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

[Beekarina]

Plaza Mystery: Was this how the hotel door was locked?

For 25 years, a door locked by the hotel’s security system has been at the center of the mystery surrounding the dead woman at the Oslo Plaza. Police believed it was impossible for anyone to lock the door from the inside and then leave the room. In fact, it turned out to be amazingly easy to...

www.vg.no

Video here shows how easy it is to manipulate the door. Free to register.

"
Tom-Erik Braathu, a technical manager in the hotel industry, has been fascinated by the Plaza Mystery. He decided to test an idea. The experiment was carried out on the same locking system used by the Oslo Plaza in 1995. After testing his theory, he allowed VG to watch:




Using a piece of twine, Braathu fastens a loop around the inside door handle, runs the string over the top of the door and then closes it.

From outside the room, he pulls the string, lifting the door handle, and locking the door from the inside.

The twine slides smoothly through the noise-absorbing rubber strips between the door and the doorframe, without leaving any marks. It's astonishingly fast and easy, taking just a few seconds. Braathu can then leave at once with the twine in his pocket."

 

[GracefulD1an]

See this is why I have never believed the suicide theory. And yes they did check for gunshot residue but none was ever detected in the autopsy which doesn’t suggest suicide at all. And the fact that the gun was popular in British and commonwealth military circles, that’s another link to the UK in my mind. I’m still convinced she was connected to the British ambassador to Norway and “Lois” was her affair partner/significant other who got rid of her for reasons I suspect.

 

[branmuffin]

I get what you're saying but, with respect, you're incorrect about the gun and how it was used.

The recoil isn't "soft" as such, but neither is it unusually harsh. It's a 9mm pistol, what you might call a "full size" pistol rather than a compact gun. They aren't particularly difficult or unnerving to shoot. I've shot them many years ago and I own one stored outside the UK, although I've not actually got to shoot it yet.

The recoil thing isn't relevant. A firearm doesn't begin to recoil until the bullet has left the muzzle so even if it recolled so aggressively that it was flung across the room, she'd still have shot herself.

It was the official sidearm of the British military and many commonwealth nations for many years. Lots of other militaries used them over the decades. It's very useable.

Check the below image, it's a very famous scene from Lethal Weapon (second best Christmas movie ever). The Beretta 92 used by Mel Gibson is roughly the same size as the Browning GP-35. He has no problem putting to his forehead with thumb through the trigger.

https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1216/format:webp/1*VSFZqyFTAHnfLdKC0h9nlQ.png

Yes, everything else about how she was found is bizarre and sketchy af, but there is nothing which says that it was impossible that she could have killed herself in this way. Indeed, due to the way in which the gun was found - her thumb still depressing the trigger which reset to its firing position when removed from her hand - the chances that someone else discharged it are extremely slim and close to zero, imo.

I'm not saying it's impossible it was a suicide but I just think the bizarre elements that surround her death make it it less clear that it was a suicide and opens the door to the possibility that it was murder.

I wish we could get a copy of the autopsy. I'd also like to know why the investigating officers didn't find it odd that half her clothing was gone. Or that they didn't think it odd that her shoes were gone. There's never been any indication from the investigating officers that the circumstances surrounding her death were kind of weird. Because they are weird. It's weird that the only person who seems to have heard ONE gunshot is the security guard who skedaddled outa there for at least 15 minutes. No one heard the other shot. If a gun with a silencer (I know this weapon wasn't made for a silencer) can still make a fairly loud noise then using a pillow to muffle the noise would do SFA, imo.

It's not odd that the name, Jennifer Fairgate was fake. Lots of people use fake names but it is odd that the surname Fairgate is so rare in British historical records it barely exists. When someone uses a fake name for dubious reasons they usually go for the most bland common names so they don't stand out: Brown, Smith, Jones, etc. Those common provide a cloak of invisibility. So choosing a name that is so rare is odd. It makes it memorable. It's interesting that the phonetic sound of Fairgate is similar to the Flemish/Dutch word vergeet which mean 'forgotten'. And she signed her name as Fergate not Fairgate. Who mispells their own name?

It's odd half her clothing disappeared. And only clothes for the bottom half of her body. It's odd that she had a briefcase with 25 bullets in it. I think it's odd after 30 years if LE think her death was a suicide that they've never released anything about the investigation, let alone the autopsy report. I want to know if she had any drugs in her system, or alcohol levels to determine if it was through ingestion or endogenously. If she had any evidence of sexual activity. She had numerous bras but only one pair of underpants. As a woman that makes no sense at all to me.

Women might wear a bra more than once but likely only wear underwear once. Yet she had numerous outfits that suggest she was traveling for a few days. Was there something about the clothing for her lower body that could provide information about sexual activity? Like semen stains? Saliva? It's odd that the hotel room initially had two duvets in the room but at the time of her death only one was in the room. Why? More evidence of semen or saliva?

Last and not least is the issue of GSR or blood spatter on her hand that held the gun that killed her. I've read so many scientific studies regarding suicide by gunshot and it is incredibly unusual not to find either on the hand that held the weapon.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking with it.

 

[branmuffin]

This is all a highly elaborate plan which, imo, seems totally unnecessary. She was out of the hotel for many hours (a full day, I think) so why not murder her somewhere isolated, with better escape routes, and more opportunity to hide the body?

It just doesn't sit right with me, I'm afraid. Suicide is perfectly plausible and it was entirely possible for her to accomplish it with the gun she had. Yes, I get that the whole situation is weird, but it just seems to me that there are huge efforts being made to support theories that the physical evidence simply doesn't point to.

Facts we know:

• she was found dead on a hotel bed
• the room she was in was locked from the inside
• there was a gunshot to her forehead
• the bullet which caused the injury was found under the bed smashed against the floor
• she was holding a pistol and that pistol was proved to be the gun that fired the bullet which inflicted the fatal wound
• it would have been entirely possible for her to have inflicted that wound on herself
• her grip on the pistol would have been virtually impossible to create (with the trigger held fully rearwards) had the fatal shot been fired by someone else. There would also be zero benefit in doing so if you were trying to stage a suicide - there wouldn't even be any need to place it in her hand

You have to ask yourself which the more likely answer is to all this - suicide or a very elaborate and extremely risky murder plot which involved a high likelihood of being caught?

Yes, I appreciate that the situation with the lack of clothes, lack of anything much other than a gun and too much ammunition, is very strange. So, however, is shooting yourself in a hotel room to begin with! I mean, it's not the kind of thing that happens every day.

I've said it before, on this and many other cases; this feels very like people are taking what evidence there is (and I accept it's all weird evidence) and trying to think up what reasons there might be for it to exist rather than actually asking what the evidence means and following from there. No, we don't know what the evidence means - such as the lack of clothes, or that she disappeared for a full day prior - but just because we don't know doesn't mean it points to something nefarious and other people being involved.

When you think about it, the whole thing just paints a picture of a young woman in crisis, who wasn't making good decisions and probably didn't care as she'd decided that she was going to kill herself in any event. Sad - and far less sensational than an international spy killed by enemies of her state (or perhaps by people from her state) - but, when you consider it rationally, that's most likely far closer to the real story than anything else.

We don't know if she left the hotel at all. She may have spent time in another room and stayed there for nearly 24 hours.

Like you say we might be creating a scenario to fit the facts but so are you. Because she was shot in the head you think she was a woman in crisis. You're making the facts fit your scenario, too.

Over the intervening 30 years since her death numerous experts in weapons and forensic analysis find the placement of her hands on the weapon and the lack of GSR and blood spatter on her hands is highly unusual considering the amount of blood spatter on the walls and ceiling and the fact her fingerprints aren't on the weapon either.

There's another lesser known Jennifer who supposedly committed suicide with a gun. Her name was Jennifer Corbin and she was murdered by her husband who tried to make her death appear as a suicide. However, there was no GSR on her hands and her fingerprints weren't on the gun either and the kicker was she was shot in the back of her head. But even that has been done by suicidal people. He was convicted of murder.

I've read scientific articles regarding death by gunshot and the placement of the gunshot wound. A gunshot wound in an area that isn't a common area for suicide doesn't suggest homicide. Similarly, a gunshot wound in common suicide location but without GSR and biological matter on the victim doesn't suggest suicide. Bit of a stalemate, eh?

 

[GracefulD1an]

I'm not saying it's impossible it was a suicide but I just think the bizarre elements that surround her death make it it less clear that it was a suicide and opens the door to the possibility that it was murder.

I wish we could get a copy of the autopsy. I'd also like to know why the investigating officers didn't find it odd that half her clothing was gone. Or that they didn't think it odd that her shoes were gone. There's never been any indication from the investigating officers that the circumstances surrounding her death were kind of weird. Because they are weird. It's weird that the only person who seems to have heard ONE gunshot is the security guard who skedaddled outa there for at least 15 minutes. No one heard the other shot. If a gun with a silencer (I know this weapon wasn't made for a silencer) can still make a fairly loud noise then using a pillow to muffle the noise would do SFA, imo.

It's not odd that the name, Jennifer Fairgate was fake. Lots of people use fake names but it is odd that the surname Fairgate is so rare in British historical records it barely exists. When someone uses a fake name for dubious reasons they usually go for the most bland common names so they don't stand out: Brown, Smith, Jones, etc. Those common provide a cloak of invisibility. So choosing a name that is so rare is odd. It makes it memorable. It's interesting that the phonetic sound of Fairgate is similar to the Flemish/Dutch word vergeet which mean 'forgotten'. And she signed her name as Fergate not Fairgate. Who mispells their own name?

It's odd half her clothing disappeared. And only clothes for the bottom half of her body. It's odd that she had a briefcase with 25 bullets in it. I think it's odd after 30 years if LE think her death was a suicide that they've never released anything about the investigation, let alone the autopsy report. I want to know if she had any drugs in her system, or alcohol levels to determine if it was through ingestion or endogenously. If she had any evidence of sexual activity. She had numerous bras but only one pair of underpants. As a woman that makes no sense at all to me.

Women might wear a bra more than once but likely only wear underwear once. Yet she had numerous outfits that suggest she was traveling for a few days. Was there something about the clothing for her lower body that could provide information about sexual activity? Like semen stains? Saliva? It's odd that the hotel room initially had two duvets in the room but at the time of her death only one was in the room. Why? More evidence of semen or saliva?

Last and not least is the issue of GSR or blood spatter on her hand that held the gun that killed her. I've read so many scientific studies regarding suicide by gunshot and it is incredibly unusual not to find either on the hand that held the weapon.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking with it.

You make excellent points, all of which I agree with. I suspect she was murdered by his paramour “Lois Fergate” for reasons I have mentioned but can’t exactly prove as an item that would confirm it, prenatal vitamins, weren’t found among the items cataloged as evidence. Too many pieces indicate this was a murder not a suicide in my opinion. We should look at who was the British ambassador to Norway at the time, see if there are any mentions of attachés of his never returning for work, look for any photos which have “Jennifer” in them as an attaché. I’m of the hunch she ties to British politics somehow based on a few pieces of evidence (her fake name being a Cornish word meaning white phantom, the watch which is commonly associated with British special forces and the gun which was commonly used in Britain and commonwealth countries).

 

[Beekarina]

Checking into a fairly upscale hotel without ID IS also very strange, even in 1995.

If this was a hostel, maybe? I still remember showing ID at almost all accommodations in that era. EVen youth hostels and similar level of stays, so I really find it weird she just showed up, gave a fake address and stayed without paying for several days.

I'm sure this has been asked already, but do we know if she ever stayed at the hotel previously? (Going to see, since this must have been looked at.)

I DO remember paying some stays in cash, as "Peter Bergmann" did much more recently in Ireland. I also find it really weird he was never asked for ID.

 

[Beekarina]

That is a good point @branmuffin regarding leaving the hotel or simply being in another room.

Apparently law enforcement did not investigate beyond the room Jennifer was found in initially, as they were very quick to rule it a suicide and turn the room back to the hotel. No review of cameras, closing down the nearby floors to interview guests, etc.

With "Peter Bergmann" there is a ton of video evidence of his final days. Still not identified, but a huge contrast...

 

[Marantz4250b]

We don't know if she left the hotel at all. She may have spent time in another room and stayed there for nearly 24 hours.

Like you say we might be creating a scenario to fit the facts but so are you. Because she was shot in the head you think she was a woman in crisis. You're making the facts fit your scenario, too.

Over the intervening 30 years since her death numerous experts in weapons and forensic analysis find the placement of her hands on the weapon and the lack of GSR and blood spatter on her hands is highly unusual considering the amount of blood spatter on the walls and ceiling and the fact her fingerprints aren't on the weapon either.

There's another lesser known Jennifer who supposedly committed suicide with a gun. Her name was Jennifer Corbin and she was murdered by her husband who tried to make her death appear as a suicide. However, there was no GSR on her hands and her fingerprints weren't on the gun either and the kicker was she was shot in the back of her head. But even that has been done by suicidal people. He was convicted of murder.

I've read scientific articles regarding death by gunshot and the placement of the gunshot wound. A gunshot wound in an area that isn't a common area for suicide doesn't suggest homicide. Similarly, a gunshot wound in common suicide location but without GSR and biological matter on the victim doesn't suggest suicide. Bit of a stalemate, eh?

I'm sure it was mentioned somewhere that it was established that she left the hotel for that day, not simply went to another room within it. You may be right, though.

I'm not saying anything as a certain fact. I'm applying Occam's Razor; the principle that the simplest answer, the one requiring the fewest assumptions, is usually the correct one. All of the others seem to involve multiple more steps and assumptions.

The placement of her hands may be unusual. However, it is a perfectly plausible method and is easy to do. Firearms are actually often notoriously difficult to lift fingerprints from. Example, we know for a certain fact that her hand was on it. Therefore it follows that there should be fingerprints even if it was placed in her hands after she was dead? There were none, though.

 

[Beekarina]

So....what DO we think, working together, might have been overlooked in terms of figuring out who she really was?

I know we are a bit all over the place with respect to suicide vs murder, but if we look at the information we actually do have, is there anything LE missed? Anything we're not seeing because of holding fast to an opinion about how she died?

When I used AI to get a better sense of what she may have looked like alive, she really did look a bit Irish to me. Has anyone else tried anything like this? Anything else a bit out of the box we can try to generate some possibilities?

 

[GracefulD1an]

Honestly if she was Irish then why did people say she spoke with a German accent? Was she an immigrant from East Germany like the isotopes claim who moved to the British Isles as a teen? Why were the rest of her clothes (pants, skirts, panties, stockings) taken?

This case is just a confusing jumble. All I know is I get this feeling from reading about it, telling me over and over again that this wasn’t a suicide. I feel like the police really bungled the case because they didn’t investigate the “Mr. F” who was in the hotel at the same time, because they jumped too quickly on the idea it was a suicide when they should have really done a more through investigation and partioned off the scene for a longer period of time. Could it have something to do with the British ambassador to Norway at the time like a few pieces of evidence seem to indicate circumstantially? Something’s not adding up. All the evidence to me seems to point towards homicide but the question I have is why? Is it because of what I suspect happened? Was “Jennifer” really having an affair with a person already taken, a work colleague, and she thought she was pregnant? Is that why she was killed? How in depth of an autopsy was done on her?

Ugh… every time I think I figured out what happened I recall lack of evidence that would bolster my theory. All I know is this: evidence points to “Jennifer” having a connection to the UK, evidence points to her not being alone and the lack of certain evidence points to her being a victim of homicide. But the rest…we need to find her missing clothes.

 

[Marantz4250b]

This case is just a confusing jumble. All I know is I get this feeling from reading about it, telling me over and over again that this wasn’t a suicide.

Bizarre and weird as the whole situation is, you have to look at the physical evidence of the mechanics of the actual death itself as your starting point. This is why I like firearms; they behave precisely according to the laws of physics and mechanical engineering. If something contravenes the laws of physics, it didn't happen.

It is a well established and incontrovertible fact that the gun which caused the fatal injury was found in her hand and her thumb was depressing the trigger in the fully rearward (fired) position. We know this from the photos and via the police officer who removed it from her, when he said that he heard the click of the trigger resetting itself as he took he thumb off it. For the avoidance of doubt, that means that a further press on the trigger would have fired it again.

It would have been extremely difficult, and therefore, highly unlikely, for someone else to have fired that gun and placed it in her hand whilst still keeping the trigger depressed. Moreover, why even bother as it serves no purpose if all you want to do is stage a murder as a suicide? It needn't even be in her hand at all.

Yes, it could be the case that she was unconscious and someone else fired it whilst it was in her hand but that seems a bit of a stretch, tbh.

 

[Beekarina]

Honestly if she was Irish then why did people say she spoke with a German accent? Was she an immigrant from East Germany like the isotopes claim who moved to the British Isles as a teen? Why were the rest of her clothes (pants, skirts, panties, stockings) taken?

Maybe? I really do not know the answers either. I feel we also do not know if she disposed of some of her belongings, or if someone else took them, intentionally or in haste by grabbing the wrong bag (the rolling suitcase) when they meant to grab the Braun case with the ammo?

Sitting in your hotel room in lingerie makes sense, but not having clothes for your bottom half does not. LE failed there, IMO, suicide or murder. They still have the job of identifying her.

With respect to speaking German or having an East German accent when speaking German, I have read different accounts. I have read she spoke fluent English and German with "no accent", and I have heard she spoke German with an East German accent when she called to confirm her booking. As I said, this appears to have been over the phone, so the desk operator could have been speaking to someone else, and not to "Jennifer."

We also do not have much of a context here for the fluency and accent/lack of an accent with respect to any in person interactions. It sounds like Jennifer's interactions with staff and guests were very limited. I could manage checking in to a hotel in 5 or 6 languages. I suspect this is true for many people here. I am not FLUENT in that many languages by any means.

I am also not saying she was definitively not from Germany. She certainly may have been. Only that I think she could have been from anywhere, and I was personally taken a bit aback by the resemblance to Imelda Keenan as a "type". I know LE did look to the UK, but I have no idea if they also looked at Ireland. Many Irish did have connections to Germany in the 1980s and 1990s.

There must be something everyone has overlooked that could still be helpful in moving this forward. I think in cases like this it can be very easy to get stuck in theories about what seems true--suicide, German, etc and maybe miss something that could be right in front of us because of it.