The case of Hanne With became one of Copenhagen's most haunting unsolved murders—a young woman brutally killed in the early hours of 1990, her case gathering dust in police archives for more than three decades. Now, in a landmark moment for Scandinavian cold case investigations, forensic technology has finally delivered justice.
On January 1, 1990, the 23-year-old was found dead in her apartment on Fensmarkgade in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen, a working-class neighborhood in the Danish capital. She had suffered multiple stab wounds to her neck, jaw, and throat, inflicted with various blades—including a knife, screwdriver, and scissors. The attacker had also beaten and kicked her repeatedly, and ultimately strangled her, likely using an antenna cable. The brutality of the crime underscored its personal nature, yet investigators were left with few leads.
For more than three decades, the case remained frozen. Despite efforts by Copenhagen Police, no suspect emerged. The murder investigation became emblematic of the limitations of 1990s forensic science, when DNA profiling was still in its infancy and cold cases could languish indefinitely without technological breakthroughs.
That changed in February 2024. On February 6, Copenhagen Police arrested Henrik Krogh Rasmussen, then 54 years old, on suspicion of With's murder. The arrest came after advances in DNA analysis and forensic comparison techniques allowed investigators to re-examine evidence collected from the original crime scene decades earlier.
Rasmussen, a butcher who had worked in the trade since 1986, had never surfaced as a suspect in the initial investigation. He had accumulated prior convictions for theft and robbery during the 1990s—the decade following With's death—but had avoided detection for the capital crime until modern forensic technology caught up.
The evidence against him proved decisive. DNA extracted from the victim's clothing matched Rasmussen with extremely high probability. Equally compelling was a footprint recovered at the crime scene, which forensic experts matched to his foot. These two forms of physical evidence, presented to Copenhagen City Court, formed the backbone of the prosecution's case.
In Danish criminal law, the distinction between manslaughter and murder carries significant weight. Rasmussen was charged under Section 237 of the Danish Penal Code with manslaughter rather than murder—a technical distinction that nonetheless carries severe penalties. The Copenhagen City Court jury, which deliberated on both guilt and sentencing, returned a unanimous verdict on July 10, 2024: guilty.
