The Puzzling Identity Of The Jane Doe In Oslo

     At 10:44pm on May 31, 1995, a young woman checked into the Oslo Plaza Hotel.  The woman had short dark hair, blue eyes, and according to the hotel staff she spoke English and German.  The woman gave the name Jennifer Fairgate along with a Belgium address.  She also checked a man named Lois Fairgate into the room with her, although the hotel staff didn't remember seeing anyone with her.  Oddly, the woman provided no ID or credit card and the hotel neglected to ask for one.  She booked the stay for three nights and was checked into room 2805.

     On Friday June 2nd the woman called the reception desk and extended her stay until Sunday.  Shortly after eight o'clock that evening the woman ordered room service.  The hotel claims that at least three attempts were made to contact the woman to have her come to the reception desk to provide credit card information.  This does seem odd since the woman extended her stay and ordered room service.  Why didn't someone get the credit card information from her then?

     On Saturday June 3rd at 7:50pm hotel security knocked on the door of room 2805 despite there being a do not disturb sign hanging on the door.  As soon as the guard knocked, he heard a gunshot.  The security guard ran back downstairs to get his manager and call the police.  The police arrived about fifty minutes after the gunshot.

     The police enter the room to find the young woman lying on the bed with a gunshot wound to her head and a pistol in her hand.  More bullets were found in her suitcase.  Curiously, although blood was splattered clear to the ceiling there was no blood on the hand holding the gun and there was later found to be no gunshot residue on the hand.  Police also discovered a second shot had been fired into a pillow near the woman's body.  The more they investigated, the more questions they had.

     The name and address she provided when checking in were both fake.  So, who was she and where did she come from?  Her fingerprints didn't match anyone on record.  She had extensive and expensive dental work done but police could find no matching dental records either.  There were only a few items of clothing in her suitcase and all but one item had the labels removed from them.  There were no toiletries, not even a toothbrush, except for one bottle of men's cologne.  The serial number on the pistol was also partially removed.

     Police were unable to determine the woman's true identity.  No one came forward to report her missing or claim the body.  She was buried in a local cemetery in an anonymous grave.  In 2016 the woman's body was exhumed in order to retrieve DNA samples in an attempt to close the case.  A study of her teeth and bones led authorities to conclude that the woman was about twenty-four years old at the time of her death and was likely of German descent.  However, as of this writing the true identity of the woman has not been discovered.

     What do you think?  Why were the labels removed from her clothes?  Could she have been a spy?  A professional assassin?  Was she on the run from something?  Was she murdered or was it a suicide?  Who was the mystery man that she checked in with her?  Will we ever know the true identity of this woman or what happened to her?  In 2022 a similar case known as the Somerton man was finally solved giving hope that this mysterious case might also be solved someday soon.