“It all happened in seconds” – Supreme Court acquits Steinþór Einarsson

Steinþór Einarsson has been acquitted of all charges related to the death of Tómas Waagfjörð following a violent altercation in Ólafsfjörður in October 2022. The Supreme Court has upheld the Court of Appeal’s (Landsréttur) ruling to overturn an earlier eight-year prison sentence handed down by the District Court of Northeast Iceland.

“This is a textbook example of the legal principle that a person should not be punished if they acted in fear or shock and could not reasonably be expected to exercise self-control,” says attorney Vilhjálmur Hans Vilhjálmsson, who represented Steinþór Einarsson in the latter stages of the case.

A question of seconds, not separate events

Vilhjálmsson explains that the key turning point was how the Court of Appeal assessed the sequence of events—as a single, continuous incident—rather than dividing it into separate acts, as the district court had done. The appeals court applied the second paragraph of Article 12 of Iceland’s General Penal Code, which allows for acquittal in cases where a person acts outside the limits of lawful self-defense due to being overcome by fear or confusion.

“This didn’t unfold over minutes or hours—it happened in mere seconds,” says Vilhjálmsson. “The idea that this could be split into two separate events doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.”

The night of the incident

The fatal altercation occurred after Tómas Waagfjörð arrived at the home of a female friend, where Steinþór Einarsson happened to be visiting. Waagfjörð had reportedly been trying, unsuccessfully, to reach his wife—who was staying at the home—via repeated phone calls. Upon arrival, an argument broke out. Witnesses say Waagfjörð suddenly pulled a knife and attacked Einarsson with little to no warning.

During the struggle, Waagfjörð inflicted one stab wound to Einarson’s thigh and attempted another to his neck. Einarsson dodged the second blow, which struck his jaw instead, breaking a molar. In response, Steinþór managed to defend himself, resulting in two stab wounds to Waagfjörð, one of which hit a major artery in his hip. Waagfjörð later died of his injuries.

“There were knife marks on the curtains and the back of the chair Einarsson was sitting in,” Vilhjálmsson notes. “This wasn’t a clean, isolated act—this was a fight for survival, and both courts above the district level agreed.”

A rare legal reversal

The case took a dramatic turn as it moved through the courts. The district court had sentenced Einarsson to eight years in prison, despite the prosecution itself expressing that no punishment might be warranted given the circumstances. “That alone is highly unusual,” Vilhjálmsson says. “Even more odd was the court’s reasoning, which hinged on things like a yoga ball that happened to be in the room.”

Once the case reached the Court of Appeal, the defendant was acquitted. Surprisingly, the prosecution then appealed the case to the Supreme Court—seeking a harsher sentence than the one originally issued, despite having earlier argued for leniency.

“This approach by the prosecution was strange from the beginning,” Vilhjálmsson says. “They argued one thing in district court and something entirely different before the Supreme Court.”

Possible claim for damages

With the case now concluded at all judicial levels, could Steinþór Einarsson seek compensation from the state?

Vilhjálmsson believes so. “Naturally, his attention is elsewhere right now—he’s just relieved by the outcome after years of legal uncertainty. But I believe he does have grounds for a compensation claim against the Icelandic state.”

He concludes: “This was almost a unique case. I can only recall one other instance, perhaps around 1940, where the same legal clause was applied.”

The case that began with tragedy in Ólafsfjörður in the early hours of October 3, 2022, has now reached its legal conclusion—with Steinþór Einarsson declared innocent.