Yemeni suspected of murdering student claims death was ‘sex accident gone wrong’

A Yemeni suspected of murdering Norwegian student in London in 2008 has told journalists that her death was a "sex accident gone wrong", the BBC has reported. 

Martine Vik Magnussen, 23, was found dead under rubble in a Great Portland Street basement after spending the night clubbing with a group of friends including Farouk Abdulhak. 

Abdulhak, the son of a Yemeni billionaire, has long been suspected of the murder given the pair left the club together for his apartment. He then fled to Cairo and on to Yemen within hours of Magnussen’s death. 

A BBC reporter was later able to reach out to Abdulhak, who said: "I did something when I was younger, it was a mistake." 

So grateful for all the coverage of my investigation into Martine Vik Magnussen’s murder…you can now watch the documentary on @BBCIplayer via this link https://t.co/jJWzg9YEHT pic.twitter.com/rXJXUYIO3T

— Nawal Al-maghafi نوال المقحفي (@BBCNawal) March 28, 2023

Magnussen's body was found with 43 cuts and grazes, typical of assault-type injuries. 

Abdulhak said he didn't remember what happened that night, later adding this was because of "cocaine". 

When asked if he would face British justice, he said lawyers had advised him not to as he would now "serve the harshest sentence".

Magnussen’s father said upon hearing there had been communication with Abdulhak, that he was hopeful progress could be made in the case. 

"I'm optimistic we might have a solution in the longer term… because we can talk to him. I'm more than ever convinced that there will be a solution to this case. I just hope it will be on… my ethical terms," Odd Petter Magnussen said. 

Abdulhak is the son of Shaher Abdulhak, one of the richest men in Yemen and a close friend of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. 

He is currently in Yemen, where it would be impossible to extradite him.