The Højbjerg murder
Marie Lock-Hansen was 43 when she was killed at her home in Højbjerg, south of Aarhus, in November 1967. Contemporary accounts and later Danish reporting describe a man arriving at the house and being allowed inside before the shooting.
The murder became one of Denmark's most persistent historical criminal mysteries. Police received numerous tips over the decades, while books and media developed competing theories. None of those theories produced a conviction.
A new tip reopens the case
At the beginning of 2018, East Jutland Police received information from a member of the public that investigators considered substantial enough to reopen the case. The new lead focused on a 90-year-old man living in Canada.
Police wanted to question the man as a suspect. Through a lawyer, he denied involvement and declined an interview, citing his age and concern that he might remember events incorrectly. Police said the evidence was not strong enough to arrest him or seek extradition. He died in Canada in October 2020 at age 93.
Forensics, witnesses and searches
The renewed investigation went well beyond the original tip. Police re-interviewed witnesses, commissioned new DNA examinations, re-examined objects from the crime scene for fingerprints with newer technology and conducted excavations at two properties in Højbjerg because investigators considered whether the missing firearm might have been hidden there.
Those efforts did not produce evidence strengthening the case against the man in Canada. East Jutland Police stated in 2021 that, even if he had still been alive, the evidence would not have been sufficient to bring charges. The formal suspicion was therefore dropped.
Why the case remains unresolved
On August 23, 2021, police announced that the investigation was closed again because there were no further viable investigative steps at that time. They left open the possibility of reopening the case if new and decisive information emerges.
This is an important distinction: the 2018–2021 inquiry did not identify a perpetrator. It tested a serious lead and found the evidence insufficient. The archive therefore classifies Marie Lock-Hansen's murder as Unsolved / Cold Case.
Timeline
November 10, 1967: Marie Lock-Hansen is murdered at her home in Højbjerg.
1967–2017: the unsolved case generates repeated tips, archival coverage and competing theories.
Early 2018: a new citizen tip causes East Jutland Police to reopen the investigation.
2018–2021: police re-interview witnesses, perform new DNA and fingerprint work and carry out searches and excavations.
October 2020: the elderly man investigated as a suspect dies in Canada.
August 23, 2021: police close the reinvestigation, stating that the evidence would not have supported a charge.
Current status
The murder remains unsolved. No person has been convicted, and the most recent major police reinvestigation ended without sufficient evidence to prosecute the man it examined. Police have said the matter could be revisited if decisive new evidence appears.
Sources
- East Jutland Police — official closure of the renewed Højbjerg murder investigation, August 23, 2021
- Ritzau via Avisen.dk — historical case summary and family perspective, May 17, 2024
- Royal Danish Library — archival context on the Højbjerg murder, 2025
- bibliotek.dk — bibliographic record documenting the November 10, 1967 Højbjerg case