The Martine Vik Magnussen case involves the

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

and

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

of 23-year-old Norwegian female business student Martine Vik Magnussen. Her body was found hidden under rubble in the basement of a block of flats in

Great Portland Street Great Portland Street in the West End of London links Oxford Street with Albany Street and the A501 Marylebone Road and Euston Road. A commercial street including some embassies, it divides Fitzrovia, to the east, from Marylebone to the west. ...

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

, London, on 16 March 2008. She died from compression to the neck, the cause of strangulation. Farouk Abdulhak, the son of billionaire and one of

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

's wealthiest men

Shaher Abdulhak Shaher Abdulhak (; 1938 – 2 October 2020) was a Yemeni businessman. Career In 1963 Abdulhak founded the company "Shaher Trading", an enterprise involved in petroleum, soft drinks, tourism and property. Abdulhak was known as the "King of Sugar ...

, is the only suspect in the case. In March 2023, a BBC journalist reported that the suspect said to her (but not in person), that "I don't remember what happened". When the journalist was back in England, he allegedly texted her: "It was just an accident. ..Just a sex accident gone wrong".

Murder and investigation

Magnussen was last seen alive sometime between 02:00 and 03:00 GMT on 14 March 2008 at the Maddox nightclub in London's wealthy

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

district, more than a mile from the basement where her body was found. The club's official website states that since its opening, it has been London's hottest members' club, attracting everyone from

P Diddy Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent direct ...

to Keira Knightley. Friends reported Magnussen missing to police on 15 March 2008. Police appealed for a man of Arab appearance, with whom Magnussen is believed to have left the club, to come forward. In early April 2008, it was still unknown when Magnussen's body was to be returned to Norway from London, but in late April it was known that the body was being returned, and a funeral was to be held in Asker, off

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

in April/May 2008. As of March 2016, Detective Chief Inspector Andy Partridge of the

Metropolitan Police Service The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

's Homicide & Major Crime Command has said:

This case is still very much a live investigation. Farouk Abdulhak remains wanted for the rape and murder of Martine Vik Magnussen. Farouk Abdulhak has known for the past eight years now that he is wanted for the rape and murder of Magnussen. There have been extensive diplomatic efforts made over this time to return him to the UK, to no avail. This anniversary should serve as a further reminder that he cannot put this behind him, it will not go away and I appeal to him and those close to him to advise him to return to the UK to stand trial.

2008 arrest of suspected accomplice

On 30 April 2008, a man in his 50s was arrested, on suspicion of assisting an offender.

2022 arrest of second suspected accomplice

On 8 March 2022, police announced the arrest of an unnamed woman on charges of "assisting an offender" in the case. The woman is in her 60s.

Missing items

A number of items Magnussen wore when she was last seen, were not found when police discovered her body. Scotland Yard has published photos of similar items. The missing items are:

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...

earrings, snakeskin shoes, a

Marc Jacobs Marc Jacobs (born April 9, 1963) is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for his own fashion label, Marc Jacobs, and formerly Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, which was produced for approximately 15 years, before it was d ...

handbag, a

Guess A guess (or an act of guessing) is a swift conclusion drawn from data directly at hand, and held as probable or tentative, while the person making the guess (the guesser) admittedly lacks material for a greater degree of certainty. A guess is als ...

watch, a silver costume diamond ring, and her jeans (described as blue and of a "skinny" fit).

Suspect

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

wishes to question the man that Magnussen left the club with on the night she was murdered, Farouk Abdulhak, her fellow student and the son of billionaire and one of

's wealthiest men

. Abdulhak and Magnussen were seen leaving the Maddox nightclub in the early hours of 14 March 2008, and getting into a cab together. He lived in the block of flats where she was found. Police have flight records showing that Abdulhak left London for

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

on 14 March 2008, and believe he then fled to Yemen.Arrest made in Martine murder
,

Aftenposten ( in the masthead; ; Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen) and estimated 1.2 million ...

, 2 May 2008 It is believed that the suspect proceeded from Cairo to Sanaa, capital of Yemen, in his father's private plane. On 30 July 2008, he was officially named a suspect by the Metropolitan Police, and listed as wanted on Scotland Yard's "Wanted" site.Suspect named in Norwegian student's murder
,

, 30 July 2008 In March 2023, the BBC claimed that the victim had been in the suspect's apartment on several occasions; furthermore, the BBC reported that a named friend of the victim had said that Magnussen "would often crash at his flat as it was so central". Abdulhak is understood by the police (as of 30 July 2008) to be living in Yemen. Since the UK requested to question Abdulhak, there has been the 2011–12 revolution in the country and a

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, which started in 2014, is ongoing.Suspect named in student murder

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

, 30 July 2008

Victim

Martine Vik Magnussen was born in Nesøya, in Asker, Norway. Magnussen was a former student at

Kristelig Gymnasium 230px, Gamlebygget at Kristelig Gymnasium Kristelig Gymnasium (KG), founded in 1913, is a selective, private Christian college preparatory school located in Oslo, Norway. The school offers 3 years of college preparatory studies at the high school ...

in Oslo, Norway, a private Christian school. She worked for clothing retail stores in Oslo, such as

Massimo Dutti Massimo Dutti () is a Spanish fast fashion clothing retailer specializing in cashmere and wool products, established in 1985 and owned by Spanish multinational company Inditex. Overview Despite the Italian name, "Massimo Dutti" is not a fashion ...

. In 2006, she went to Poland to study medicine, but quit the studies after six months. In early 2007, she went to London, where she worked for six months, before she commenced her studies at Regents Business School London in autumn 2007. On the night of her murder, she was celebrating coming top of her class.Martine Vik Magnussen was strangled after celebrating exam success

Times Online ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

, 26 April 2008 Other reactions to the murder include: a march was held in Oslo on 1 December 2009 calling for further action from Norwegian authorities.Hundreds in student murder march

, 2 December 2009 On 10 June 2010, her father paid tribute to the Metropolitan Police and the British authorities at a remembrance event hosted by her family at Regent's College and unveiled a tree planted in her memory.

References

External links

Images and Videos - Farouk Abdulhak
at the

JusticeForMartine.com
made by friends of Martine Vik Magnussen {{DEFAULTSORT:Magnussen, Martine Vik March 2008 crimes 2000s murders in London 2008 murders in the United Kingdom 2008 in London Murder in London 2000s in the City of Westminster Unsolved murders in London March 2008 events in Europe Rape in London Deaths by strangulation Violence against women in London