body image issues, and stress.
While both the press and police in Norway have not named the suspect, Reduxx received a tip from a Norwegian local on the killer’s identity, and was able to successfully trace his social media accounts.
Photos of the killer, who Reduxx will refer to only as Jonas, show that he appeared to live a normal life and had a close extended family. His grandmother, whom he appeared to have lived with for a period of time, is affectionately known in her small community as the “cat lady,” and was profiled by Norwegian news during the 2021 election cycle.
As late as 2021, Jonas did not appear to identify as a female.
In mid-2022, however, photos began to appear on Jonas’ Instagram account showing him with long hair and wearing women’s clothes. On the account, Jonas writes that his preferred pronouns are “they/them.” His last post was on August 3, 2023 — two months ahead of the murder.
Some Norwegian sources have speculated that both Rønning and Jonas were once patients of a prominent gender clinician who was recently deemed “unfit to practice responsibly” by the Norwegian Health Authority. But Østlandsposten reported that Jonas had begun illicit hormones without medical supervision just before the slaying.
While the murder itself has shaken Norway, the way in which national media has approached the case has left readers confused.
Many news reports have altered language used to refer to both the victim and suspect, or have described the case as one in which a man was allegedly murdered by his girlfriend, obfuscating the sexes of those involved completely.
Østlandsposten referred to the female victim as a “young man” who was said to have been “afraid of his girlfriend, a teenage boy, 18, who wants to be referred to as a woman.” Meanwhile, police prosecutor Odd Skei Kostveit told news outlet Telemarksavisa that law enforcement intends to “refer to the two involved as they themselves wanted.”
In official records, the deceased 22-year-old victim is registered as a woman, while the 18-year-old accused of murder is registered as a man.
A trial has been scheduled for June 17.
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