Woman is arrested over murder of top student Martine Vik Magnussen

A woman in her 60s was arrested today in the hunt for the rapist killer of a Norwegian socialite student who was murdered in London in 2008 in an attack linked to a Yemeni billionaire’s fugitive playboy son.

Martine Vik Magnussen, 23, was found dead among rubble in a basement in Great Portland Street, Westminster, central London, after a night out with friends to celebrate coming top of the class in her exams. A post mortem found she had been strangled. 

CCTV showed her leaving exclusive Mayfair nightclub Maddox at 2am on March 14 with Farouk Abdulhak, the son of a Yemeni sugar magnate and a fellow student at the private Regent’s Business School who she previously dated. 

The suspect – nicknamed ‘DP’ by friends for his love of Dom Perignon champagne – fled the UK within hours of her death, and today officers once again urged him to come back to Britain to face justice. 

The woman was detained this morning at an address in Westminster on suspicion of assisting an offender, in what officers called a ‘significant development’ in the case. She was taken to a central London police station, where she is being interviewed.

Ms Magnussen’s father, Odd Petter Magnussen, has branded Abdulhak a coward and personally appealed for him to return, adding, ‘You cannot hide forever’. 

Abdulhak is the son of one of Yemen’s wealthiest men, Shaher Adbulhak, who is known as the ‘King of Sugar’ and has a net worth of around £6.8billion. He fled to Egypt before ending up in Yemen, which does not have an extradition treaty with the UK. 

He studied international business relations alongside Ms Magnussen at Regent’s Business School, where fees start at around £10,000 a year, and her body was found in the basement of a block of flats where he lived. 

Today, a Met Police spokesman called the arrest of a woman on suspicion of assisting an offender a ‘significant development’. 

Detective Chief Inspector Jim Eastwood, who is leading the investigation, added: ‘Martine’s family has never given up their fight for justice and in the 14 years since her death they have campaigned tirelessly to keep her in the public consciousness.

‘Martine’s family has been informed of this latest development. Though it represents a positive step, there is still much more work for us to do.

‘Most importantly, Farouk Abdulhak should be aware that this matter has not, and will not, go away.

‘My team and I will continue to seek justice and use all opportunities available to pursue him and bring him back to the UK.

‘His status as a wanted man will remain and we will not cease in our efforts to get justice for Martine’s family.

‘I’m appealing to Farouk Abdulhak directly. Come back to the UK. Come back to face justice.

‘Since Martine’s death, her family has shown true determination, together with my investigation team as we want to provide some closure for Martine’s family.’

Ms Magnussen’s father, Odd Petter Magnussen, has repeatedly appealed for Abdulhak to come back to the UK to face justice. 

Speaking last year, he said: ‘In today’s globalised world, you cannot hide forever from the oldest and most serious crime known to man – the rape and murder of a woman.

‘I appeal to you to return to the UK to assist the police in finding out what happened to Martine. I regard you as a coward unless you take responsibility for your actions.’ 

In 2008, Abdulhak issued comments through his lawyer saying he was ‘not happy’ about being branded a criminal and insisting he was not an ‘escapee’.

His lawyer, Mohammed Al Bakwli, said he had advised Abdulhak not to speak directly to the media. 

Mr Al Bakwli said: ‘He is not happy about being described as a criminal, as a murderer, when there is no such accusation against him. He is not an escapee. Things were written like he was the last man to see her alive.’ 

Abdulhak’s magnate father has issued one statement about the case, which expressed condolences to Ms Magnussen’s family and said he would not put up with any wrongdoing by a member of his family.

Mr Bakwli said: ‘It is not true he would disown Farooq. Whatever he has done or not done, he is still his son. But he has said he will not protect him if he has done wrong.’  

His son was born in Yemen but spent most of his early life in the UK.  

Police launched an investigation after Ms Magnussen’s friends reported her missing to police on 15 March 2008.

A day later, officers visited the residential block where Abdulhak lived on Great Portland Street in Westminster, where they discovered her body at about 10.30am. 

Attempts had been made to hide her body underneath rubble.

A post-mortem examination gave her cause of death as compression to the neck, and in November 2010, an inquest recorded a verdict of unlawful killing. 

Anyone with information can contact police on 020 8358 0300 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.