Police have suspect in art theft

OSLO, Norway – Police have a suspect in the bold daylight robbery in which two Edvard Munch masterpieces were taken, but declined Thursday to say how close they are to finding the priceless missing paintings.

“The Scream” and “Madonna” were stolen Aug. 22 from Oslo’s Munch museum by three masked robbers, at least one with a gun. There has been no sign of the works, although Norwegian news media, citing sources in criminal circles, said “Madonna” may be seriously damaged.

Oslo Assistant Police Chief Iver Stensrud confirmed that a man brought in for questioning Wednesday was a suspect in the theft.

The unidentified man was released but is still considered a suspect, Stensrud said.

“It is all part of the investigation,” Stensrud told the Associated Press. He declined to say what the man had been questioned about.

The suspect’s lawyer, Sverre Naess, said his client has an alibi for the time of the theft. Naess noted that although the man was considered a suspect, he had not been charged.

Naess said police questioned his client about an Audi station wagon that was used in the robbery and was later abandoned.

“He denied any knowledge of the robbery or the car. He was not asked about the robbery itself, but at any rate has an alibi,” Naess told the Norwegian news agency NTB.

Norway’s newspapers have reported that the getaway car passed through the hands of several known criminals in the months ahead of the robbery.

Stensrud said he remains confident the robbery will be solved and the paintings will be recovered.

“I am optimistic. I believe it will be cleared up,” he said. “But this can take time. It could happen quickly, or it could happen this summer.”

Another version of “The Scream” – one of four Munch painted – was stolen from Oslo’s National Gallery in 1994, but was recovered a few months later in a sting operation.

Munch, a Norwegian, developed an emotionally charged painting style that was of great importance in the birth of the 20th century Expressionist movement. “The Scream” and “Madonna” were part of his “Frieze of Life” series in which sickness, death, anxiety and love are central themes. He died in 1944 at the age of 80.