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I heard of this case growing up and it has always been considered a mystery in Iceland. I haven't followed it closely but this is the best write up of the case

by heidar 12y ago

I heard of this case growing up and it has always been considered a mystery in Iceland. I haven't followed it closely but this is the best write up of the case I've seen; impressive work by BBC. While I'm not defending the investigators, a lot has changed in 40 years and even though this might be unacceptable today it was probably different then (as stated in the article). It's very sad to listen to these people talk about how they were treated though.

rwmj 12y ago
There doesn't seem much mystery about the first death. A drunk man walks 10 km through freezing cold and snow late at night in winter. Didn't anyone think he had just fallen and died of exposure, and his body was lost in a snowdrift?
- deong 12y ago
  Had he just succumbed to exposure next to a road, they should have found the body quite quickly.
  - Nanzikambe 12y ago
    With a metre or more of snow falling, assuming he'd be right next to the road isn't logical, he could be any distance from it. When I was in Iceland I was told that tarred/paved roads are a relatively recent thing, given the volcanic landscape and the large number of fissures and caves, it's easy to see how you could wonder away from the "road", stumble, fall or just try to find shelter somewhere and succumb to the cold.
    - deong 12y ago
      I live in Iceland now, and while paved roads were not all that common at the time, it's not like they were barely-visible paths through the lava fields either. But yes, in the area the article is talking about, the ground is a patchwork of these fissures, which could easily conceal a body. On the other hand, there would be almost no way to wander all that far from the road without knowing it. It's not impossible that he would have died of exposure and never been found, but I don't think it's all that likely.
      - throwaway7767 12y ago
        Maybe he just wanted a nice walk through the lava field? It's a pretty nice place (source: Icelander) It seems pretty silly to assume a murder with no body or evidence, when another explanation is possible.
        deong 12y ago
        I'd agree that it's silly to assume it to the point of excluding all other possibilities, but would also think it reasonable to think foul play was a likely factor when someone heads home from the pub and is never heard from again.
  - strathmeyer 12y ago
    There is a story about a missing child in America where dozens of police went into and out of the house and nobody noticed that the child was frozen in the snow next to the door. So, no, they "shouldn't have".
    - deong 12y ago
      But they did find the child eventually. It's not like they continued to not notice the body for the next three decades.

by heidar 12y ago

rwmj 12y ago

There doesn't seem much mystery about the first death. A drunk man walks 10 km through freezing cold and snow late at night in winter. Didn't anyone think he had just fallen and died of exposure, and his body was lost in a snowdrift?

deong 12y ago
Had he just succumbed to exposure next to a road, they should have found the body quite quickly.
- Nanzikambe 12y ago
  With a metre or more of snow falling, assuming he'd be right next to the road isn't logical, he could be any distance from it. When I was in Iceland I was told that tarred/paved roads are a relatively recent thing, given the volcanic landscape and the large number of fissures and caves, it's easy to see how you could wonder away from the "road", stumble, fall or just try to find shelter somewhere and succumb to the cold.
  - deong 12y ago
    I live in Iceland now, and while paved roads were not all that common at the time, it's not like they were barely-visible paths through the lava fields either. But yes, in the area the article is talking about, the ground is a patchwork of these fissures, which could easily conceal a body. On the other hand, there would be almost no way to wander all that far from the road without knowing it. It's not impossible that he would have died of exposure and never been found, but I don't think it's all that likely.
    - throwaway7767 12y ago
      Maybe he just wanted a nice walk through the lava field? It's a pretty nice place (source: Icelander) It seems pretty silly to assume a murder with no body or evidence, when another explanation is possible.
      - deong 12y ago
        I'd agree that it's silly to assume it to the point of excluding all other possibilities, but would also think it reasonable to think foul play was a likely factor when someone heads home from the pub and is never heard from again.
- strathmeyer 12y ago
  There is a story about a missing child in America where dozens of police went into and out of the house and nobody noticed that the child was frozen in the snow next to the door. So, no, they "shouldn't have".
  - deong 12y ago
    But they did find the child eventually. It's not like they continued to not notice the body for the next three decades.