Victim named as search for suburban killer continues

Police investigating the stabbing death of a woman found outside her suburban Copenhagen home on Friday have released the name of the vicitim and are calling on the public to come forward with any information they may have about the inicdent.

Heidi Abildskov is thought to have been killed around midnight on Friday before being found in the garden outside her home in Virum, after she failed to show up for work at the special needs school where she worked as assistant headteacher.

The 41-year-old mother is thought to have been home alone at the time of the crime. She was found wearing her pajamas and had apparently died after being stabbed multiple times in her upper body.

An autopsy is scheduled for today, and police hope to be able to determine the type of weapon that was used in the attack, and whether Abildskov's body showed signs she attempted to fight off her attacker.

Police say that have a theory about what happend, but have no specific leads, as there were no signs of a break-in, nor was there anything missing from the house.  

Police are currently reviewing surveillance footage from three nearby S-train stations, Sorgenfri, Virum and Holte, to see whether they can identify a possible suspect.

“Usually criminals flee the scene of a serious crime as quickly as possible,” Henning Svendsen, who is the leading the murder investigation, told the tabloid BT. “We’re following up any possible escape route the suspect may have taken.”

Local petrol stations are also been contacted in the hope that their cameras may have recorded the suspect or that staff may have noticed anything suspicious around the time of the crime. Taxi drivers who were in the area have also been questioned.

Abildskov leaves behind a 16-year-old daughter and a boyfriend, with whom she had lived for the last six years. Both were away at the time of death.

The murder weapon has yet to be found.