Murdered Martine: police hunt Arab man

A huge search has been launched for the man who iswanted for questioning in connection with the death of Martine Vik Magnussen.

The 23-year-old's body was found partially concealed under rubbish in the basement of a central London apartment building yesterday, two days after her friends reported her missing.

Officers said the man - who has not been named - was seen with Miss Magnussen at the members-only Maddox nightclub in Mayfair on the evening she was killed.

Friends say the student at Regent's Collegeleft the club between 2am and 3am on Friday and got into a taxi with a male companion, saying she was going to a private party. They contacted the police when she failed to return home the next day. Officers confirmed last night that they discovered a body at Seaford Court flats in Great Portland Street, a short distance from the popular club frequented by stars.

The flat is said to be rented by three Middle Eastern businessmen who pay £600 a week. Scotland Yard has issued an all ports and airports alert for the male suspect, said to be of Arabic appearance, but there were fears that he may have already fled the country.

Today Miss Magnussen's parents, Odd Petter Magnussen, an information consultant, and her mother Kristin Vik Ronnaug were in London to identify her body after flying in from Norway with Miss Magnussen's brother and sister.

Mr Magnussen, who is divorced from his former wife, lives on an island near Oslo called Mesoya. He and Ms Ronnaug were today speaking to Scotland Yard but have been told not to comment on the case.

Police are treating her death as murder but say they are waiting for tests to establish exactly how she died.

Detective Chief Inspector Jessica Wadsworth, who is leading the investigation, said: "This is a tragic waste of a young woman's life. She had come to London to study and had her whole future in front of her. She was a very popular young woman with lots of friends and had a vibrant personality. We are keen to retrace her final movements."

Forensic teams yesterday carried out a fingertip search of the flats where her body was found and removed a number of bags of evidence. Officers were also seen examining apparent bloodstains on the walls at the top of a flight of stairs leading to the basement area.

The student's friends have set up a page on the Facebook networking site appealing for information about her. Thale Lassen and Nina Brantzeg wrote: "Martine was at Maddox club in London on Thursday 13 March. Her flatmates went home at 2.30am while she decided to stay at the club with some other friends.

"She was last seen at the club at 3am. We need information from anyone that might have seen her or heard where she was going after the club." Miss Magnussen was described as 5ft 4ins tall, with green eyes and weighing around eight stone, with long curly blonde hair.

She was enrolled on an economics course at the European Business School at Regent's College and had studied medicine in Poland before moving to the UK.

Anyone with information should call the incident room on 020 8358 0300 or ring Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.