A 54-year-old was sentenced for killing Hanne on New Year's Night 1990.

A 54-year-old man has been convicted and sentenced to 11 years and six months in prison for killing Hanne With on New Year's Eve 1990.

Hanne With was 23 years old when she was killed. Thirty-four years later, the case has come before the court. (© Politifoto - Ritzau Scanpix)

By Rasmus Jungersen ([email protected]) 38 minutes ago

Thirty-four years after the 23-year-old Hanne With was killed on New Year's Eve 1990, there has been a verdict in the case.

The 54-year-old Henrik Krogh Rasmussen was found guilty and sentenced by a unanimous jury in Copenhagen City Court.

He has throughout the trial denied being involved in the murder and explained that he had a blackout that night. After the verdict, he has asked for leave to appeal the case.

Henrik Krogh Rasmussen was arrested at the beginning of February this year and charged with the more than three-decade-old crime. He was arrested based on DNA traces found on Hanne With's trousers.

In 2024, the police, in collaboration with the Danish National DNA Laboratory in Copenhagen, conducted an investigation of the traces. They used a so-called family search.

This meant that they took the DNA trace from the trousers and searched the police's DNA register. In the register, they found DNA from his son, and through this, they identified him.

The DNA traces and a footprint found at the scene have been crucial in the trial. Experts have explained that the DNA on Hanne With's trousers most likely comes from him.

Furthermore, an expert from the National Centre for Special Crime believes it is Henrik Krogh Rasmussen's footprint.

In the judgment, the court stated that it had found that Henrik Krogh Rasmussen was present in the apartment on the day of the crime.

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Last seen near Copenhagen Central Station

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The 23-year-old Hanne With was last seen alive near Copenhagen Central Station on New Year's Eve 1989.

Hanne With worked as a prostitute and had a drug problem. At one point, she left the station to meet a client not far away.

Later, when she did not meet her boyfriend as agreed, he became concerned and went to her apartment on Fensmarksgade in Nørrebro.

There, he found Hanne With dead with numerous injuries on her body. In addition to the severe injuries, she had also been strangled.

In the judgment, it was stated that the court also believes that Hanne With was subjected to blows and kicks to the head and body. The court also believes that some of the young woman's injuries were inflicted after she died.

During the trial, Hanne With's former boyfriend testified. At the time of her death, he was 22 years old, and they had been dating for three years.

In court, he explained that he would never forget the sight that met him in the apartment.

- It was unpleasant. I have carried it with me for 30 years.

- I will always remember it, he said in court.

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In Copenhagen on New Year's Eve

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Henrik Krogh Rasmussen has explained that he was in Copenhagen on New Year's Eve 1989. He worked on one of the Navy's ships, which was docked in the capital.

After he had eaten dinner with some colleagues, they went into town together.

During the trial, he has stated that he was drunk and took drugs, but that he cannot remember having been to Hanne With's apartment that night.

This explanation was challenged in court by the prosecutor in the case.

The prosecutor, among other things, referred to a witness statement from a taxi driver who went to the police with his knowledge in 1990.

The taxi driver stated that he had picked up Hanne With and a client and driven them both to her apartment.

- My conclusion is that I don't believe him, said special prosecutor Søren Harbo, among other things, during his procedure that day.

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