Martine Vik Magnussen murder: London police make arrest in 2008 Norwegian student's case

Yemen man urged to surrender as police make arrest in 2008 case

Martine Vik Magnussen, 23, was found dead among rubble in a basement in Great Portland Street, Westminster, London, in 2008.

Police have arrested a woman in connection with the 2008 murder of a student in London and pleaded with a suspect, a Yemeni man, to surrender.

A woman in her 60s was arrested in central London on suspicion of assisting an offender and was taken into custody.

Norwegian Martine Vik Magnussen, 23, was found dead in the basement of a block of flats in central London, after a night out partying at a private members' club popular with celebrities.

A Yemeni man, Farouk Abdulhak, was quickly identified as a suspect but fled Britain, travelling to Egypt then on to Yemen.

On Tuesday, police repeated their call for Mr Abdulhak to hand himself in.

“Though it represents a positive step, there is still much more work for us to do,” said Detective Chief Inspector Jim Eastwood, who is leading the investigation.

Farouk Abdulhak was identified as a suspect. PA

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

“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.”

Martine Vik Magnussen's father, Norwegian rector Torbjorn Holt, arrives in London to lay flowers where her body was found. Alamy

Ms Magnussen and Mr Abdulhak were both students at the private Regent's University London — then known as Regent's College — and knew each other socially. He was also well known to her friends.

Mr Abdulhak, who was 21 at the time and had lived in London since childhood, stayed at the flat in Great Portland Street, near Regent's Park, where her body was found on March 16, 2008.

A postmortem examination gave the cause of death as compression to the neck. She had also been raped. A coroner ruled in 2010 she was unlawfully killed.