Two female tourists from Scandinavia backpacking through Morocco were found murdered with knife wounds to their necks.
Although no official connection to the murders has been confirmed, unverified footage from a video seen by The Sun Online shows a killer beheading a woman. The Sun reported, “Blood-curdling screams can be heard as the defenceless woman is butchered beside a tent, a camping stove and a sleeping bag.” The video showed up on Facebook and YouTube.
The two women, one from Norway and one from Denmark, were discovered in Imlil in the High Atlas mountain; a suspect has been arrested.
Guri Solnerh, Communications Adviser at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told ABC News:
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been informed that a Norwegian and a Danish citizen have been found dead in the Atlas Mountains south of Marrakech. The deaths and victims’ identity has now been confirmed by local authorities. We are in contact with relatives and are providing consular assistance in accordance with established practices and framework for assistance in connection with deaths of Norwegian citizens abroad. Our embassy is in contact with local authorities and representatives from the embassy are present in Marrakech.
A spokesperson for the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that the women had been “trekking in the Atlas Mountains … The Danish Police has notified the relatives to the Danish woman … The relatives have been offered consular assistance by the Consular Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as the Danish Embassy in Morocco. The Danish ambassador is currently in Marrakech to ensure the closest possible contact to the local Moroccan authorities.”
The University of Sørøst-Norge acknowledged that two of their students had died in Morocco on Monday, and set its flags to half-mast.
According to Norway’s TV 2, the women were named Maren Ueland, who was 28, and Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, who was 24. TV 2 stated, “Media in Morocco has previously written that the procedure contained traces of IS, or Daesh, as the terrorist organization is called in that part of the world.”
According to Hespress, the first suspect was born in 1985, works as a trader, and lives in the Kayed Circle in Harbil, Marrakech; the second was born in 1991 and lives in Azzouiya in the Red City; the third was born in 1993 and lives near Zeroual.
The Sun reported, “It’s thought three men from nearby Marrakech may have stalked the pair before attacking them while they slept on Monday. CCTV reportedly shows them approaching the campsite where they pitched a camp 600 yards from the women. They allegedly fled leaving behind their tent – where cops found the forgotten ID of one of the arrested men.”