Who is Oslo Plaza woman 'Jennifer Fairgate'? All the theories on Unsolved Mysteries case

One of the episodes which is already causing quite a stir is Death in Oslo, which focuses on the mysterious death of a woman named Jennifer Fairgate (also known as Jennifer Fergate.)

In 1995, a woman checked into The Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel in Oslo under a fake name of "Jennifer Fairgate".

Days later, she was found dead in her hotel room. Police ruled her death as a suicide, as she'd been found with a pistol in her hand and both doors in her hotel room were safe-locked from the inside with key cards in the room.

However, suspicions soon rose due to the lack of gunshot residue, the absence of any documents that confirmed her identity and her room window being found open.

Pathologist determined the woman’s age to be around 30, however, she'd registered her age as 21 with the hotel.

Additionally, the phone numbers she'd given were incorrect, her postcode and street address did not correspond and all labels bar one had been removed from her clothes.

With so many questions surrounding Jennifer’s death, we’ve broken down some of the top theories, as well as Jennifer’s “real identity” and a timeline of Jennifer's stay at the hotel according to staff.

Who is Jennifer Fairgate?

Jennifer Fairgate, also known as Jennifer Fergate, was the name a woman, who checked into a The Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel in Oslo.

However, Jennifer Fairgate was not her real identity, and is a fake name used by the murder victim believed to have been from Germany.

A strong theory is that Jennifer was a spy who was assassinated. Many believe she was part of an intelligence operation and her death was an assassination.

Some of Jennifer’s behaviour seems to lean towards this theory. For example, the use of a fake name and the hotel in Oslo was also known for holding big political meetings, which may also explain why a spy would have wanted to stay there.

As well as this, the identification number on the gun used was said to be have been professionally removed, how intelligence would know how to do to avoid tracking.

For a long time, police only had her physical description to work on. She had blue eyes, dark, short hair, was 5' 2" tall and weighed 148 pounds.

She had had pricy gold and porcelain dental work that could have been done in the United States or in western European countries like the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland.

We also know she spoke English and German, from the hotel staff who confirmed this, although she had no particularly notable accent.

Another theory about her identity, put forward by the hotel staff was that she was a flight attendant.

Her dark wardrobe, lack of luggage and her wheeled suitcase, was said to typical of the type stewards used at the time according to the hotel staff. This does not explain, however, why she had no passport with her.

Theory one: There was someone else in the hotel room

Theory one: There was someone else in the hotel room

It’s believed there could have been someone else in the room with Jennifer.

This conclusion is supported by the peculiar circumstances surrounding Jennifer and her lack of identity. All of the labels from her clothes, except for one grey blazer, had been snipped off, while she had no passport, wallet, credit cards or car keys with her, which could imply that someone had removed anything that could possibly be used to identify the woman. Twenty-four hours before she died, she tipped room service 50 kroner, which implies that she must have had some cash on her at the time – therefore, it's possible that whoever was in the room with her took away all items that linked Jennifer to any identity after killing her.

Additionally, the serial number on the automatic pistol – a Browning 9mm – had been professionally removed, etched away with acid, while seven more rounds of bullets were in the gun, with 25 more cartridges stored in a black case by the bed. This may have been done to stop police from linking the gun back to the person who had purchased it, which could also be the person responsible for Jennifer's death.

Police were also baffled as to why there wasn't any blood found on her hands – a lot of blood was found on the bed, the pillow, a nearby phone, the table and the wall but there were no marks on Jennifer's hands, which are typical in these types of cases.

While both key cards were in the room and the door was double-locked from the inside, the window was left ajar. However, the room was 28 floors up from the ground – which would make the murderers escape very difficult and it's unlikely that they left through the hotel as he/she wasn't spotted by staff.

Theory two: Jennifer was murdered by “Lois Fairgate”

When Jennifer Fairgate checked into the hotel, she was with someone who checked in as “Lois Fairgate". This name was on the registration card with and people have said the man who was with her was acting strange at the desk.

Other than this appearance at check in, it doesn’t seem as though this man came back to the hotel at all – and he also didn’t provide any ID. Nobody has been able to track him down since.

In Unsolved Mysteries, the investigator says he believes someone else was in the room, and she may have been drugged. The toxicology test after her death only checked for alcohol in her system.

Theory three: It was Mr F

There is a theory which links the death to another mysterious guest staying in the hotel – a Belgian man who was staying on the same floor as the woman that journalists began calling 'Mr F'.

Journalists have tried to contact him many times regarding the case, with one from Verdens Gang unsuccessfully trying to visit him in Belgium but eventually getting through to him via his mobile phone. Mr F allegedly told the journalist that he remembered the death well.

"They asked me about it at the front desk when I checked out," Mr F told VG. "Someone asked if I had heard or seen anything, since it was in the same corridor. But I slept well that night and knew nothing about it. as he was asked about at reception as he checked out of the hotel whether he had heard anything.

However, according to hotel records, Mister F had left the hotel before the woman was found dead. When confronted with this information, Mr F said he didn't know anything about that and then ignored any further attempts that journalists made to get in touch with him.

It's possible that this hotel guest – Mr F – was somehow involved in Jennifer Fairgate's death as he seemed to know about the 'suicide' before it was supposed to have happened.

Theory three: It was a suicide

Many of the clues in the case do point towards the police's original conclusion – that Jennifer Fairgate died by suicide.

The hotel room only contained the fingerprints of the woman, while hotel records showed that she barely left her room during her stay.

Additionally, the neighbours in the room next to Fairgate's did not hear anything out of the ordinary coming from her room.

A timeline of events

• Wednesday 31st May 1995 – The woman calls the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel to let them know that she wants to check in that day and tells them that two people will be coming.
• Wednesday 31st May, 10.44pm – The woman enters her room, 2805, for the first time.
• Thursday 1st June, 12.21am – Someone leaves the room.
• Thursday 1st June, 8.34am – The card key is used again.
• Thursday 1st June, 12.50pm – The room is cleaned. According to room steward Vigdis Valø and a 19-year-old trainee, the room is unoccupied during this time, while the bed has been made, appears to not have been slept in and the extra duvet, provided for Jennifer's guest, has not been used.
• Friday 2nd June, 8.50am – Woman returns to her room after 20-24 hours away.
• Friday 2nd June, 11.03am – Jennifer's new card key is used again.
• Friday 2nd June, 8.23pm – Jennifer orders room service. Staff member Kristin Andersen delivers the food and reports that it looks untouched.
• Saturday 3rd June, 8.04pm – Oslo Plaza's head of security enters the room and finds Jennifer dead. Two duvets are found on the bed.

Read more about the Unsolved Mysteries cases including JoAnn Matouk Romain, Jack Wheeler, Lester Eubanks, and the Stolen Kids.

Unsolved Mysteries Volume Two is available to stream on Netflix from Monday 19th October 2020. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our guide to the best TV series on Netflix and best movies on Netflix, visit our TV Guide, or find out about upcoming new TV shows 2020.