Disappearance of Therese Johannessen
Therese Johannessen disappeared without a trace from her home in Fjell, Drammen on 3 July 1988. She disappeared after going to a nearby kiosk to buy sweets.[1] Therese Johannessen has never been found, despite many search operations and police investigations.[2] In Norway, the disappearance of Therese Johannessen is sometimes called the Therese case (Norwegian: Therese-saken).
Disappearance of Therese Johannessen | |
|---|---|
| Disappeared | 3 July 1988 Fjell, Drammen, Norway |
| Status | Missing for 36 years, 6 months and 2 days. |
| Other names | The Therese case (Norwegian: Therese-saken) |
| Distinguishing features | Dark hair |
| Investigating agency | Drammen Police |
| Contact | Tips |
 | |
The police think that the disappearance is a criminal case. In 1998, Swede Thomas Quick was convicted in the case after confessing to kidnapping and killing the nine-year-old.[3] Quick later retracted the confession,[4] and the Swedish Prosecution Authority overturned the sentence in March 2011.[5][6][7] The case has been re-investigated many times, most recently in 2013. In July 2013, 25 years after the disappearance, the case was no longer being considered because of the then 25-year time limit for serious criminal cases.[8] No perpetrator will be punished in the case.
In 2020, NRK showed a series about the Therese case called "transl. Therese - the girl who disappeared". It was made by Monster Media.[9]
The disappearance
changeOn the evening of Sunday, 3 July 1988, nine-year-old Therese Johannesen (born 1979) was playing outside where she lived, in Fjell, Drammen. She played with three friends and her little sister. At 19:25 it started to rain and Therese got an umbrella.[10] The other children she was playing with wanted to stop at the kiosk she was at earlier in the day. The woman who worked at the kiosk saw Therese earlier, when she bought cola with money she got from her grandparents.[2] The children asked Therese to join them at the kiosk, but she wanted to wait for them. When they returned, Therese was gone.[1] This is the last confirmed sighting of the nine-year-old.[11] Therese Johannesen was then wearing a white t-shirt, denim skirt, striped socks, and gray shoes.[12]
When the nine-year-old did not come home, the family started looking, and eventually the police were called.[13] Crews from the Red Cross and Civil Defense helped search using helicopters and other equipment, but the girl remained missing. Eventually, the police started to consider the disappearance a criminal case. The police's main theory is that Therese was kidnapped and later killed.
The case attracted a lot of attention in Norway after the disappearance. Over one hundred police officers from the Drammen Police and Kripos helped investigate.[14] It was the most expensive and thorough investigation in Norway at the time. In the first year after the disappearance, the police questioned 1,721 people, and they got 4,646 tips from people. They also had lists of 10,640 people, 4,415 vehicles, and 13,685 movements of people and cars.[15] The police have not found a single trace of the girl, or any suspect.
Thomas Quick
changeAfter one year of investigation, the police scaled back the case, but never closed it fully. In 1996, the apparent Swedish serial killer Thomas Quick admitted to kidnapping and killing the girl in Drammen. The confession led to the police resuming the investigation. They started an extensive search for Therese in the pound Ringen near Mysen in Østfold. After emptying the pond, the police found what they thought was burnt remains from the missing nine-year-old. The remains later turned out to be wood chips.[16]
Quick was linked to the murder through his confession and the "remains", and on 2 June 1998 he was convicted of killing Therese Johannesen. Quick was convicted in six other trials of seven other murders.[3]
In an SVT documentary in 2008, Quick retracted the confession and wanted to be tried again.[4] He said he had read about the case in the newspaper VG, and he made up a story where he kidnapped and killed the girl.[17] In March 2011 the judgement was overturned.[5][6][7]
The case was also re-investigated, but on 3 July 2013, 25 years after she was last seen, the case became obsolete.[3][10][8] If the disappearance is found to be a case of murder, nobody would be prosecuted.[10] That same autumn, the police received a tip that Therese was abducted and killed in 1988, and the police shortly reopened the case, without result.
In 2017, the police decided that the Therese case should be transferred to the "cold case group", even though the case is already obsolete.[18][19]
Other
changeThe Therese case has received a lot of media attention in Norway. It is one of the most famous unsolved criminal mysteries in the country.[20]
The case has also been linked to other similar disappearance cases, including the Marianne case from Risør in 1981.[21]
In November 2020, Therese Johannessen's DNA was found on an eraser and pilowcase.[22]
References
change- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Therese-saken". NRK. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Haraldsen, Stian (1 November 2023). "Forfatter varsler nye spor i Therese-saken" [Author warns of new clues in the Theresa case]. NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Saugestad, Kjetil (5 April 2014). "En gåte at norsk politi svelget agnet!" [A riddle that Norwegian police swallowed the bait!]. NRK (in Norwegian). Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Robins, Jon (2 February 2017). "Thomas Quick: The serial killer who never was". The Justice Gap. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Jonassen, Arild (29 March 2011). "Therese ble sist med denne mannen" [Therese was last seen with this man]. Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Rivrud, Kristin; Køsling, Ingvild-Anita (29 March 2011). "Jag är i praktiken frikänd för mord" [I am practically acquitted for murder]. NRK (in Swedish). Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Fan, Ryan (27 August 2020). "The 'Serial Killer' Who Falsely Confessed to Over 30 Murders". Medium. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
All eight of his murder convictions were overturned
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Zondag, Martin; Rønneberg, Olav (4 April 2014). "Bergwall til NRK - På tide at norsk politi sier unnskyld" [Bergwall to NRK - It's time for the Norwegian police to say sorry]. NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ↑ "Therese - jenta som forsvant" [Therese - the girl who disappeared]. NRK (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 22 April 2024. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Helljesen, Vilde; Heggen, Håvard (26 October 2013). "Thereses mor: - Jeg vil vite hva som har skjedd med barnet mitt" [Therese's mother: - I want to know what happened to my child]. NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ↑ Køsling, Ingvild-Anita (7 March 2018). "Svaret på Therese-gåten kan ligge i disse papirene" [The answer to the Therese riddle may lie in these papers]. NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ↑ Lamøy, Berith (14 January 2024). "Mamma venter fortsatt på svar: Hva skjedde med Therese?" [Mom is still waiting for answers: What happened to Therese?]. Klikk (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ↑ Bjerkeseth, Anders; Tønset, Tuva; Erikstein-Midtbø, Gjermund (12 November 2014). "Moren til Therese vil aldri gi opp jakten på svar" [Therese's mother will never give up the search for answers] (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ↑ Fjelly, Benedikte (3 July 2013). "Theresesaken: - Det var en av jentene våre som forsvant" [The Theresa case: - It was one of our girls who disappeared]. NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ↑ Bjønness-Jacobsen, O.J. (28 April 1998). "Tragedien Therese" [The Tragedy of Therese]. Drammens Tidende (in Norwegian). Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ↑ "Beinrester var ikke fra et menneske" [Bone remains were not from a human]. Nettavisen (in Norwegian Bokmål). 18 March 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ↑ Karlsen, Ola (22 April 2010). "VG-notisen some utløste Quicks draps-fantasi" [The VG notice that triggered Quick's murder fantasy]. ABC News (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ↑ Karlsen, Ola (14 September 2017). "Therese-saken overføres til Cold case-gruppa" [The Therese case has been transferred to the cold case group]. ABC News (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ↑ Bråthen, Ingunn (14 September 2017). "Cold case-gruppa tar opp Therese-saken" [The cold case group is taking up the Therese case]. NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ↑ Andersen, Ulf (22 May 2000). "Disse barnedrapene har rystet Norge" [These child murders have shaken Norway]. Dagbladet (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ↑ "Leder: Marianne-saken og Therese-saken er så like at de må behandles likt" [Leading: The Marianne case and Therese case are so similar that they must be treated as the same]. Agderposten (in Norwegian Bokmål). 4 December 2017. Archived from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ↑ Thommessen, Louise; Iversen, Magnus; Ellingseter, Tore; Reigstad, Joakim (7 November 2020). "Har funnet Thereses DNA-profil på viskelær og putevar" [Therese's DNA profile has been found on an eraser and pillowcase]. NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 30 November 2024.