Prime suspect in Martine Vik Magnussen 'murder' in Mayfair speaks out trends now
A billionaire's playboy son who fled the UK in his father's private jet hours after allegedly murdering a star Norwegian student in London 15 years ago has told a BBC documentary her death was a 'sex accident' as he spoke in person for the first time.
Farouk Abdulhak, 35, remains holed up in Yemen and has refused to come back to the UK where he is accused of the rape and murder of 23-year-old Martine Vik Magnussen after a 2008 night out at the Maddox nightclub in Mayfair.
In his first ever media interview, he gloated that he wouldn't be returning to Britain to face trial 'because I don't like the weather' and claimed the justice system would discriminate against him because he was 'the son of a rich Arab'.
The 35-year-old, whose father Shaher Abdulhak was one of Yemen's wealthiest and most powerful men, has only ever spoken through his lawyer to deny being guilty of murder.
But he was tracked down by Nawal Al-Maghafi for BBC investigation Murder in Mayfair, with the journalist exchanging a flurry of texts with Abdulhak before also speaking to him on the phone.
Farouk Abdulhak, 35, remains holed up in Yemen and has refused to come back to the UK
He is accused of the rape and murder of 23-year-old Martine Vik Magnussen after a 2008 night out at the Maddox nightclub in Mayfair
Ms Magnussen was found dead among rubble in a basement in Great Portland Street, Westminster, after a night out with friends to celebrate coming top of the class in her exams.
CCTV showed her leaving exclusive Mayfair nightclub Maddox at 2am on March 14 with Abdulhak, a fellow student at the £10,000 a year Regent's Business School who she had previously dated.
The alleged murder - nicknamed 'DP' by friends for his love of Dom Perignon champagne - was named as being wanted by police and fled the UK within hours of her death.
Police said she had been strangled and raped. Last year they arrested a woman in her 60s on suspicion of assisting an offender but have since released her under investigation.
Ms Magnussen's father, Odd Petter Magnussen, has branded Abdulhak a coward and personally appealed for him to return, adding, 'You cannot hide forever'.
Speaking to the BBC, he said he was 'furious' at his suggestion that Ms Magnussen died in a consensual sex act.
'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,' he said.
Abdulhak is now living in Yemen and working in cryptocurrency.
He was tracked down by journalist Nawal Al-Maghafi for BBC documentary Murder in Mayfair, with the pair exchanging a flurry of texts
Abdulhak claimed the night of Ms Magnussen's death was 'a blur' but then said he has 'flashbacks'
When the journalist asked Abdulhak if he had any regrets, he said: 'I deeply regret the unfortunate accident that happened
BBC journalist Nawal Al-Maghafi, who has friends and relatives in Yemen, found a mobile number for the fugitive before messaging him on social media.
When she asked Abdulhak if he had any regrets, he said: 'I deeply regret the unfortunate accident that happened.
'I regret coming here [Yemen]. Should have stayed and paid the piper.'
He claimed not to remember the night of Ms Magnussen's death, saying it was 'all a blur', but said he has flashbacks and feels 'uncomfortable 'every time I smell a certain female perfume'.
He said that her death 'just a sex accident gone wrong', adding: 'No one knows because I could barely piece together what happened'.
Abdulhak said he had taken cocaine on the night and 'couldn't remember' why he moved Ms Magnussen's body.
Ms Al-Maghafi later spoke to the fugitive on the phone and asked him if he wanted to help the student's family 'get answers'.
He said: 'I don't know what answers they want to get. Nothing is going to bring their daughter back. There's nothing that's going to change what happened.'
The fugitive said he was 'legally f****d'. Asked why he had moved Ms Magnussen's body, he said 'I don't remember'
Ms Magnussen was born in Asker, Norway. Her father worked within sales and marketing in the IT industry and also ran a small family business that produced ski sledges
CCTV footage issued by the Met Police shows Ms Magnussen leaving Maddox with Abdulhak hours before she was killed
Asked whether he would consider coming back, he replied glibly: 'Perhaps. It's too cold there, I don't like the weather.
'I
