documentary – Every time I see pictures of Martine, something so heartfelt touches my heart

Da Norwegian student, Martine Vik Magnussen, lived the happy days of her life in the metropolis of London in the spring of 2008, where she combined studies at the prestigious Regent’s University and dealt with what student life had to offer.

– The Martine case has become a symbol of how some men are extremely dangerous to women

The 23-year-old Martine was the center of the group of friends, and had several close friends around her in London. During her studies, she also gained a larger network, consisting of fellow students from both at home and abroad.

Among them was fellow student and rich man’s son Farouk Abdulhak, who was two years younger.

This friendship was to prove fatal for the student from Asker.

A year-long battle for Martine’s closest relatives

When Martine did not make a sound after a trip to the city, where she was last seen together with Farouk Abdulhak, the group of friends launched a large search operation via Facebook – which at the time was in its infancy.

The London police at New Scotland Yard are eventually involved, and on the basis of the material the friends had collected, they chose to search Farouk’s residence. Martine’s dead body was found in the basement of the apartment complex where the billionaire’s son lived.

This was to be the start of a year-long battle for Martine’s parents, siblings and friends – to bring out the truth about what actually happened on the fatal March day in 2008.

Farouk Abdulhak escaped immediately after the murder to his father’s homeland of Yemen, where his powerful family has ensured that he has lived a highly protected existence.

Escaped trial because he escaped

As Yemen does not have an extradition agreement with the UK, the murder suspect has escaped trial. Martine’s parents, Odd-Petter Magnussen and Kristin Vik, have worked for 14 years to have their daughter’s killer extradited to Great Britain and brought to justice.

We now get to be a fly on the wall in this fight, when the fresh five-episode Warner Bros. The Discoverys documentary series about the murder of Martine.

Odd Petter Magnussen has had a more prominent role in the media, but now, for the first time, Martine’s mother Kristin Vik comes forward and tells about the loss of her daughter, the painstaking and demanding work to get her daughter’s killer extradited and not least how she and her ex-husband have coped with grief in different ways.

– I feel that Odd Petter has carried a large part of this very heavy load. While I have stayed in the background and have licked my wounds, and have escaped much more easily than perhaps he has done, she says in the documentary series.

Thought she had found the man of her dreams on Tinder – it had fatal consequences

A sadness that never goes away

The couple separated when the children were small, but Martine’s murder led to Odd Petter and Kristin resuming communication. Together they had to be strong for the two surviving children.

– Sorrow never goes away. I think about Martine every day, but you learn to live with it. You will find methods that will help you get throughsays Kristin further in the documentary.

The mother of three also admits that it is far too hard to have family photos of Martine up on the wall, and that it is a constant reminder of the cruel way in which her daughter was taken away.

– I don’t have any pictures of Martine where I spend my days, because it gets too strong. I can’t do it. I have some small pictures in the bedroom and some small ones in the office. But every time I see those pictures, something so deep in my heart stings. I don’t want to expose myself to that absolutely all the time, and need to get peace from it every now and then, she says honestly in the documentary.

KK has asked if Kristin Vik wanted to be interviewed, but she declined this.

The Vik Magnussen family has not given up hope that justice will one day prevail, and that their daughter’s killer will be brought to justice.

– This spring, for the first time in a long time, there was an important development in the case. Scotland Yard arrests a woman in her 60s in London, and Martine’s family believes they are now faced with a decisive breakthrough, says documentary producer Ingrid Wevang in a press release.

The documentary series about the Martine case premieres on TVNorge and discovery+ on Tuesday 15 November 2022.