The father of a Norwegian student who was raped and murdered 15 years ago says he has lost faith in the authorities after prosecutors opted not to charge a woman suspected of assisting her alleged killer.
Martine Vik Magnussen, 23, was found dead in a block of flats in Marylebone, London in 2008. Prime suspect Farouk Abdulhak, son of a Yemeni billionaire, fled the UK on his father’s private jet to Yemen hours after she was last seen.
However, Abdulhak is unlikely to face justice because the country has no extradition treaty with the UK – even though he admitted having some involvement in Ms Magnussen’s death in messages to a BBC reporter earlier this year.
Police arrested a woman in her sixties in March 2022 on suspicion of assisting an offender, but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has now told Ms Magnussen’s father, Odd Petter Magnussen, that she will not face further action.
Mr Magnussen, who has campaigned ceaselessly for justice for his daughter, has hit out at prosecutors, saying he is ‘struggling to understand’ why the decision has been made not to pursue charges.
Farouk Abdulhak with Martine Vik Magnussen on the night she died. He told a BBC reporter earlier this year he had some involvement in her death
Odd Petter Magnussen (left), father of Ms Magnussen’s (right), who was found dead in the basement of a London block of flats in 2008
Abdulhak claims Magnussen (pictured) died in a ‘sex accident gone wrong’, insisting it was ‘nothing nefarious’ — a claim furiously disputed by her father
Farouk Abdulhak, pictured in an undated handout photo issued by the Metropolitan Police
‘Whilst I respect the decisions of the British authorities, I am struggling to understand why this is the outcome with not enough information to help me make sense of it,’ he told The Times.
‘This current dislocation between me and the investigation team could all be down to personalities but it has left me with feeling that I now lack confidence in the police investigation and their intention to keep fighting for a resolution in this case.’
Ms Magnussen, from Asker, Norway, was found under a pile of rubble in a basement in Great Portland Street in March 2008 after a night out with friends celebrating exam results.
She and Abdulhak had previously dated, having both studied at the £10,000-a-year Regent’s Business School.
CCTV showed her leaving exclusive Mayfair nightclub Maddox with Abdulhak early on March 14 – the last time she was seen alive. She was discovered two days later.
An inquest ruled she had been unlawfully killed; post-mortem examinations found more than 40 cuts and grazes to her body, while a coroner ruled she had died from compression to the neck.
The Metropolitan Police named the 36-year-old Yemeni as a suspect and he fled to his home country, where he remains holed up refusing to face justice.
He admitted to BBC reporter Nawal Fadhl Maghafi earlier this year that he had been involved in Ms Magnussen’s death, but claimed it had been the result of a sex game gone wrong – to the fury of her father.
In messages to the reporter, the alleged killer said: ‘I did something when I was younger. It was a mistake. I deeply regret the unfortunate accident that happened.
‘I regret coming here [to Yemen]. Should have stayed and paid the piper.
‘It was just an accident. Nothing nefarious…just a sex accident gone wrong.’
Asked if he had taken advice from a UK lawyer, he added: ‘Trust me I’m legally f*****.’
Abdulhak was tracked down by journalist Nawal Al-Maghafi for the BBC documentary Murder In Mayfair, with the pair exchanging a flurry of texts
When the journalist asked Abdulhak if he had any regrets, he said: ‘I deeply regret the unfortunate accident that happened’
The fugitive said he was ‘legally f*****’. Asked why he had moved Ms Vik Magnussen’s body, he said: ‘I don’t remember’
Ms Vik Magnussen’s father, Odd Petter Magnussen, (left), with Norwegian rector Torbjorn Holt (middle) and head of the Martin Foundation Patrick Lundevall-Unger lay flowers in Great Portland Street in 2018, ten years after her body was discovered there
Mr Magnussen said of the claim: ‘He tried to portray it as a mutual accidental outcome of a sex act.
‘It was definitely a sex act, but it was forced on Martine – as I can understand through the information I’ve gathered over the years.’
The grieving father continues to fly back to the UK every year to lay flowers on the anniversary of her death.
Abdulhak is the son of the late billionaire Shaher Abdulhak, known as the ‘King of Sugar’ because of his Coca-Cola distribution business.
He added that he would not return to the UK because ‘I don’t like the weather’, and claimed he would not face a fair trial as the ‘rich son of an Arab’.
Relatives say he lives an isolated life in Yemen, with no friends except the guards protecting him at home.
The UK has no extradition agreement in place with Yemen, which is under the control of Houthi rebels and remains in an extant state of civil war following an uprising in 2014.
The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office advises against all travel to the country because of its ‘unstable’ security situation.
Both the Met and the CPS say they remain dedicated to getting justice for Ms Magnussen.
A spokesperson for the Met said: ‘A case file was submitted to the CPS, who have decided that no charges would be brought against the woman. The woman was released with no further action.
‘It remains the case that our collective ambition is to see Farouk Abdulhak stand trial for Martine’s murder and we will continue to do everything we can to see that this is achieved.’
A CPS spokesman said: ‘Our thoughts remain with Martine’s family. We will continue to support the Metropolitan Police in their ongoing investigation and do everything in our power to bring the right offender to justice.’