Norway Norway - Oslo, WhtFem 20-30, Fake Name, shot in hotel room, Jun'95

[Beekarina]

Well, i'm from Europe and grew up with plaid shirts.
Chinos and white linen shirt combination is still a classic casual look here and it has to do with good taste IMO, but i agree with you, it was more of an upper class thing in the 90s.
Both my father and maternal grandfather wore these shirts, especially my grandfather. He was born on a mild to warm climate island, it was in his blood and, as we say here, "he left the island but the island didn't leave him".
Anyways, my point is, the shirt with two bottom pockets only is not a common shirt. You whether have four pocket shirts, two upper pockets shirts, single upper pocket shirt or pocketless (formal) shirts, but two bottom pockets only is a very unusual design. I couldn't find one so far...

MOO JMO

Here is a short-sleeved one: American Male Vintage Men's Size 46 All Original 4-Button Beige Safari Shirt! | eBay

Vintage Shirt Jacket is another term to search. The two low pockets was fairly common.

 

[Beekarina]

Strange. Some leave out that part of the clothing found with her entirely! Look: 1420UFNOR

 

[Beekarina]

With the clothing, I wish they would give measurements. "Jennifer" was not very tall.

If "Jennifer" wore the shirt we are discussing, my guess is she wore it as a casual jacket type layer over something. She seems to have favored long tops.

 

[Beekarina]

Also, it seems like a "fashion historian" could be consulted. They should be able to track these items down as they did with Kambo Man's clothing.

 

[Susikatze]

I just had to giggle... the Doenetwork site describes her bag logo as "Braun Büffel" with "elephant logo"... Büffel means "buffalo" in German and the logo is a buffalo but I can see how they interpreted it as elephant.

It is a very high end handmade leather goods company based in Germany. It is primarily sold in Germany, too, though of course also available by worldwide retail.

 

[GatorFL]

I saw the speculation she was perhaps a flight attendant on the Doe Network page and elsewhere. I am not so sure about that. First she carried a firearm, even back then in the USA that was not that easy on a commercial aircraft. Firearms had to be secured in luggage in a locked case. Ammunition was not allowed in the same bag. I believe firearms laws were and are stricter in Europe.

Also, I don't know how it worked in Europe at the time, but in the US in the 1990's flight attendants had a different method of booking a hotel room. The airline would call the hotel, tell how many rooms they needed and the hotel would direct bill the airline. This was for routine overnights as well as emergencies. I worked in a hotel near an international airport and remember these calls.

I don't think an airline would just "lose" a FA who had been on duty either. If one didn't report I am certain the airline would be calling the airport, the hotel and the authorities looking for her, even back then.

If she was a flight attendant she wasn't on duty when she stayed in Oslo and died. I also don't think she flew in, rather trained in or drove into Oslo.

 

[annpats]

I saw the speculation she was perhaps a flight attendant on the Doe Network page and elsewhere. I am not so sure about that. First she carried a firearm, even back then in the USA that was not that easy on a commercial aircraft. Firearms had to be secured in luggage in a locked case. Ammunition was not allowed in the same bag. I believe firearms laws were and are stricter in Europe.

Also, I don't know how it worked in Europe at the time, but in the US in the 1990's flight attendants had a different method of booking a hotel room. The airline would call the hotel, tell how many rooms they needed and the hotel would direct bill the airline. This was for routine overnights as well as emergencies. I worked in a hotel near an international airport and remember these calls.

I don't think an airline would just "lose" a FA who had been on duty either. If one didn't report I am certain the airline would be calling the airport, the hotel and the authorities looking for her, even back then.

If she was a flight attendant she wasn't on duty when she stayed in Oslo and died. I also don't think she flew in, rather trained in or drove into Oslo.

She wasn't a flight attendant, that was ruled out as no airline knew her or was missing any crew.

The gun could have been obtained once she got to Norway, if she wasn't already in the country. Jennifer spent plenty of time outside her hotel room, once for almost 20 hours. Who knows what she was up to?

 

[GatorFL]

She wasn't a flight attendant, that was ruled out as no airline knew her or was missing any crew.

The gun could have been obtained once she got to Norway, if she wasn't already in the country. Jennifer spent plenty of time outside her hotel room, once for almost 20 hours. Who knows what she was up to?

It's still on her Doe Network page: "Police and witnesses theorized the woman could have been anything from a secret service, flight attendant, high-end prostitute, participant in a major drug opperation or an assassin. There is no evidence supporting any theory."

1420UFNOR

BBM

Certainly an interesting case, like a lot of these unknowns shoddy investigation is a huge contributor.

 

[PatLaurel]

Here is a short-sleeved one: American Male Vintage Men's Size 46 All Original 4-Button Beige Safari Shirt! | eBay

Vintage Shirt Jacket is another term to search. The two low pockets was fairly common.

Still a different decade. This shirt is from the 70s and common in the previous four decades. A totally different type of linen and different design. And the ones you would only wear in hot humid weather.
The one found in the room, is more of a khaki shirt, but again, the design with two bottom pockets and lack of upper pockets was not common in the 90s.

MOO JMO

 

[Marantz4250b]

Further research on the gun:

- Jane Doe's gun has a safety clip on the left side only, and a spur hammer, as in the images provided by the police/VG newspaper;

- The spur hammer was introduced in 1981 and the left-only safety replaced in 1989, except for orders by the Israeli government after 1989, or for the Vigilante model between 1981-1989 which also had a spur hammer and left-side-only safety;

- The gun is either made 1981-1989, or made on order to the Israeli government after 1989;

- Either way, the serial number is totally false, as the 'NZ' in the number represents 1991 as year of manufacture.

The serial number is not "false". The only serial number mentioned is the one stamped on the barrel which is a genuine Browning serial number. The dating of the barrel from the number will be correct.

As myself and others have mentioned, the major parts of this gun are almost certainly made by FEG in Hungary waaaay prior to the Browning barrel. It is erroneous to refer to this gun as being made in Belgium, Hungary or anywhere else though as it's constructed from parts. It is not one homogenous firearm in the sense of it originating from one original source. To try to identify it from it's physical features as being "X" is not possible and it is incorrect to state this as being fact.

What I have never seen mentioned is why the obsession with recovering the serial number on the barrel as being "proof" of its origin? These pistols usually have a serial number on the face of the grip (standard Browning procedure which was I believe was copied by FEG) but that is never mentioned. The photos do show what looks to be removal of that number too. If that were recovered it would prove beyond doubt whether it was a FEG receiver - which I'm sure it is as the expert in the VG article obviously knows his stuff on this pattern of pistol.

Again though, as I and others have mentioned previously, it's largely irrelevant where the gun or its parts came from as they are not original to one another. Even if they were it proves very little. You might be able to trace it's journey from factory to hotel room if it were one gun but that would likely be a huge task (if it were even possible) and even then would probably tell you very little, if anything.

The gun is something built from disparate parts and has had its numbers removed. It is a classic criminal/underworld cobble-up job and is fairly unremarkable, to be honest. The surprising thing was the nature of its final use and the person who used it. Other than that it is not an uncommon type of thing to find in the great scheme of things.

 

[ApparentlyInDenial]

The serial number is not "false". The only serial number mentioned is the one stamped on the barrel which is a genuine Browning serial number. The dating of the barrel from the number will be correct.

One of the stamped numbers in the released photos appears to begin 246. Browning doesn't have a serial number that starts 246. It's either 245 or 2W5. It would appear - in my humble opinion only! - that someone stamped over it, which does happen in black-market firearms.

 

[Marantz4250b]

I have to agree with Marantz(sorry I didn't catch the full name). I highly doubt that they were using a digital camera and those pictures certainly don't look like digital to me. I also think the theories are getting a bit out there for me. I am going to focus a bit on the gun pictures because I am not following the thought of how it's different so I will look myself at that. I am more interested in who she is though rather than how she died at the moment. Who answers the how I think. So my question for the moment is this - A few people have suggested that maybe she was known to the hotel and that is how she was able to check in as she did. If that were the case though, wouldn't we have an ID on her by now? Or at least they should know more than what she put on the card. I am just wondering if she was known somehow, why we don't know more of that information.

Thanks for the support! (The full screen name is Marantz 4250b which is a type of amp I use for my TV and sound system but I actually got it wrong when I signed up, it should be 2250b!). Anyway, yes, I think it extremely unlikely that these pics are digital pics given the time period. Also, they definitely don't have the look of early digital camera photos to me.

I've been away for a few days so haven't had the opportunity to look into the reasons as to why that one picture appears to have been doctored, when it was done or who did it. Is it from the VG article? Point being though I don't see the point in doing it; there seems to be no agenda being pushed in support of its alteration - no one seems to be claiming that it was a different gun as there are multiple other pictures of her holding it along with evidence pictures of it. Also, who is it trying to convince? I mean you can't just erase the first two inches from a GP-35 and claim it's a different gun! There is not a "short" version of that pistol, as far as I'm aware, so what it is achieving given that the remaining part of it is a GP-35? Even if someone did want to convince the world that it was a shortened version then anyone who knew even a tiny bit about how firearms work would immediately realise that you cannot simply saw a couple of inches of a semi-automatic pistol and expect it to work. You'd have to deal with the barrel, the slide, the recoil spring and its guide rod and all sorts of other problems. In fact, I'd think it simply wouldn't be possible for anyone other than a very experienced gunsmith as the slide basically supports the barrel assembly.

I've just looked at the VG article and that picture is indeed from that article. It doesn't look doctored to me though. It looks merely like an issue relating to the exposure setting used at the time. Again though - if it is intentionally doctored then for what purpose?

You are right that the hotel itself, or someone working there in an unofficial capacity, allowed her to check in with no ID or form of payment. Maybe that was because they "knew" her as a regular or because someone they did know asked to them to or because they were simply too rushed to bother. I think the latter is highly unlikely though as if she was intending that then hitting just the right point in to do it would have been practically impossible. Even if they did do it because they knew her (or one of the staff did) then that's not necessarily the same as knowing her true identity. She ay have passed through every few weeks or so and bunged the concierge a wedge to let her slide in and and with no questions.

I agree with you that the whole "spy" thing is getting too far out there. Yes, I know it was mentioned in the Netflix show and they purportedly interviewed a Norwegian ex-spy but I'm always highly dubious of such things. He was, from memory, someone involved with peacekeeping or some similar diplomatic intelligence thing but they certainly made no claims that he was ever involved in anything to do with bumping people off or covert break-ins or surveillance or anything like that. Whichever way you look at it, shooting young women with noisy military hardware in relatively public high-risk circumstances is not the hallmark of too many sate actors. The only agency which perhaps might fit that type is Israel's Mossad and even when they have done stuff like this they have made little secret of why they did it.

And, yes, the important part is who she was. I think that that might be very likely solved in short order if Norwegian law allowed her DNA profile to be shared online. It's an absolutely tragic story. Her identity I think will be discovered some day though, especially as her DNA profile definitely exists. When it is I doubt that we'll end up with a tale of international espionage and gallant spies running around saving the free world from the forces of evil. It will almost certainly be one of a lost, probably abused young woman skirting the edges of the criminal underworld (the source of the gun) ending her life out of desperation and hopelessness. The true answer to this mystery will be incredibly sad, I guarantee you that.

 

[Marantz4250b]

Not a weapons expert at all but a double imprint happens when the metal piece is slightly moved during the stamping. Can be due to the piece not being held firmly enough by the imprinting machine or exercising too much force.
I am not sure whether a faulty imprint in the serial number would disqualify the gun for any legal use. My guess would be yes.
Which means the gun had been acquired illegally on some sort of black market.

It would be perfectly legal as long as the number is legible. In lots of places it's not even unlawful to remove or deface a serial number as such (or wasn't until recently) although the USA is one place where it is. I'm in the UK and if I wanted to obliterate the original numbers from all of my firearms and replace them with my own numbers then it would be legal for me to do so as long as I wasn't doing it for any fraudulent or criminal purposes.

 

[Marantz4250b]

RSBM

It's definitely not the same gun. Any theories on why the authorities would photograph a different gun than the one the Jane Doe was shot/shot herself with?

MOO JMO

The gun in her hand is clearly the same gun as the one in the evidence photos.

 

[Marantz4250b]

One of the stamped numbers in the released photos appears to begin 246. Browning doesn't have a serial number that starts 246. It's either 245 or 2W5. It would appear - in my humble opinion only! - that someone stamped over it, which does happen in black-market firearms.

Look at the actual pictures, it's very obviously a "5". It's double stamped and is definitely a "5" in both stampings.

Also, that serial number reference is somewhat disingenuous. The statement that Browning standardised its serial number system to that format in 1975 is simply untrue as the .40 S&W round did not even come to market until at least fifteen years after that! Also, it states quite clearly that the "W" is not a 9mm serial number prefix. It is categorically not a letter W in the serial number.

 

[Marantz4250b]

I wonder if the gun which was thought to have been destroyed, and then was found when the Norwegian journalist was probing more into the case and drawing attention, is in fact the same gun from "Jennifer's" crime scene? This is where the newer images with the slightly more clear results for the serial #s are coming from.

It is an interesting coincidence. Perhaps only a coincidence, but given something strange appears possible with the gun, and or the images of the gun(s), I have to put this out there as well to consider.

Mystery at the Oslo Plaza

It's definitely the same gun. It looks the same on all the pictures. Why would you even bother trying to provide a false gun if you've already stated that it was destroyed years ago? Just keep up the same story as if it no longer existed then no one can prove (or disprove) anything by using it.

 

[Marantz4250b]

You have read this @ApparentlyInDenial ?

“This pistol has all the hallmarks of being a copy produced by the Hungarian factory FEG. It probably dates from the ’60s or ’70s, and it has probably been used as a military weapon. A long list of elements support this,” says VG’s source.

Mystery at the Oslo Plaza

There is a paragraph or so from the weapons collector which may be of interest.

That's essentially the correct answer. I still think it incorrect to refer to it as coming from one single source though. The receiver is by FEG (and its internal parts may be too) but the barrel ad slide are clearly by Browning owing to the serial number and the fact that the slide has the Belgian and Ontario addresses on it. It's a parts gun which did not all originate from the same maker.

 

[PatLaurel]

The gun in her hand is clearly the same gun as the one in the evidence photos.

Is it? According to @ApparentlyInDenial's photo analysis, the gun at the crime scene is smaller than the one LE "presented to the world".
MOO JMO

Apologies for not including sources.

So this is a composite image that has been layered and labelled by me, both images are from Verdens Gang newspaper (VG), found at this URL: Mystery at the Oslo Plaza

This shows the difference between the two guns presented to the world by the Norwegian authorities.

The error level analysis (ELA)/luminance gradient was created by me using those untouched images sourced from VG, which appears to show some level of airbrushing/photo-shopping of one of the images. If you Google "Error Level Analysis" you can get a simple explainer of the concept, which is that if different areas of the same image have vastly different compression/noise rates, it's likely that alterations have been made.

 

[Marantz4250b]

I do recall reading that when I first read up on this case. It thus makes the serial numbers totally irrelevant.

But there's one detail - the pistol hammer - that suggests this isn't from 60s/70s, as copies from those decades copied like-for-like what Browning made.

Not sure enough but to say that this gun is a pig of a gun (no offence to pigs).

The hammer is of no relevance. We already know that the gun is made from parts of other guns so without a very detailed examination of the hammer we don't know where it was, or when, and we may never be able to know. Then again, as you say, the whole issue is irrelevant. It's of little consequence where the gun came from and is highly unlikely to lead to anything which may identify her if if we did know. I'd put money on her identity (when it's eventually known) leading to more about where the gun came from.

 

[Marantz4250b]

This attachment gives a good overview of homicides relating to gun deaths whether self inflicted or not. It included the percentages of how many times a weapon is found in the decedent's hands or within a certain distance from the decedent. It also gives percentages of the location of suicide head shots (forehead shots are rare). It also mentions the psychological aspect of female suicide victims and the rarity of leaving injuries that mar the face.

I'm not on board with espionage scenarios but I do see it is quite possible that this death is not self inflicted but murder.

I also feel that the investigation of this homicide was always as a suicide.

Link: http://eknygos.lsmuni.lt/springer/660/295-356.pdf

It's theoretically possible but I wouldn't call it "quite" possible. To be honest I think it's so unlikely as to be effectively ruled out but, yeah, possible.