Einar Örn Birgisson (27 September 1973 – 8 November 2000) was an Icelandic footballer and businessman. He played football for several years in Iceland and Norway, winning the Icelandic championship and Icelandic Cup in 1999 with KR.[1] In November 2000, he was murdered by his business partner and former teammate Atli Helgason.[2][3][4]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | September 27, 1973 | ||
| Place of birth | Reykjavík, Iceland | ||
| Date of death | 8 November 2000 (aged 27) | ||
| Place of death | Reykjavík, Iceland | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Valur | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1993 | Víkingur | 3 | (0) |
| 1994 | Valur | 4 | (1) |
| 1995 | Víkingur | 10 | (4) |
| 1996–1997 | Þróttur Reykjavík | 25 | (13) |
| 1998 | Lyn | 9 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | KR | 6 | (2) |
| 2000 | HK | 9 | (6) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Football career
editEinar played youth football for Valur.[5] He later played senior football for Víkingur, Valur and Þróttur Reykjavík. He had his breakout season in 1997, finishing tied for third most goals in the Icelandic top-tier league.[6] In 1998, he joined Lyn in Norway. After a good start with the club, he suffered an injury and missed most of the season. He left Lyn following the season due to its financial difficulties where they required him to take a 65% paycut.[7] In 1999, he joined KR where he won the Icelandic championship and the Icelandic Cup. He left the club in April 2000 after a disagreement with manager Pétur Pétursson and later sued KR for the remainder of his salary.[8] He joined HK the same year, scoring 6 goals in 9 matches.[9]
On 7 November 2000, he played for Valur's reserve team, which also included singer Stefán Hilmarsson, in the 32 team stage of the Icelandic Handball Cup, scoring 3 goals in the reserve's team loss to ÍR.[10]
Death
editOn 8 November 2000, Einar went missing which resulted in a massive search operation in the south part of Iceland.[11][12][13] A week later, his business partner Atli Helgason confessed to his murder, having beaten Einar four times in his head with a hammer in Öskjuhlíð in Reykjavík and hiding his body near Grindavík.[14][15] On 29 May 2001, Atli was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the murder.[16] He was released from prison in 2010.[17][2] His case was featured in the Icelandic TV show Mannshvörf (e. Disappearances) and Kastljós.[4]
Personal life
editEinar was the son of Aldís Einarsdóttir, a former handball player,[18] and Birgir Örn Birgis, one of the inaugural players of the Iceland men's national basketball team.[19]
References
edit- ^ "Einar Örn hættir hjá KR". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 14 April 2000. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ^ a b "Sagan öll – Segja foreldra Einars hafa látist úr sorg – Sagði Atli allan sannleikann? – Bróðir Atla dó eftir eftirför lögreglu". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 27 May 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ^ "Atli lögfræðingur myrti í Öskuhlíð og faldi líkið:"Í næstu andrá stóð ég yfir Einari vini mínum látnum"". Mannlíf (in Icelandic). 23 August 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ^ a b Aðalsteinn Kjartansson (19 January 2016). "Mannshvörf: Þegar Einar Örn hvarf sporlaust". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ^ Lárus Sigurðsson (2000). "Einar Örn Birgis". Valsblaðið (in Icelandic). p. 63. Retrieved 20 June 2023 – via Tímarit.is.
- ^ "Lokastaðan 1997". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 22 September 1997. p. 28. Retrieved 20 June 2023 – via Tímarit.is.
- ^ "Norska liðið Lyn á barmi gjaldþrots". Dagur (in Icelandic). 14 October 1998. p. 12. Retrieved 20 June 2023 – via Tímarit.is.
- ^ "Einar Örn Birgisson hyggst stefna KR". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 4 July 2000. p. B8. Retrieved 20 June 2023 – via Tímarit.is.
- ^ "HK - 2. deild karla 2000". ksi.is (in Icelandic). Football Association of Iceland. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ "Heppnir". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 8 November 2000. pp. 16, 33. Retrieved 23 June 2023 – via Tímarit.is.
- ^ "Víðtæk leit aðstandenda og björgunarsveitarmanna". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 12 November 2000. p. 2. Retrieved 20 June 2023 – via Tímarit.is.
- ^ "Ekki talinn hafa farið úr landi". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 13 November 2000. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 20 June 2023 – via Tímarit.is.
- ^ Snærós Sindradóttir (19 January 2016). "Faðir Einars Arnar: Uppreist æru Atla sem blaut tuska í andlitið". Vísir.is. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
- ^ "Atli játaði". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 16 November 2000. pp. 1, 2, 28. Retrieved 20 June 2023 – via Tímarit.is.
- ^ "Banamein talið vera þungt höfuðhögg". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 17 November 2000. pp. 84, 6. Retrieved 20 June 2023 – via Tímarit.is.
- ^ "Dómur í máli ákæruvaldsins gegn Atla Helgasyni". Morgunblaðið. 29 May 2001. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
- ^ Samúel Karl Ólason (18 January 2016). "Atli Helgason búinn að fá uppreist æru". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 29 May 2018.
- ^ "Syrgir son og eiginkonu". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 1 October 2005. pp. 32–33. Retrieved 20 June 2023 – via Tímarit.is.
- ^ "Einstakt ljúfmenni". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 18 November 2000. p. 19. Retrieved 20 June 2023 – via Tímarit.is.
