Marius Borg Høiby News & Current Events Part 1: December 2023 -

Muhler said:

I'm not well versed in restraining orders and I think the explanations are a little confusing.
The third victim's lawyers says the victim did not want a restraining order, but at the same time she says that the victim had a restraining order issued on advise from her. And the police say that a restraining order was issued because the victim wish that.

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doro said:

Sincerely he should be jailed... But I believe if he got jailed, the image of the Norwegian monarchy would be shattered

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LadyFinn said:

The third victim has according to Se og Hør still pain in her throat and is still on sick leave. People close to the woman can also state that she has visual disturbances and struggles with "tunnel vision" as a result of the violent incident.
Se og Hør has asked the woman's lawyer Mette Yvonne Larsen if she can say anything about how her client is doing, and if the police have finished questioning her. She hasn't responded.

Eksen fortsatt sykmeldt

Marius Borg Bøibys eks har fortsatt smerter i halsen, har synsforstyrrelser og sliter med tunnelsyn etter voldshendelsen.

www.seher.no

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Royalty Observer said:

Since these events have come to light I have made an effort to stay as little active on the conversation as possible but have kept an eye on the conversation and the unfolding of the events. This is because I am a former victim of DV so I can be less objective. Since my personal experience, about a decade ago, I have been really involved in this area trying to educate myself as much as possible as help wherever I can. This has lead me to me having a certain amount of knowledge on the topic of DV so my opinion on this particular case has been pretty much formed from the begining. But I wanted to hold on expessing an opinion before more details were revealed as each case can have something different than others.
At this point the things for me are pretty clear and my opinion is this:
- I belive the abuse has been taking place for some time making the girl really tied to Marius. The initial report was not made by her but by some friend , she has gone with him to pick up her things, after the indicent was reported, the restraining order was not her idea (if I am understanding correctly). Clearly she is still attached to him and is not able to make the best decisions for her, someone else has to make those.
- I do believe Marius has substance abuse issues, I do not believe he has mental issues. The mental issue claim is a cop out in a big majority of DV cases.
- The abuser's family usually suffers to but, in the majority of the cases, we are talking about regular families, that do not have acces to the resources needed to stop the abuser. This is not a regular family. This is a family that have access to all the resources needed so either they did not care or do not think that this is a big issue.

Once again, this is just my opinion, I do not claim any of these to be the truth of this case. I trust that the investigation will end up clearing everything for everyone.
I dow however wanted to share my opinion as from my point of view only by having as many DV victims speaking up and sharing experiences is how we as a society can take a step forward to stoping DV.

@ Moderators, if the post is somewhat stepping outside of the rules for the accepted posts, please feel free to delete

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Royalist.in.NC said:

Royal Observer, thanks so much for sharing your observations. I can certainly understand how this case is triggering for you, and I am so sorry that you experienced DV in the past; it sounds like you are no longer in that situation and are experiencing recovery.

I wanted to add to your observations about how this situation with Marius has been going on for some time and how difficult it is for this young woman (or any woman) to leave the abuser. By the time physical violence begins in this type of relationship, there has been a power imbalance for quite some time, demeaning/putting down and other forms of psychological abuse long before the physical abuse begins. Women start to believe they are nothing without the abuser as he frequently reminds her. Then the “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it will never happen again” after the violence and the “charm and attentiveness” that first drew her to him shows up for awhile - until the next time it gets violent. So very complex and difficult to get out of a relationship like this without a lot of help and support.

IMHO Marius needs detox, tough love, and therapy to get at the root of his anger so that he can hopefully change his behavior to have a healthy relationship in time. Some incarceration with the above would certainly get his (and his parents’) attention, certainly make his siblings (and others in similar situations) think hard and make it clear that the RF or family adjacent are not above the law.

Royal Observer, you are fairly new, so welcome to the forum and thanks for posting! Take good care

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Tatiana Maria said:

From my reading of the articles, the victim's lawyer didn't say the victim did not want the restraining order (though she did say the victim requested it on her (the lawyer's) advice, which corresponds with your theory that the lawyer had to coax the victim), but the lawyer did say that the victim is not the one who reported Marius Borg Høiby for "reckless behavior". However, the report of "reckless behavior" was the basis for the restraining order. It seems it was possible for the victim to request a restraining order on the basis of what somebody else reported to the police about Marius's behavior. (But who was the third party who reported him? The victim's family member?)



At this point, I don't think Marius being jailed would be harmful to the monarchy's image, and potentially would even improve it. It could reassure the public that the royals (technically an ex-royal in this case) cannot rely on the monarchy's powers to escape justice and will be treated equally to any other citizen.

It might even benefit Marius's own image. As Norwegian prisons are known to emphasize rehabilitation and reintegration, a stint in jail may help him to be believed if, afterwards, he says he has reformed.



Aside from the psychological abusiveness, isn't this kind of severe strangulation quite physically dangerous? I am no medical expert, but wouldn't it have been quite possible to accidentally kill or cause brain injury (ETA: and seemingly did, given her vision problems) to his girlfriend in that manner even if that was not the intention?

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Royalty Observer said:

Since these events have come to light I have made an effort to stay as little active on the conversation as possible but have kept an eye on the conversation and the unfolding of the events. This is because I am a former victim of DV so I can be less objective. Since my personal experience, about a decade ago, I have been really involved in this area trying to educate myself as much as possible as help wherever I can. This has lead me to me having a certain amount of knowledge on the topic of DV so my opinion on this particular case has been pretty much formed from the begining. But I wanted to hold on expessing an opinion before more details were revealed as each case can have something different than others.
At this point the things for me are pretty clear and my opinion is this:
- I belive the abuse has been taking place for some time making the girl really tied to Marius. The initial report was not made by her but by some friend , she has gone with him to pick up her things, after the indicent was reported, the restraining order was not her idea (if I am understanding correctly). Clearly she is still attached to him and is not able to make the best decisions for her, someone else has to make those.
- I do believe Marius has substance abuse issues, I do not believe he has mental issues. The mental issue claim is a cop out in a big majority of DV cases.
- The abuser's family usually suffers to but, in the majority of the cases, we are talking about regular families, that do not have acces to the resources needed to stop the abuser. This is not a regular family. This is a family that have access to all the resources needed so either they did not care or do not think that this is a big issue.

Once again, this is just my opinion, I do not claim any of these to be the truth of this case. I trust that the investigation will end up clearing everything for everyone.
I dow however wanted to share my opinion as from my point of view only by having as many DV victims speaking up and sharing experiences is how we as a society can take a step forward to stoping DV.

@ Moderators, if the post is somewhat stepping outside of the rules for the accepted posts, please feel free to delete

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Muhler said:

Indeed, the who did what and when is a little confusing here.

I too believe Marius should go to prison (with the usual caveat of proven guilty and all that.). Both in order for justice being served in the eyes of the public, also because Marius genuinely deserves it and thirdly because in prison he can't run away from any treatment he gets.
What will truly harm the NRF now, is if Marius is seen getting away or at least getting away lightly.

Any form of strangulation is potentially dangerous.
It's not just a question of preventing oxygen to the lungs it's also about damage to the windpipe, the major blood-vessels, the vertebrae, the trachea and if the tongue bone is snapped it's lights out. Any form of strangulation from the point of near unconsciousness is acutely dangerous.
- And keep in mind that Marius, a young and strong man, did this in a fit of rage. He had no control, no awareness.
IMO this third victim had every reason to fear for her life.

And if there are clear strangulation marks on her neck as well a burst blood-vessels in her eyes (an indication of acute danger), then I wonder if the charge won't go at least up one notch. - The ultimate charge of course being attempted murder. But I don't think that will be the case though.

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Alondra said:

My problem with Marius going to prison is whether the DV charges are serious enough to send him to jail.

I admit I have no idea about Norwegian law and are applying Spanish law to him. In Spain, criminal convictions for DV need a sentence of more than 2 years or a previous criminal record, to do jail time.

Even if Marius doesn't go to jail, a criminal record against him will be poison and difficult to navigate for the Royal House.

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Muhler said:

Can't say for certain about Norwegian legislation, but I assume it's pretty similar for Scandinavia.
There is no distinct domestic abuse paragraph. Violence is violence.
And violence (vold) is considered a serious matter, so in Scandinavia you are more likely to actually end up doing time for violence than in many (most?) other countries. In this category is any kind of physical violation of your person.
That is something foreign hooligans have discovered to their surprise. A brawl that elsewhere would at worst have led to a fine for disturbance of the peace or something like that, is likely to end up becoming an extended stay, when in Scandinavia.
The levels of charges vary from ordinary violence - which is a minor brawl, slapping or spitting at someone or even pushing someone - and that's what Marius has been charged with so far. - And here you may get a suspended sentence, community service or up to a few months in prison.

Then comes more serious violence, (Grov vold in Danish, because Danish and Norwegian words and terms are similar) which is beating up someone, using a weapon to hit someone or violence resulting in the victim needing a degree of treatment, say a fracture. Here you can expect to serve up to a year or two in prison.
Under that category is also particular severe violence (grov vold under særligt skærpende omstændigheder) (I'm not familiar with the technical terms in English, but I think you can follow me) where the victim ends up needing a very long treatment or is left more or less invalid. With the most serious charge added to this being attempted murder or rather attempted killing. (drabsforsøg) I.e. where you continue the violence beyond the point where by any definition the victim's life is in danger or where the aim may have been to actually kill someone as a result of the violence used. Or where you stab someone in the torso. - Here you can expect to serve a number of years in prison.
Above that comes murder. (Drab). - And they are divided into accidental murder, (uagtsomt manddrab) where the attacker clearly had no intention of killing someone. Say a push, where the victim fall and hits his head against something. And depending on the circumstances that goes from a fine to a number of years in prison.
The next subdivision being killing as a result of violence (vold med døden til følge), which can be a beating so severe that the victim dies. - That's guaranteed longer prison sentence, unless in very clear self-defense.

Finally comes murder. (mord.) That is an attack so serious that you must expect that the victim can die or is likely to die.
In severe cases it's premeditated murder (overlagt mord) where the whole purpose of the attack was to kill the victim. - In this category we are talking up to life in prison, or an indefinite sentence in a secure institution, which can last the rest of the life as well.

- With may layman eyes, and having next to no personal experience with the criminal courts I'd say that if it is true that Marius hit the third victim tens of times in the head and put his hands around her neck 5 times, squeezing until she couldn't breathe, that moves the whole thing up from ordinary violence to more serious violence and that's prison. Regardless of prior criminal record or not.
And if her life was considered in some danger as a result of Marius strangling her, not once but five times, then IMO it's in the extra severe category of violence. And that's a guaranteed prison sentence.

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Royalty Observer said:

Since these events have come to light I have made an effort to stay as little active on the conversation as possible but have kept an eye on the conversation and the unfolding of the events. This is because I am a former victim of DV so I can be less objective. Since my personal experience, about a decade ago, I have been really involved in this area trying to educate myself as much as possible as help wherever I can. This has lead me to me having a certain amount of knowledge on the topic of DV so my opinion on this particular case has been pretty much formed from the begining. But I wanted to hold on expessing an opinion before more details were revealed as each case can have something different than others.
At this point the things for me are pretty clear and my opinion is this:
- I belive the abuse has been taking place for some time making the girl really tied to Marius. The initial report was not made by her but by some friend , she has gone with him to pick up her things, after the indicent was reported, the restraining order was not her idea (if I am understanding correctly). Clearly she is still attached to him and is not able to make the best decisions for her, someone else has to make those.
- I do believe Marius has substance abuse issues, I do not believe he has mental issues. The mental issue claim is a cop out in a big majority of DV cases.
- The abuser's family usually suffers to but, in the majority of the cases, we are talking about regular families, that do not have acces to the resources needed to stop the abuser. This is not a regular family. This is a family that have access to all the resources needed so either they did not care or do not think that this is a big issue.

Once again, this is just my opinion, I do not claim any of these to be the truth of this case. I trust that the investigation will end up clearing everything for everyone.
I dow however wanted to share my opinion as from my point of view only by having as many DV victims speaking up and sharing experiences is how we as a society can take a step forward to stoping DV.

@ Moderators, if the post is somewhat stepping outside of the rules for the accepted posts, please feel free to delete

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Alondra said:

I admit I have no idea about Norwegian law and are applying Spanish law to him

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Muhler said:

Can't say for certain about Norwegian legislation, but I assume it's pretty similar for Scandinavia.

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Lov om straff (straffeloven) - Kapittel 25. Voldslovbrudd mv. - Lovdata

Kapittel 25. Voldslovbrudd mv.

lovdata.no

The Penal Code - Chapter 25. Violent offences, etc. - Lovdata

Chapter 25. Violent offences, etc.

lovdata.no

hereditarytitles said:

I really hope he will get the strongest penalty that is available according to Norwegian Law. I tried to find statistics about penalties for DV in Europe, but couldn't find any. I have a feeling that the Scandinavian Countries have stricter laws than Germany for instance. There are many houses here for sheltering women who have suffered from DV and the need for such houses is getting higher every day. That is something very disturbing and I am wondering why our laws or jurisdiction isn't able to protect these women? And: those sheltering houses are mostly not financed by the government but often by donations. It is a shame IMO

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Muhler said:

Thanks Tatiana Marie.

The Danish and Norwegian legislation vary a bit. The Norwegians use additional paragraphs.
The Norwegian "kroppskrenkelse" is a physical violation of another person, including violence.
"Kroppsskade" is bodily harm, which result in the victim being rendered helpless or needing more in depth treatment, or suffer permanent physical harm or dies.
But if perpetrated using a knife it becomes severe in both cases.
So IMO according to that Marius fall under §272 (severe violation) for certain, perhaps §274 (severe bodily harm) because the victim is on sick leave and probably §282 as well (which is about domestic abuse), perhaps §283 (severe domestic abuse), as the whole ordeal went on for a long time.

On top of that it's an open question as to whether Marius prevented the victim from escaping, that would be a crime in it's own right.
And Marius bombarding the third victim with calls and text messages, could be a violation of two more paragraphs: stalking and obstructing justice, including threatening or trying to influence a victim.

Apart form that, my post was to try and explain by examples at what level the act of violence escalate and what the typical consequences in Scandinavia are.
And again, in my layman estimation I cannot at present see how Marius can avoid a prison sentence. In fact I'd say he would be very lucky with getting away with six months.

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kalnel said:

Very interesting analysis, @Muhler. What you're saying makes total sense, although I'm very cynical about this, and I think that Marius will get off with a suspended sentence, parole, or even house arrest. (Although can you imagine the public outcry if the Crown Princess's son is serving house arrest at Skaugum or some other royal residence?)

His lawyers are probably negotiating a deal where if he completes rehab, anger management therapy, and whatever other therapies he requires, he won't have to go to prison.

I'm certainly not saying that would be a good thing or the right thing, but it seems to be how cases like this go with celebrities.

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Royalty Observer said:

Thank you for your kind wishes, Royalist! For me the experience is now in the past but I will always share my experience as I know that many people do not and maybe encourage them to do so!

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LadyFinn said:

It seems that Marius was yesterday still in Italy. At this Aftenposten's article (it's a paywall article but I could read it when put it to Google translator).

On 28 August, Marius traveled to Italy. He is still not available for further questioning by the police, as a result of his travel activities. Snekkestad's lawyer Petter Grødem criticizes the trip to Italy:
- My client thinks that this case has gone on for a very long time now, and she strongly wants the case to move forward. (..)

Bistandsadvokat kritisk til Marius Borg Høibys Italia-tur: – Det er klart jeg reagerer

Marius Borg Høiby er i Italia på ubestemt tid. – Min klient synes denne saken har vart veldig lenge nå, og hun ønsker sterkt at saken kommer videre.

www.aftenposten.no

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Alisa said:

I'm glad to see this article as it validates that I am not the only person who thinks this. Especially in light of the fact that I am not Norwegian.

Marius and his lawyer seems to be making a mockery of the legal system because they can. First, his lawyer was unavailable and questioning had to be delayed. Now Marius is partying in Italy causing further delay in questioning and thus preventing the case from being processed swiftly. I wonder what the next excuse for delay will be. Perhaps when he returns from Italy he will come down with the flu, maybe COVID-19?

Shameful!

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Somebody said:

Norway is not the United States. Negotiating a deal (plea bargain) seems a very American thing to do - while other common law systems (most Anglosaxon countries) might allow it to a certain extent, it is not common practice in most of those countries. In countries with civil law systems (most European countries, including Norway), most countries don't allow for it and for the few countries where it has been introduced, this phenomenon is still used only sporadically.

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Norway scores 8 on Motivation towards Achievement and Success and is thus described as the second most Consensus society (after the Swedes). This means that the softer aspects of culture are valued and encouraged, such as levelling with others, consensus, “independent” cooperation and sympathy for the underdog. Taking care of the environment is important. Trying to be better than others is neither socially nor materially rewarded. Societal solidarity in life is important; work to live and DO your best. Incentives such as free time and flexibility are favoured. Interaction through dialogue and “growing insight” is valued and self development along these terms is encouraged. Focus is on well-being; status is not shown. An effective manager is a supportive one, and decision making is achieved through involvement.

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Somebody said:

Thanks! That's good to know. Nonetheless, the system is still rather novel and with limited use (unlike the States where 90% of the cases is 'solved' this way, unfortunately also resulting in poor innocent people receiving punishment for things they haven't done because the cost of trial is too high). I'd say it would lead to lots of criticism if a member of the king's family would get a good 'deal' out of a system like this as that would be seen as an overt example of a favorable treatment which is very much not accepted in Scandinavian culture which values equality.


Source: https://www.theculturefactor.com/country-comparison-tool?countries=norway

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kalnel said:

Not sure that your swipe at the U.S. justice system is in any way relevant to Marius, but your thought about a consensus culture is interesting. Hard to imagine that would apply in a country where one “royal” family is elevated above all the others, though.

As this plays out, whatever happens to him will serve the interests of the royal family. That means making the whole thing blow over with as little drama as possible.

But, time will tell.

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kalnel said:

Not sure that your swipe at the U.S. justice system is in any way relevant to Marius, but your thought about a consensus culture is interesting. Hard to imagine that would apply in a country where one “royal” family is elevated above all the others, though.

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JR76 said:

"Consencus culture" or not, the general Scandinavian would balk at the idea of someone escaping prosecution because of a privileged position. This goes for both members of the royal families and the monarchs themselves.

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JR76 said:

"Consencus culture" or not, the general Scandinavian would balk at the idea of someone escaping prosecution because of a privileged position. This goes for both members of the royal families and the monarchs themselves.

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Alisa said:

Marius and his lawyer seems to be making a mockery of the legal system because they can. First, his lawyer was unavailable and questioning had to be delayed. Now Marius is partying in Italy causing further delay in questioning and thus preventing the case from being processed swiftly.

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Oppdatering i Høiby-saken

Politiet gjennomførte et første avhør av Høiby tirsdag kveld denne uken. Vi informerer ikke om hva han har sagt i avhør eller hvordan han stiller seg til siktelsen.

www.politiet.no

fabaunty said:

However if it is true that MM did in fact speak to the latest victim ,

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LadyFinn said:

VG has found out:
After the woman had been subjected to violence by Marius, she got a message from Mette-Marit on her phone. The woman is said to have then called Mette-Marit. VG doesn't know the content of the conversation, the number of contacts between them, duration or time.
VG asked the Palace about the contact between Mette-Marit and the woman, and the criticism Mette-Marit has received. The press officer answered that as previously told, they don't go into details about the conversation, as it is private.
The victim's legal counsel Mette Yvonne Larsen says:
- The contact has not been a burden for my client, but there is an understanding that some may react outwardly. But for her it hasn't been a problem.

Opplysninger til VG: Fornærmet fikk melding av Mette-Marit etter voldsepisoden

Etter at den fornærmede kvinnen hadde blitt utsatt for vold av Marius Borg Høiby (27), skal det ha tikket inn en melding fra kronprinsesse Mette-Marit på telefonen hennes.

www.vg.no

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Mbruno said:

Nonetheless the monarchs of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden have absolute immunity from criminal prosecution under the respective constitutions of those countries. That is the case BTW for all European monarchs.

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