Billionaire's son leaves UK in wake of socialite's murder

source: Dail Mail UK29)

Strangled: Student Martine Vik Magnussen enjoying herself on holiday

Farooq Abdulhak, 21, has reportedly gone to Yemen, out of the reach of British law.

Abdulhak, who is hiring top extradition lawyers to challenge attempts to bring him back to the UK, was allegedly the last person to see Miss Magnussen alive.

The 23-year-old, described as "pure sunshine" by her heartbroken family yesterday, was found dumped among rubble and rubbish in the basement of Abdulhak's London home on Sunday.

She was reportedly last seen getting into a taxi with Abdulhak on Friday at 3am after they left Maddox, an exclusive Mayfair private members' club popular with stars such as Madonna and Keira Knightley.

The young playboy left the country on Saturday - and is believed to be in Yemen which does not have an extradition treaty with the UK.

Yesterday police issued an urgent appeal for information about the whereabouts of Abdulhak.

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Ms Magnussen's family described her as a 'ray of sunshine'

Martine and her friend Nina Brantzeg, who launched an appeal for her on Facebook

Detective Chief Inspector Jessica Wadsworth said: "The death of Martine remains unexplained and is the subject of further scientific testing. We wish to interview Mr Abdulhak as a matter of urgency to further investigate what happened to Martine in her final hours and how her death came about.

"We believe he holds important information, which could assist us."

Police said Abdulhak had grown up in London and studied business with Miss Magnussen at London's Regent's College, a £10,000-a-year private university.

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'The Facebook Murder': Martine, pictured with a friend, had been studying business at Regent's College in London

His father Shaher Abdulhak founded Shaher Trading in Yemen in 1963 and the empire now encompasses petroleum, soft drinks, hotels and real estate across the Middle East and Africa.

Yesterday he told the Daily Mail he would not comment on his son's whereabouts - but said he had hired the London- based international extradition experts Peters & Peters for the case.

Mr Abdulhak said he had consulted with Michael O'Kane, a lawyer who has worked on high-profile cases including the hijacking of a plane at Stansted in 2000 and is currently representing two British oil company executives fighting extradition to the U.S.

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Murdered: Martine Magnussen was found dead after partying at a celebrity nightspot

Initial post-mortem examination results appear to show that Miss Magnussen had been strangled, with a pathologist's report revealing "significant injuries to her neck".

Her father Odd Petter Magnussen and mother Vik Ronnaug are divorced but came to London to identify their daughter. In a statement, her father said: "Martine's exceptionally warm and charismatic personality struck anybody she met.

"She always left an impression of a tolerant, sympathetic and loveable person, considered as pure sunshine in any social context."

Luxury block: Martine's body was found at Seaford Court in London' Great Portland Street

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