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

[LadyFinn]

Marius' friends who were at the cabin when he was arrested:
- 38-year-old man, previously convicted of money laundering and possession of 56 grams of cocaine. He is also charged in a new major drug case. He will shortly be serving the sentence of 11 months he received this summer.
- Man in his 30s, the son of the business leader who owns the cabin. Is unpunished in Norway. But he has dealt with the courts in a bankruptcy case and another minor civil case.
- Man in his 30s from Drammen, pictured on social media with several national football team players, a friend of a former ski star. Unpunished in Norway. Has a conviction for a minor case of drug trafficking in Sweden in 2017.
(..)

Høiby-kompis etterforskes for ulovlig våpen etter hyttetur

Nå venter Drammen-mannen på å bli kalt inn til avhør av politiet. Han har også en ukjent narkodom fra Sverige.

www.nettavisen.no

At 15.37 on Sunday 4 August, the police contacted Marius and 33 minutes later they met him at Jansløkka school. There they arrested him and confiscated his mobile phone. But the mobile phone was in a state that made it difficult for the police to secure its contents, it was broken, unscrewed and missing a SIM card, according to VG's information.
The search warrant only applied to Marius' mobile phone, so the police didn't search Skaugum.
VG has repeatedly tried to get a comment from Marius' lawyer, Øyvind Bratlien, who hasn't responded to the inquiries. The police hasn't answered either.

Opplysninger til VG: Marius Borg Høiby leverte knust mobil uten SIM-kort til politiet

Da politiet første gang pågrep Marius Borg Høiby, varslet de ham en halvtime i forkant. Da han leverte fra seg mobiltelefonen, var den knust, avskrudd og manglet SIM-kort.

www.vg.no

Last week TV 2 wrote that the police received the go-ahead to search at Skaugum.
On Wednesday 11 September the police went to the Oslo District Court and asked for permission to search the house Marius lives. The court has refused to give the media access to its decision, but according to TV 2, the police were fully in favor. Judge Eirik Aas ruled that there were reasonable grounds to suspect Marius of violence in close relationships, and that the police could therefore search to look for evidence.
(..)

Politiet planla razzia mot Skaugum

Politiet fikk klarsignal til å ransake på kronprinsparets eiendom. Da de skulle slå til, var Marius Borg Høiby plutselig på hyttetur.

www.tv2.no

 

[maria-olivia]

The Court knew all and is refusing . Are they above the Laws ?

 

[Muhler]

Why did Marius kill his phone?
Surely he is not involved in anything shady, right?
And surely he wish to cooporate fully with the police?
I cannot imagine there is anything on his phone that he cannot show the police...

So after a whole month, the police finally decided to get a search warrant for Skaugum.
What are the odds that they found anything really incriminating?
Like I said in a previous post, he is still being shielded.
And if I can reach that conclusion at least half of all Norwegians must think the same.

 

[LadyFinn]

Like I said in a previous post, he is still being shielded.
And if I can reach that conclusion at least half of all Norwegians must think the same.

Yes, it seems so.
But the police didn't search Skaugum, because they found out that Marius was at the cabin.

The third victim's lawyer Mette Yvonne Larsen confirms to Aftenposten that new violations of the restraining order against her client are under investigation.
Police prosecutor Andreas Kruszweski in an e-mail to Aftenposten:
- We make ongoing assessments of various information we receive.
Marius' lawyer Øyvind Bratlien comments that the aid lawyers have taken a bigger and bigger place in criminal cases. Their role is really narrow and peripheral. In general, he thinks it is reasonable if the aid lawyers show strong restraint in their dealings with the media, especially in an early phase. In the worst case, they contribute to massive prejudgment and incorrect results.

Politiet etterforsker Høiby for nye brudd på besøksforbudet mot ekskjæresten

– Vi gjør løpende vurderinger av ulik informasjon vi mottar, sier politiadvokat Andreas Kruszewski.

www.aftenposten.no

Etterforsker nye brudd på besøksforbud

Politiet etterforsker Marius Borg Høiby (27) for nye brudd på besøks- og kontaktforbudet mot ekskjæresten. Tidligere har de advart ham mot konsekvensene.

www.dagbladet.no

 

[kalnel]

Why did Marius kill his phone?
Surely he is not involved in anything shady, right?
And surely he wish to cooporate fully with the police?
I cannot imagine there is anything on his phone that he cannot show the police...

So after a whole month, the police finally decided to get a search warrant for Skaugum.
What are the odds that they found anything really incriminating?
Like I said in a previous post, he is still being shielded.
And if I can reach that conclusion at least half of all Norwegians must think the same.

I wonder if his advisors told him to destroy the phone or if he threw a temper tantrum when he heard he would be arrested and slammed it into a wall or something.

 

[Somebody]

The destruction of the phone is an interesting new detail. The SIM was removed, so it seems a deliberate act.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Haakon's relationship with Marius is again brought up by the media:

Slik er hans forhold til Marius Borg Høiby

I boken som ble gitt ut om han i fjor, forteller kronprins Haakon åpent om hvordan det er å være bonuspappa til Marius Borg Høiby.

www.klikk.no

Thank you for this link. It is the first time I have read these quotes from Crown Prince Haakon's 50th birthday book. Much like reading Princess Ingrid Alexandra's fond comments about her brother in her 18th birthday speech and interview, reading the Crown Prince's loving comments about his oldest (step)child makes one feel quite sorry for the family (and yes, I realize that both would have been expected to say something nice about Marius, but that does not imply they were obliged to say those particular nice things), particularly these comments:

"Marius also has a natural coolness that I didn't have in my youth. But what I think is finest about him is when on Christmas Eve, several years in a row, he visits a friend who needs a visit on that particular day, or when he gives a speech at a friend's wedding. He has caring in him, Marius, and in addition to all the energy, he is funny. He loves to joke with us. He caricatures us all, and he's good at it. Ingrid and Magnus love it when Marius is around. On a trip, on the slopes, in the summer, or at a dinner: the mood is lifted when he arrives."

"I have three children of whom I am incredibly proud. It is a gift to have people in your life who you really enjoy being with. We have been lucky. I am grateful to have been able to be close to them from when they were brand new, until they turn 18 and as adults."

"Mette says that I should include in the book that I am so fond of the children that it can hurt. It's a bit like that. I am so happy to be with them and I so much want them to be well. Being a parent does not make you happy all the time, but you know that you are doing something deeply meaningful."​

The parental-love-hurts comment certainly has added meaning now. And it is interesting that Ingrid Alexandra's 2022 interview named Marius's "loyalty to people" as his best trait while Haakon's 2023 interview similarly cites his caring visits to a lonely friend. One wonders where that loyalty/caring has gone lately (thinking of his "f**k the kingdom" T-shirt).

 

[hereditarytitles]

The destruction of the phone is an interesting new detail. The SIM was removed, so it seems a deliberate act.

Not knowing much about technical facts I just ask if that means that all evidence of his criminal behavior and threats to other people documented on his phone are destroyed for ever?

 

[Muhler]

I wonder if his advisors told him to destroy the phone or if he threw a temper tantrum when he heard he would be arrested and slammed it into a wall or something.

Or he just did what his criminal friends have probably done themselves several times. Marius in his own mind being so gangsta... - Here of course assuming that he - naturally - is not involved in something criminal. (Apart from domestic abuse, vandalism and theft.)
I mean for a man, whose friends don't involve him in something criminal, he sure was acting as if he himself is a hardcore criminal.
A) Calling a lawyer specializing in defending hardcore criminals, rather than his parents or the family lawyer.
B) Destroying his phone, with whatever incriminating things might potentially be on it. Even if you jump up and down on your phone, the sim-card is usually well protected and should survive. - It's also a bit provocative, I'd say. And he could after all bury his sim card or dumb the phone into a bucket of salt water, whatever. And it's hardly something and otherwise innocent and remorseful and embarrassed man would do. - And I doubt it was a fit of rage, because he did after all use the phone to call his lawyer, after being contacted by the police, probably on the same phone - and only then did he destroy it.
C) He apparently didn't say a squeak when questioned by the police. Even if advised so by the lawyer, normally a man who in a state of whatever it was, beat up and seriously scared the woman he presumably loves, would be deeply embarrassed and remorseful and would tell at least his version of what happened.

- So either Marius see himself as an outlaw and a rebel (we only need Bon Jovi with Wanted, Dead or Alive playing in the background.) and act as such, while still being pretty innocent. Outliving a kind of childish fantasy.
Or he acted like this because he genuinely felt he had something to hide.

 

[Royalty Observer]

Not knowing much about technical facts I just ask if that means that all evidence of his criminal behavior and threats to other people documented on his phone are destroyed for ever?

From a technical point of view, no, not all information is lost forever. Most of what we have on our devices is not just stored on those devices. They are stored on back-up servers owned by either the device producer or telephone/internet provider. How much and what type of information is backed up depends on multiple things (country laws, contract provisions etc). By not having access to the actual device you can still try to get some of that data from the back-up places but how easy it is .. it once again depends on multiple factors.

 

[Muhler]

Thank you for this link. It is the first time I have read these quotes from Crown Prince Haakon's 50th birthday book. Much like reading Princess Ingrid Alexandra's fond comments about her brother in her 18th birthday speech and interview, reading the Crown Prince's loving comments about his oldest (step)child makes one feel quite sorry for the family (and yes, I realize that both would have been expected to say something nice about Marius, but that does not imply they were obliged to say those particular nice things), particularly these comments:

"Marius also has a natural coolness that I didn't have in my youth. But what I think is finest about him is when on Christmas Eve, several years in a row, he visits a friend who needs a visit on that particular day, or when he gives a speech at a friend's wedding. He has caring in him, Marius, and in addition to all the energy, he is funny. He loves to joke with us. He caricatures us all, and he's good at it. Ingrid and Magnus love it when Marius is around. On a trip, on the slopes, in the summer, or at a dinner: the mood is lifted when he arrives."​

​

"I have three children of whom I am incredibly proud. It is a gift to have people in your life who you really enjoy being with. We have been lucky. I am grateful to have been able to be close to them from when they were brand new, until they turn 18 and as adults."​

​

"Mette says that I should include in the book that I am so fond of the children that it can hurt. It's a bit like that. I am so happy to be with them and I so much want them to be well. Being a parent does not make you happy all the time, but you know that you are doing something deeply meaningful."​

The parental-love-hurts comment certainly has added meaning now. And it is interesting that Ingrid Alexandra's 2022 interview named Marius's "loyalty to people" as his best trait while Haakon's 2023 interview similarly cites his caring visits to a lonely friend. One wonders where that loyalty/caring has gone lately (thinking of his "f**k the kingdom" T-shirt).

Haakon turned 50 in July last year.
The police made their intervention, was it in September, last year.
Marius behavior would have been more than well known last year and surely so would the friends he associate.
And when did Marius and his friends raid the CP apartment? That was last year too IIRC.
And of course Marius is full of energy. He's bloody hyped up on cocaine and what else he's taking!
- So Marius is the family clown, who is fun and sweet and it's never boring when he's around - and for that he is probably forgiven much...
These words are sure coming back to bite Haakon!

It also makes me wonder: What on earth were MM and Haakon thinking?!? I won't blame Ingrid or Magnus, because they are still teens and for them "funny Marius" would have been something they grew up with.
But surely MM and Haakon were worried about Marius? And weren't they a little worried that he might influence Ingrid and Magnus and luring them into doing something stupid, like trying drugs? Just a little bit concerned?
This leaves me with a very odd feeling.

Not knowing much about technical facts I just ask if that means that all evidence of his criminal behavior and threats to other people documented on his phone are destroyed for ever?

It isn't.
Text messages will be stored on the phone of the recipient. Calls will be stored at the phone company.

 

[kalnel]

The destruction of the phone is an interesting new detail. The SIM was removed, so it seems a deliberate act.

If he smashed it, the SIM card could have popped out. But, yes, it does seem deliberate.

 

[LadyFinn]

When Marius was arrested the first time, he handed over a broken and unscrewed mobile phone without a SIM card according to VG.

Haukland's lawyer John Christian Elden: This may explain why the police saw the need for an action at the cabin before mobile logins and SIM cards were deleted, as this is normally key evidence in a criminal case. It is unusual for the police to notify an accused about an arrest half an hour before. The risk that the seizured device is worthless is clear. The police could have asked PST and the bodyguards to secure the phone before the arrest.
(..)

Elden om ødelagt mobil: – Ikke vanlig at politiet varsler en siktet

Da Marius Borg Høiby ble arrestert første gang, leverte han ifølge VGs opplysninger fra seg en knust og avskrudd mobil uten SIM-kort. Bistandsadvokaten til Nora Haukland mener politiet kunne håndtert pågripelsen annerledes.

www.vg.no

So far the Police haven't wanted to comment the new information of violations of the restraining order, maybe we will get news about that soon.

 

[Binz]

To me it looks like the complete NRF reacts regarding family matters after the motto:

See nothing
Hear nothing
Say nothing
Do nothing

Do they all close their eyes and just hope the best? Do they believe it‘s „normal“ a young man beats up his different girlfriends regularly? Taking drugs and hanging around with criminals? That he is just an energetic, cool, funny, young guy doing this?

It starts with king Harald and as an example his indulgence toward his daughter. I’m afraid princess Ragnhild might have been right.

 

[SLV]

To me it looks like the complete NRF reacts regarding family matters after the motto:

See nothing
Hear nothing
Say nothing
Do nothing

Do they all close their eyes and just hope the best? Do they believe it‘s „normal“ a young man beats up his different girlfriends regularly? Taking drugs and hanging around with criminals? That he is just an energetic, cool, funny, young guy doing this?

It starts with king Harald and as an example his indulgence toward his daughter. I’m afraid princess Ragnhild might have been right.

We don't know that they did nothing. We don't know how many times they may have sat Marius down and had serious conversations. How often they have urged him to seek help, how often they have taken him to a rehab-center. Sat with their hand in their hair after he came back again too soon and reversed to his old behaviour again. How often they have threatened to throw him out, only to see that this would just push him further into the influence of his 'friends'.
It is so easy for us to blame them for enabling Marius, but we really don't know what went on inside Skaugum. And how much worse it may have gotten, if they had not done what they did.

 

[polyesco]

That's the thing, conversations and "threats" can only go so far. Actions are needed.
I can think of one action off the top of my head. Okay, you won't listen, your diplomatic passport has been revoked, go ahead and apply for a regular one.
You almost killed a guard with your senseless driving, you are no longer allowed to drive on the estate grounds. The guards can escort you in the company golf cart to your residence.
just as a start....

 

[hereditarytitles]

That's the thing, conversations and "threats" can only go so far. Actions are needed.
I can think of one action off the top of my head. Okay, you won't listen, your diplomatic passport has been revoked, go ahead and apply for a regular one.
You almost killed a guard with your senseless driving, you are no longer allowed to drive on the estate grounds. The guards can escort you in the company golf cart to your residence.
just as a start....

You are right, but even then.. we don't know if they did this or tried to do this, with no result. It is always the question : Did Marius get out of control because his family let him? Or did he just go on not caring what his parents or the police or whoever said. He seems to be very very reckless, or ill or addicted to drugs and alcohol and might even have just a very bad character. Sadly enough there are many people in this world who are like that.
Unless this whole terible story goes to court and he will be convicted, we won't know much. And I am sure that the NRF will not tell us the whole truth and will be protected by the government, the police, the secret service?
That is what usually happens with influential rich families, royal or not. I would hope that I am wrong in my assessment , but after all that has happened so far and that is two months ago, I cannot see any progress.

 

[LadyFinn]

Comment in Dagbladet, some things from it:
Marius said at his statement he would take the case "with the utmost seriousness". It's getting harder and harder to believe. Because two months later, things don't look good.
Has Marius explained himself truthfully to the police? It is unclear. According the Criminal Code's section 230, the police can't order a suspect to give a statement. The so-called self-incrimination principle is an important institution in Norwegian criminal law: You cannot be ordered to contribute to your own conviction. At the same time, it is not certain that it is so wise to keep quiet. As stated in the Criminal Procedure Act's section 93: If the accused refuses to answer or explains himself in a reserved manner, he may be made aware by the presiding judge that this may be regarded as speaking against him. The whole point of giving a statement is, after all, to be able to defend yourself against the accusations that come.

Ser ikke bra ut

Marius Borg Høiby sa han skulle ta saken «på største alvor». Det blir det vanskeligere og vanskeligere å tro på.

www.dagbladet.no

Dagbladet has been confirmed that the police investigates new violations of the restraining order after Marius' friend allegedly contacted the third victim last weekend and told her that Marius wanted to have contact with her.
The same weekend, the offended woman is said to have been in an afterparty in Oslo. Marius had wanted to come to the same place, which led to her leaving the party.
Police prosecutor Andreas Kruszewski says the police haven't confirmed or denied a violation of the restraining order. They make ongoing assessments in relation to information they receive. If new violations of the restraining order can result in a reverse violence alarm or a request for detention, Kruszewski replies that it is an assessment that they return to if necessary.

Ble kontaktet via venninne

Marius Borg Høiby etterforskes for å ha forsøkt å kontakte den fornærmede ekskjæresten via ei venninne forrige helg, får Dagbladet opplyst.

dagbladet.no

So, Marius obviously doesn't care about the restraining order? Surely his lawyer and his parents have told him what it means, if he himself doesn't understand it.

 

[suztav]

This stinks from the Crown Prince Couple on down! Sorry, but they are complicit in this! Too difficult not to know anything! JMHO

 

[Queen Claude]

Neither Marius' parents nor his attorney should have to tell him. Presumably when the no contact / restraining order was issued the conditions and consequences were clearly laid out and in layperson's language. At most his attorney should have gone over the no contact / restraining order at the time it was issued and confirmed that Marius understood the conditions and consequences. If he has violated the no contact / restraining order then law enforcement needs to implement the consequences.

 

[Somebody]

He already violated it before and had the police take him in from the cabin, so, it's not that he doesn't understand. I am afraid that so far he has learned that he can do as he pleases as there are no consequences. Instead his mother will try to intervene by sending open letters to the press that they need to leave him alone when he is taking part in his 'youthful indiscretions' (and maybe in other ways as well).

And he has seen his grandfather the king have a similar attitude to his aunt - at most trying to somewhat limit the damage but with minimal consequences for questionable (and worse) behavior.

 

[Prinsara]

Instead his mother will try to intervene by sending open letters to the press that they need to leave him alone when he is taking part in his 'youthful indiscretions' (and maybe in other ways as well).

I have failed to see MM do anything in this instance except take him furniture shopping, publicly decline to comment on anything, and briefly speak to his ex when this all began.

But please explain how that means she is about to reproach the press again or interfere in Marius’s violating a restraining order.

She appears to be behaving differently this time, even if Marius cannot.

 

[Somebody]

What I was explaining is that Marius learned from experiences in the past that there are no consequences but that instead his mother will try to protect him. Hopefully he will finally find out that there are limits to what even his mother the crown princess can do.

In essence, I am not seeing different behavior from MM either - still no consequences but explicitly and implicitly supporting him by trying to contact his (former) girlfriend and publicly standing by his side by taking him shopping. As this is now a court case, she is no longer in a position to admonish the press for reporting on her son's behavior.

 

[Queen Claude]

What I was explaining is that Marius learned from experiences in the past that there are no consequences but that instead his mother will try to protect him. Hopefully he will finally find out that there are limits to what even his mother the crown princess can do.

In essence, I am not seeing different behavior from MM either - still no consequences but explicitly and implicitly supporting him by trying to contact his (former) girlfriend and publicly standing by his side by taking him shopping. As this is now a court case, she is no longer in a position to admonish the press for reporting on her son's behavior.

Marius' attorney was adamant that he did not attempt contact previously and law enforcement was equally adamant that they believed that he did attempt contact. It does not matter what Marius thinks, if law enforcement sees this as a second violation and they were not able to act upon the first violation beyond raiding his location and temporarily holding him, I would think that after the second violation, law enforcement would take the steps to implement the consequences PDQ.

In fairness to Mette-Marit she has not intervened with the media, as she has done in the past, other than to state that she will not answer questions. Haakon made a brief statement when he was in Paris and after that has also taken the no comment route (IIRC). Meanwhile the Norwegian and media from other countries have done extensive coverage with numerous negative stories about Marius' crimes and antics.

Harald's inaction regarding Märtha Louise should not have any bearing on Marius because these are two different jurisdictions. Hopefully Marius is not an idiot who will conflate committing physical harm against someone, admitting it in a written statement and then violating a protective order with an elderly and indulgent father not taking action against his daughter commercializing her title. But hey, if Marius is that stupid and hubristic, so be it, but it is Norwegian law enforcement responsibility to take the appropriate action when someone, who has, based on evidence and their own admission, inflicted physical harm on someone goes on to violate a protective order.

Edited to add quote

 

[Chimene]

You are right, but even then.. we don't know if they did this or tried to do this, with no result. It is always the question : Did Marius get out of control because his family let him? Or did he just go on not caring what his parents or the police or whoever said. He seems to be very very reckless, or ill or addicted to drugs and alcohol and might even have just a very bad character. Sadly enough there are many people in this world who are like that.
Unless this whole terible story goes to court and he will be convicted, we won't know much. And I am sure that the NRF will not tell us the whole truth and will be protected by the government, the police, the secret service?
That is what usually happens with influential rich families, royal or not. I would hope that I am wrong in my assessment , but after all that has happened so far and that is two months ago, I cannot see any progress.

Where does that cavalier attitude come from and why wasn’t it corrected? I think it’s pretty obvious he has a bad character because mental illness or addiction doesn’t necessarily mean someone is automatically violent, and you certainly don’t walk around acting invincible in the face of mounting evidence.

 

[Muhler]

He already violated it before and had the police take him in from the cabin, so, it's not that he doesn't understand. I am afraid that so far he has learned that he can do as he pleases as there are no consequences. Instead his mother will try to intervene by sending open letters to the press that they need to leave him alone when he is taking part in his 'youthful indiscretions' (and maybe in other ways as well).

And he has seen his grandfather the king have a similar attitude to his aunt - at most trying to somewhat limit the damage but with minimal consequences for questionable (and worse) behavior.

This nails it.
I believe Marius lie blatantly and tell people what they want to hear, with no intention of sticking to whatever promises he has made or even care. (The public statement issues after his arrest.)
I also believe Marius tries to circumnavigate any boundaries or push them (breaking the no contact with his last girlfriend) regardless of what anyone says.
- And he does that because he has learned that he can get away with it, that there are no consequences. Marius and his parents can sit down in a circle having their "we are not angry, we are disappointed" chat with him as many times as they want, he doesn't care. So why should he this time?
He's funny-Marius, remember? He's cool-Marius. He's protective-Marius. He's wild-Marius who do crazy stuff. He's Marius-who-is-always-forgiven.

The real world is catching up with Marius, he just hasn't realized it yet. I wonder if Haakon and MM have realized it? They sure seem to be in total denial in regards to Marius. I don't know if they think a harsher approach to parenting is a bad thing, whatever. I suspect they have let Marius get away with breaking every rule they ever put up for him, all his life.

Unless he has a diagnosis that is way out there on the spectrum, Marius wasn't born a rule-breaker. That was taught. And even if he has tendencies for rebellious behavior, he can still be taught in various ways that actions have consequences.

Alas, I predict that Haakon and MM will continue to be in denial, even after Marius has got his sentence with prison now very much being a possible outcome.
I don't think they will dump Marius, until he has learned to conform. I don't think they'll keep him at an arms length in regards to NRF semi-official events. I don't even think they'll kick him out of Skaugum. And once he is released they'll tolerate his old behavior and he'll run wild again and again. If anything they'll blame themselves and indulge Marius even more.
Even the bad press and opinion polls won't make a difference. Haakon and MM have by now become very good at closing their eyes for reality.
In fact I predict that they'll only get a reality check once something really serious involving Marius happens. Like running someone over while DUI or ending up on intensive care from an overdose or an accident, or beating a new girlfriend to a pulp, or getting arrested for something really serious like dealing in drugs. - Or when the opinions polls show that Haakon is only a referendum away from being Haakon the Last.
It's a pessimistic predication, I know, but I think it fits with the pattern the CP-family and perhaps the NRF as a whole, has displayed both in regards to Marius but also ML and her shaman.

The biggest threat to the monarchy in Norway right now is not the republicans or any political movement, it's not even Marius or ML and her Durek for that matter, it's the primary members of the NRF themselves.