Mystery Swirls Around Norwegian Beauty's Death

London, March 26, 2008 — -- Ten days after a 23-year-old Norwegian woman's body was found buried under rubble in a London basement, an inquest into her death was formally opened today.

Speaking to ABC News hours after the inquest was opened, a Scotland Yard spokesperson confirmed that police are keen to interview a Yemeni student, Farooq Abdulhak, 21, in connection with his fellow student's death.

According to her friends, who spoke with the police, Martine Vik Magnussen was last seen with Abdulhak in the early hours on Friday, March 14.

Detectives later discovered her semi-naked body on the following Sunday, buried inside the basement of a block of apartments in central London. According to police, Abdulhak lived at the address where Vik Magnussen's body was found.

In a statement released to ABC News, Scotland Yard says that "a post mortem revealed she had significant injuries to her neck," and that she was missing items of clothing and jewelry.

As for Abdulhak, detectives believe that he flew home to Yemen hours after he left London's exclusive Maddox nightclub with Vik Magnussen.

Raised in the Lap of Luxury

The son of one of Yemen's richest men — the industrialist Shaher Abdulhak — Abdulhak grew up in London, and was studying international business management at Regent's College, London, where he met Martine.

Known as the "king of sugar" in Yemen, the father founded Shaher Trading in 1963. Today, his empire, which extends throughout the Middle East and Africa, includes interests in petroleum, soft drinks, hotels, and real estate.

Like Vik Magnussen, whose father is the Norwegian billionaire, Odd Petter Magnussen, Abdulhak grew up in the lap of luxury. Together, the pair frequented expensive London hotspots such as Maddox — a popular haunt for celebrities such as Madonna, P. Diddy and Keira Knightley.

When Martine was last seen by her friends, she was believed to be wearing a pair of Christian Dior earrings, Marc Jacobs snakeskin shoes, and carrying a Marc Jacobs handbag. None of those items were found on her when police discovered the body.