‘My son said he was off to play football… then police arrived at my door to say he was a HITMAN who’d been arrested in a Huddersfield hotel room with a gun and £2,000 cash’: Middle-class mother tells of every parent’s social media worst nightmare
A Norwegian mother, Ellen Kongsnes, has spoken out after her son Johannes Natland was arrested in a hotel room in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, and revealed to be working as a hitman, in what she describes as every parent's worst social media nightmare. Natland had left the family's home in Stavanger, south-west Norway, on 17 March last year, telling his mother he was going to play football and would return that evening, but instead disappeared for several days before contacting her by text.
Kongsnes said her anxiety grew as the days passed without her son coming home, and she tried various ways to persuade him to return. He was later found in a hotel room in Huddersfield, where he was arrested by police in possession of a firearm and £2,000 in cash, having reportedly been recruited as a hitman. The case has been highlighted as an example of how young people can be drawn into serious criminality, seemingly through contacts made online.
- Norwegian teen vanished after saying he was playing football
- Found arrested in Huddersfield hotel with gun, £2,000 cash
- Mother says he had become a hitman
New here? Start with this
The story concerns a Norwegian teenager from Stavanger who travelled to England and became involved in a serious criminal case. His mother says he left home saying he was going to play football, then disappeared for several days.
Police arrested him in a hotel in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, where they found a gun and cash. He was reportedly recruited to carry out a killing, and the case has drawn attention to how online contacts may expose young people to criminal networks.
His mother, Ellen Kongsnes, has described the shock and worry families can face when a child’s online life leads into dangerous situations. The case matters because it raises questions about how young people can be drawn into serious crime and how families may recognise what is happening.