Police investigating the stabbing death of 41-year-old teacher Heidi Abildskov in her suburban Copenhagen home earlier this month say they believe her killer suffered a serious cut to the hand during the attack.
According to the North Zealand Police, a first aid kit normally stored in the Virum home Abildskov shared with her live-in boyfriend and 16-year-old daughter was found locked inside the family’s car, together with a bloody strip of cloth apparently torn from one of the house’s shower curtains.
A bloody handprint found in the home appeared to indicate that suspect’s left hand was injured, the police said.
No area doctors or medical facilities have reported treating anyone with a severe cut to the hand, and police are asking the public to contact them if they saw or know of anyone who suffered an unexplained hand injury around the time of the killing late on November 15 or in the early hours of November 16.
Also found in the locked car were what are believed to be the suspect’s clothes and the key to the car. Sources close to the investigation said the suspect is believed to have taken a pair of clothes belonging to the victim’s boyfriend. Although police would not confirm that fact, they theorise that the suspect accidentally locked himself out of the car after attending to his injured hand and later fled on foot.
No motive has yet been identified in the killing. Police continue to suspect that Abildskov interrupted a burglar or a car thief, although there is no sign of forced entry and no items are reported missing from the home.
Despite a thorough search of the area, police said they still have not uncovered a murder weapon.
The suspect’s DNA profile has failed to return a match in Danish criminal registries, and the police said they have yet to word whether it matched Interpol records.
Police officials said they were continuing to review CCTV recordings from the three area S-train stations in the belief that the suspect left the area by train.
Anyone with information possibly relating to the investigation are asked to contact the police on 114.
