Norway Norway - Oslo - WhtFem 20-30 - Fake Name - Shot in Hotel Room - 3 June 1995 #2

[Cedars]

In post #161 at the top of the last page @Beekarina posts an article which explains how this exact same locking system was professionally tested and was easily manipulated/ locked from the outside with a piece of string passing through in seconds then quickly concealed in a pocket.

But there's no evidence anyone actually used any such technique.

I've noticed that someone very dedicated a particular theory will often go to any lengths to promote it and try to overcome all objections. And it's all fun and games

I'm just glad it's not the way law enforcement does investigations: coming up with theoretical ways to invalidate the evidence, so they can continue with their pet theory and, for example, prosecute someone who is innocent.

JMO

 

[Beekarina]

I'm open to any explanation for the truth.

The gentleman who showed how it was possible seems the same. He is a Norwegian guy who works in hotel security, if I recall correctly. Law enforcement was quoted as saying they sometimes use the same method to lock up behind themselves when they do not have a key, so it really is not "out there" as a possibility.

I could see it when I looked at the type of "dead bolt" and having had these on many doors at places where I have stayed myself. It is interesting. Whether it IS what happened in Oslo with "Jennifer Fairgate", we may never know.

 

[Warwick1991]

Looking at the video of the room posted at the start of the thread, the room did not have any doors that led to adjoining rooms. So, that eliminates another person leaving by that kind of route.

 

[branmuffin]

Looking at the video of the room posted at the start of the thread, the room did not have any doors that led to adjoining rooms. So, that eliminates another person leaving by that kind of route.

One thing I remember reading is that when JF first arrived she was given a set of key cards and then when she extended her stay she was issued another set. The issue of two cards was because of Lois. The desk clerk who checked her in said he came into the hotel with JF initially although no one can remember seeing him later during the period JF stayed. The statement given by the desk clerk is why in the film that recreated her arrival she is shown as coming in with a man who stayed in the background.

There's several oversights that occurred not only with the check in process where the head desk clerk said they always ask for ID yet another guest who stayed in a room opposite JF said they weren't asked to provide ID either. So there were gaps in security. That means it's possible that the two earlier key cards were not not de-activated or given back to the front desk so JF and her mystery partner had four key cards in their possession. If LE didn't check the two remaining keycards that were in the room, just assumed they were the only ones in her possession, it's possible how someone left the room after the security guard left.

In the film that recreated her arrival the girl playing JF signed the card using her left hand. Was that because they couldn't find someone else who had the same looks: petite, short hair, blue eyes or was it because she was left handed, too. The writing on the card doesn't look like someone who is left handed since many times their handwriting has a backward slant because of the awkward way they have to hold the pen. However, one of my friends who was a teacher is left handed and she writes with a right handed slant. I'm right handed and I write with left handed slant. If the desk clerk said she was left handed then that could be an issue with her holding the weapon in her right hand.

As for the locking mechanism of the door with the lever pulled up, according to AI (and we all know how it screws stuff up) lots of people pull up the lever when leaving the room to ensure that the room won't be opened while they are away. It's used mostly for privacy and to stop staff entering the room but it can't be considered a security measure since it can be overridden by specific staff members with security clearance.

Edited to add: another thing that seems odd is that in recreation they show JF standing alone in the foyer of the hotel as if she's waiting for someone. I don't remember whether that was right after check-in when she supposedly entered with a man (hence the two key cards) or whether it was some time after her check in. The timeline hasn't been identified or verified AFAIK.

 

[branmuffin]

Interesting on what you described. I have to agree with you about “Jennifer” being murdered. Too many little things in this case don’t add up to suicide in my view. Not just the lack of gunshot residue on her hands but also the presence of two cans of half drunk soda and half eaten food as well as the presence of “Louis Fergate”. If she had a preference I can’t see her drinking two cans of different soda but that’s based on my experience.

I'm late answering this but the issue of the two cans of half drunk soda should have been tested for DNA. DNA first became an innovative way to identify someone way back in 1985 so the technology wasn't that new. Did Norway have the expertise to test something like that just to tick off the boxes of another avenue for finding out whether she'd been alone in the room or did they make assumptions that both were consumed by JF. Even though you couldn't use DNA to identify the deceased you could use it to identify a perp. Since the whole investigation was tied up pretty neatly with the idea of suicide vs homicide the normal processes that are part of an investigation appear to be overlooked. Even in suicides that are obviously the result of a self inflicted wound or manner of death, the legal process that LE and medical profession go through can take months before its signed off on. So in my estimation, the cops investigating this case, skipped a whole bunch of processes to come to a decision that has dogged them for decades. Here's the processes that even a garden variety death goes through in Ontario.

Death investigations

Learn about death investigations and how the process helps improve public safety and prevent future deaths.

www.ontario.ca

 

[GracefulD1an]

I'm late answering this but the issue of the two cans of half drunk soda should have been tested for DNA. DNA first became an innovative way to identify someone way back in 1985 so the technology wasn't that new. Did Norway have the expertise to test something like that just to tick off the boxes of another avenue for finding out whether she'd been alone in the room or did they make assumptions that both were consumed by JF. Even though you couldn't use DNA to identify the deceased you could use it to identify a perp. Since the whole investigation was tied up pretty neatly with the idea of suicide vs homicide the normal processes that are part of an investigation appear to be overlooked. Even in suicides that are obviously the result of a self inflicted wound or manner of death, the legal process that LE and medical profession go through can take months before its signed off on. So in my estimation, the cops investigating this case, skipped a whole bunch of processes to come to a decision that has dogged them for decades. Here's the processes that even a garden variety death goes through in Ontario.

Death investigations

Learn about death investigations and how the process helps improve public safety and prevent future deaths.

www.ontario.ca

See this is why I feel like the investigation was smudged by someone, possibly out of fear of a scandal connected to Britain. I know even in cases of obvious suicide a thorough investigation needs to be conducted to confirm it was a suicide and not a homicide. The fact they immediately decided it was a suicide feels wrong, it feels like someone made threats, warned that if someone didn’t mark “Jennifer’s” death as a suicide horrors would rain down. It all goes back to “Lois Fergate” and my suspicions of ties to Britain. Who exactly was “Lois Fergate” and what connections did he have? Why all the secrecy? I feel like us finding “Lois” will lead to finding “Jennifer’s” true name and lead to answers that might have been buried 30 years ago.

 

[branmuffin]

See this is why I feel like the investigation was smudged by someone, possibly out of fear of a scandal connected to Britain. I know even in cases of obvious suicide a thorough investigation needs to be conducted to confirm it was a suicide and not a homicide. The fact they immediately decided it was a suicide feels wrong, it feels like someone made threats, warned that if someone didn’t mark “Jennifer’s” death as a suicide horrors would rain down. It all goes back to “Lois Fergate” and my suspicions of ties to Britain. Who exactly was “Lois Fergate” and what connections did he have? Why all the secrecy? I feel like us finding “Lois” will lead to finding “Jennifer’s” true name and lead to answers that might have been buried 30 years ago.

I don't see any connection to the UK at all based on the evidence left behind. Other than the fact her fake name is a British sounding name. She could have been a South Asian and that may have been where LE started their investigation to ID her but they would have been heading in the wrong direction if she was a 3rd generation, born in the UK person.

There's no evidence of threats anywhere relating to British scandals, imo. Where do you see them? Most of the conjectures I've made are based on the evidence or lack thereof, found in the hotel room ie, no blood spatter or GSR on the gun, only her fingerprints. There were maintenance staff who came in to tidy and clean up but oddly no other prints of the supposed person she came to the hotel with in the hotel were found. If anyone is ever interested in wondering what type of biological findings LE usually find in a hotel room they'd be shocked. Using a black light there is all kinds of evidence: saliva, blood, urine, fingerprints, feces, palm prints, vomit, etc. Cleaners change the sheets but not the duvet covers, they clean the mirrors, toilets and sinks and a quick wash of the bathroom floor and vacuum but they don't clean the windows (and one of them was open) and probably don't wipe down the tv remote or surfaces like the desk if there's no evidence of obvious dirt like rings from drinks, etc. The fact a cursory review of fingerprints on obvious items the deceased probably used like a potato chip bag, a bottle of perfume, the soft drink cans, cutlery, etc. don't really round out things that most people would touch after spending three days in the room like light switches, toilet seats and handles, tv remote, etc.

Edited to add (again) One thing that has been overlooked I think is that the Oslo police had been on strike since the beginning of June and were working to rule doing the most rudimentary aspects of policing during that time. They didn't get to the hotel for nearly an hour. They failed to review any security cameras. They didn't test any of the soft furnishings like bedsheets and towels for biological evidence because of their rush to judgement to deem the death suicide. They didn't check for bodily fluids to eliminate a sexual contact. They didn't have the natural curiosity to wonder why a meal ordered 24 hours prior were still found as undigested in her stomach during the autopsy. You would think that information should have elicited a,' hey wait a minute, wasn't that ordered the day before' from at least one investigator. A natural response should have been, 'has anyone else ordered that very meal today'. It's possible that the meal was put in the small fridge and she took it out to eat a few bites just before she decided to kill herself but a meal left uncovered even in a fridge for 24 hours, the salad would be wilted, the potato salad would have congealed and the grease from the sausage solidified. That doesn't seem evident in the picture.

 

[Cedars]

I'm open to any explanation for the truth.

Yes, aren't we all. However, IMO, 'truth' is almost impossible in the real world.

If someone had been in the room and witnessed the whole thing and said it was suicide, could that be called the truth? Of course not! Suspicion would immediately focus on them!

I guess if there was CCTV footage everywhere, we might feel we could know everything about everything - but again we see claims that someone has altered the footage, etc

IMO, the way law-enforcement handle this IRL is to adopt a practical approach of:

1 investigate all the circumstances with an open mind and try to learn as many factual details as possible

2 Be alert for any signs or clues that indicate foul play.

3 If there is no actual, positive, evidence of foul play, close the case so you can move on to investigate all the other cases demanding your attention.

IMO, mysteries like this approach it from a different angle. In particular, the tendency is to look for ways that 'normal' circumstance could potentially, in a theoretical world, have been staged, by a theoretical perp.

And secondly, it's easy to focus on the case forever, because you can ignore all the other cases.

JMO

 

[GracefulD1an]

I don't see any connection to the UK at all based on the evidence left behind. Other than the fact her fake name is a British sounding name. She could have been a South Asian and that may have been where LE started their investigation to ID her but they would have been heading in the wrong direction if she was a 3rd generation, born in the UK person.

There's no evidence of threats anywhere relating to British scandals, imo. Where do you see them? Most of the conjectures I've made are based on the evidence or lack thereof, found in the hotel room ie, no blood spatter or GSR on the gun, only her fingerprints. There were maintenance staff who came in to tidy and clean up but oddly no other prints of the supposed person she came to the hotel with in the hotel were found. If anyone is ever interested in wondering what type of biological findings LE usually find in a hotel room they'd be shocked. Using a black light there is all kinds of evidence: saliva, blood, urine, fingerprints, feces, palm prints, vomit, etc. Cleaners change the sheets but not the duvet covers, they clean the mirrors, toilets and sinks and a quick wash of the bathroom floor and vacuum but they don't clean the windows (and one of them was open) and probably don't wipe down the tv remote or surfaces like the desk if there's no evidence of obvious dirt like rings from drinks, etc. The fact a cursory review of fingerprints on obvious items the deceased probably used like a potato chip bag, a bottle of perfume, the soft drink cans, cutlery, etc. don't really round out things that most people would touch after spending three days in the room like light switches, toilet seats and handles, tv remote, etc.

The watch. Apparently among the special ops units it is used by is the British special forces and the gun which is very common in Britain and commonwealth countries.

 

[branmuffin]

The watch. Apparently among the special ops units it is used by is the British special forces and the gun which is very common in Britain and commonwealth countries.

Yep, that weapon was used by lots of police forces world-wide. That doesn't help focus on one police force, it expands the potential suspects. To me the watch has the same problem, divers use it, swimmers, etc and military personnel. I can't make the leap that just because the military used it, she not only was military but an intelligence officer. She could have been a widow and wore her deceased husband's watch. Too many variables to focus on espionage, imo, when it comes to the watch.

Granted, the whole fake name, fake home address, fake employer, fake age, and an attempt to anonymize her clothing can invoke those beliefs but she could also have been someone involved with a married man that she worked with, and because you're not allowed to just give your name when you check into a hotel, you have to provide an address, birthdate, employment, etc. she did it on the fly. Mixed up address, wrong postal code, no such company. That sounds like a very inept member of the espionage community to me. Anyone in the espionage business, and I'm talking political not industrial, have to create personas that can withstand intense scrutiny of their bona fides instead of collapsing after one phone call.

People have commented that she may have been a flight attendant which was a possibility but she still should have provided her ID. Most people whose work involves a lot of traveling and staying in hotels usually are old pros at having all that stuff at their fingertips when they check in. Only in cases where they were very familiar to the staff would that possibly be overlooked. That was not the case here, it was an oversight, one the head hotel clerk vehemently states would not happen, yet it did, two times.

She could have been a criminal, too. Her prints were submitted to Interpol without a match. So if she was a criminal she either was very good or a newbie.

If there hadn't been a briefcase full of bullets this case would have disappeared into obscurity fairly quickly because if there's one thing that sets this death above the other it's that damn case full of bullets.

 

[GracefulD1an]

I agree with you about it not being espionage. Still think she was an attaché involved with an unavailable man.

 

[Beekarina]

The flight attendant theory that gets floated around makes little sense to me because airlines book rooms in discounted corporate blocks. (Among other things that are totally absent from this scenario.)

I think given the emotional intensity flying has for many people, the odds a recent passenger would have remembered her would also have been high even if she was not working at the time of her stay at the Oslo Plaza.

Someone involved in something shady, who knew there would be a rush at that hour, and either took her chances or maybe bribed the young clerk to let her check in is my theory. Remember, she also extended her stay once she was already a guest at the hotel, in addition to changing her arrival dates prior. So more than ONE opportunity IN PERSON to ask "Jennifer" for ID and a credit card was missed. That smells like a bribe to me. I don't know about the rest of you, but she "got away" with it TWICE in person.....

The hotel is very close to the train station. And a very large mall is also right across the street, which was open when "Jennifer" was alive. Oslo City : Offisielt nettsted til kjøpesenteret i Oslo

Possible she could have spent time here before or during her stay. My thought is this: "Jennifer" certainly timed her check in to coincide with a time when she would easily get away with not showing ID. I don't think that was just luck. I think it was planned. She was probably calling from within Oslo when moving the dates of her stay around. JMO!

Another question I have: If you speak English fluently, why are you using German for one of the calls to a hotel in Norway? I can understand if a guest was not comfortable with English, and possibly requested to use German, but then wouldn't they use German going forward? If "Jennifer" spoke both English and German fluently, it seems strange to use both with the hotel staff in Norway, a country with very high levels of English proficiency. This makes me again question if there were two women communicating with the hotel.

An affair makes sense, and could explain suicide, but it does not explain all of the missing pants/skirts/personal hygeine, etc Otherwise, I think a lot about the situation could point to "Jennifer" having an affair. It makes so much more sense than her being a spy. Perhaps the affair partner was the guy who stayed in the room across the hall who messed up when he spoke with the Norwegian press and mentioned "Jennifer" being dead the day before she was discovered deceased and the hotel having allegedly asked him about it? It is possible they had a fight, she killed herself (or he killed her), he panicked and left with the wrong bag?

 

[GracefulD1an]

The flight attendant theory that gets floated around makes little sense to me because airlines book rooms in discounted corporate blocks. (Among other things that are totally absent from this scenario.)

I think given the emotional intensity flying has for many people, the odds a recent passenger would have remembered her would also have been high even if she was not working at the time of her stay at the Oslo Plaza.

Someone involved in something shady, who knew there would be a rush at that hour, and either took her chances or maybe bribed the young clerk to let her check in is my theory. Remember, she also extended her stay once she was already a guest at the hotel, in addition to changing her arrival dates prior. So more than ONE opportunity IN PERSON to ask "Jennifer" for ID and a credit card was missed. That smells like a bribe to me. I don't know about the rest of you, but she "got away" with it TWICE in person.....

The hotel is very close to the train station. And a very large mall is also right across the street, which was open when "Jennifer" was alive. Oslo City : Offisielt nettsted til kjøpesenteret i Oslo

Possible she could have spent time here before or during her stay. My thought is this: "Jennifer" certainly timed her check in to coincide with a time when she would easily get away with not showing ID. I don't think that was just luck. I think it was planned. She was probably calling from within Oslo when moving the dates of her stay around. JMO!

Another question I have: If you speak English fluently, why are you using German for one of the calls to a hotel in Norway? I can understand if a guest was not comfortable with English, and possibly requested to use German, but then wouldn't they use German going forward? If "Jennifer" spoke both English and German fluently, it seems strange to use both with the hotel staff in Norway, a country with very high levels of English proficiency. This makes me again question if there were two women communicating with the hotel.

An affair makes sense, and could explain suicide, but it does not explain all of the missing pants/skirts/personal hygeine, etc Otherwise, I think a lot about the situation could point to "Jennifer" having an affair. It makes so much more sense than her being a spy. Perhaps the affair partner was the guy who stayed in the room across the hall who messed up when he spoke with the Norwegian press and mentioned "Jennifer" being dead the day before she was discovered deceased and the hotel having allegedly asked him about it? It is possible they had a fight, she killed herself (or he killed her), he panicked and left with the wrong bag?

Exactly. I have been saying she was having an affair with some, missed her period and thought she was pregnant so she told her affair partner and he decides to kill her so he can avoid a messy divorce and/or payments for child care she would leverage at him.

 

[Beekarina]

Unless she was very newly pregnant, it seems this would be obvious to a medical professional on autopsy? But yes, she might have just said such a thing, either from anxiety or other reasons. She was still very young.

Maybe the colorful shoes the hotel housekeeper admired were a present bought for her at the Oslo shopping center?

Aware this seems out there, but she DID check in with a false name, and gave a false name for another person, AND was seen with a man who was thought to be a bit older than her. Really a shame the CCTV at the time seems to have not been utilized.....

I do find the idea of a young woman just going to Oslo from East Germany, to plan an elaborate anonymous stay at a Radisson and shoot herself after hanging around Oslo for a couple of days totally bizarre. It is a lot of trouble for all of that. If you're suicidal, you probably don't have that kind of energy, based on my experience of being around people who have been.

I could see suicide if she was upset, impulsive and the gun belonged to her lover. Assuming there really WAS a guy going around by"Lois Fairgate". the gun and bullets may have belonged to him.

 

[GracefulD1an]

Hence why I said she might have thought she was pregnant. If she had a late period and she was sexually active that may have been the first thought that popped in her head. Remember no birth control was found in her possession.

 

[Marantz4250b]

Which is why I don’t think she was Merle. Honestly I think her identity will be determined by genetic genealogy.

100%. That can't happen, though, until Norwegian law changes.

Failing that, someone who did know her, and knows that she's the woman in the hotel room, might come forward with additional evidence to prove her identity. I don't think it's impossible that someone, somewhere, knows who she is.

 

[Marantz4250b]

Interesting on what you described. I have to agree with you about “Jennifer” being murdered. Too many little things in this case don’t add up to suicide in my view. Not just the lack of gunshot residue on her hands but also the presence of two cans of half drunk soda and half eaten food as well as the presence of “Louis Fergate”. If she had a preference I can’t see her drinking two cans of different soda but that’s based on my experience.

I'm not at all convinced that a lack of gunshot residue - which is always tiny in any event - on her hands is indicative of anything, tbh. The gun was placed against her forehead when fired so the vast majority of the gasses would have been expelled into her, essentially.

As far as I can make out (I'll research it more) GSR tests generally test for elements from the priming compound. These being lead and barium (again, more research needed). The priming compound is a tiny amount of material to begin with, so, logically, it doesn't seem unreasonable to me that traces of it might not be detected when only a small number of shots have been fired, especially when the muzzle was in direct contact with other materials, especially materials which would have a tendency to capture these elements themselves.

The subject of gunshot residue, and how easy it is to detect (or not) is interesting me. There appear to be kits available to do this. I might make a small business investment and see how accurate they are.

 

[Marantz4250b]

And there are missing shoes and clothing...

The hotel maid said she noticed some brightly coloured shoes, I think?

That may well be true but it's well accepted that eye witness evidence is very often some of the least reliable evidence you'll ever come across. That witness must have been into rooms in that hotel literally hundreds of times. It doesn't seem unreasonable that she mixed up those shoes with another room.

Unless there are multiple eye witness reports all saying essentially the same thing, I'd treat it with great caution, tbh.

 

[Rikissa]

Which is why I don’t think she was Merle. Honestly I think her identity will be determined by genetic genealogy.

100%. That can't happen, though, until Norwegian law changes.

Failing that, someone who did know her, and knows that she's the woman in the hotel room, might come forward with additional evidence to prove her identity. I don't think it's impossible that someone, somewhere, knows who she is.

Norwegian police are allowed to use commersial DNA databases.
Article from 28 August 2025 - translated with Google Translate:

Commercial DNA databases are becoming the police's new weapon against serious crime. This is clear after neither the Attorney General nor the Ministry of Justice and Public Security have any objections to the police being allowed to use the method.

Norsk politi får bruke DNA-slektsforskning - Bioteknologirådet

– Riksadvokaten ønsker at metoden skal anvendes, og vil utarbeide retningslinjer med sikte på dette.

bioteknologiradet-no.translate.goog

 

[Marantz4250b]

Thank you for that information. I'm just wondering if the level of difficulty would change if a person was standing, sitting or lying down on a bed. Because all those positions would have a fairly dramatic impact on the blood spatter on the wall and ceiling, imo. It would probably have an impact where her hand and the gun ended up as well. It would also have an impact on the trajectory of bone fragments, whether they remained under her head, or several inches away from her.

All the evidence says she was lying down when the shot occured. The bullet went through the bed and ended up on the floor.

Blood and bone fragments aren't always going to end up where "logic" tells you they might. A 9mm Parabellum round typically produces around 35,000psi behind the bullet at its maximum point, a bit less when it exits the muzzle. That's a LOT of high-pressure gas being injected into someones cranium! It needs to go somewhere and the path of least resistance is always where it will travel Try putting an air hose in a bucket of water and see where the water goes. I don't know what a tyre inflator hose operates at but I think it's safe to say that it's probably hundreds of times less than 35,000psi but you'll still get wet.

You also have to bear in mind that heart function, etc, doesn't stop instantly. Blood could still be leaving the would, at pressure, for several seconds afterwards.