New details emerge in case of Norwegian billionaire charged with murdering his wife

Tom HagenPhoto: Torbjørn Olsen GD / NTB

The police have not yet been able to identify the man with the hooded jacket they have been looking for in connection with the Hagen case. They believe it is suspicious that the man has not made contact.

“We have asked the man on the surveillance videos to get in touch several times. 

“Given the time that has passed and the attention the call has received, it is natural for us to think that he has realized that we want to talk to him. 

“We think it’s suspicious that he still hasn’t made contact,” police inspector Agnes Beate Hemiø of the Eastern Police District told news bureau NTB.

On July 1 this year, the Eastern Police District issued an appeal to the man filmed by several surveillance cameras near Sloraveien as Anne-Elisabeth Hagen disappeared on October 31, 2018. 

At the time, he had the status of a witness in the case.

Hemiø emphasized that there may be natural reasons why the man has not made contact. 

The police have carried out several investigative steps to identify the man, but these have so far not been successful.

Will the case be solved?

On Saturday next week, it will be two years since Anne-Elisabeth Hagen disappeared from her home in Sloraveien 4 in Lørenskog.

This spring, her husband, Tom Hagen, was charged with murder or aiding and abetting her murder. 

He is still charged in the case.

“We believe there is still good reason to suspect Tom Hagen, and we still believe it is a murder with a planned abduction,” Hemiø said.

The case is still a high priority for the police, and the police are still receiving significant assistance from the National Crime Investigation Service (Kripos) and other special bodies. 

Between 30 and 40 people are working on the case as of today.

“The goal is still to find Anne-Elisabeth Hagen and hold those responsible for her disappearance accountable. 

“We believe that is realistic. We believe there is an answer (editorial note: to the questions surrounding the case) in the information we have already gathered, which we hope to obtain through processing and analysis of the material,” Hemiø noted.

Linguists to look at the letter

The police finished the investigation of the couple’s home in Lørenskog.

One of the main clues in the case, which the police will re-examine, is the threatening letter with a financial demand found in Sloraveien after Anne-Elisabeth Hagen’s disappearance. 

It will now undergo a new expert linguist survey.

“This is a very important document in the case, and there are experts both nationally and internationally who are investigating this,” the police inspector said.

Hemiø emphasized that it is not unusual for investigations to take some time.

“Two years is not a long time when you look at the complexity of the case,” she said.

Person charged with influencing witnesses

Earlier this month, newspaper VG and Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) wrote that a relative of Tom Hagen is accused of having tried to influence a key witness in the case.

The man’s lawyer confirmed the accusation, but the police did not want to comment on the case at the time.

“I can confirm that we have received a report and that we will soon end the investigation that concerns the influencing of a witness in the case. One person is charged in the case,” Hemiø told NTB on Wednesday.

She did not want to reveal the person’s gender or say anything about the relationship with Tom Hagen.

122 locations in Norway and abroad surveyed

So far, in the investigation, the police have surveyed 122 different places in Norway and other countries.

Hemiø did not want to provide details on the locations and countries.

“These locations have been assessed and prioritized with a view to the probability that Anne-Elisabeth Hagen could be there. 

“The police have investigated a number of these places in various ways,” she said.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today

1 Comment on "New details emerge in case of Norwegian billionaire charged with murdering his wife"

  1. I am reading elsewhere that the person has been contacted and claims to have an alibi.

    Good to see the authorities will not give up on the case.

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