Published 05.48
It has been one of the most rewritten legal cases in Norway’s history.
Today, the sentence falls against Marius Borg Høiby – and nothing but prison seems to be in question.
– If he is caught, it will contribute to weakening the Norwegian monarchy, says Øystein Milli, crime commentator for the Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang.
The prosecutors wants him sentenced to more than seven years in prison.
The defense thinks that two years is enough for the crimes he confessed to.
Today comes the Oslo district court’s verdict regarding the Norwegian bonus prince Marius Borg Høiby29. He is charged with 40 crimes. Including four cases of rape, which allegedly took place while the victims were asleep, as well as for violence in intimate relationships.
Still in custody
In courtroom 250, the same room where the six-week trial against the bonus prince was held, the court’s verdict will be read out. Aftonbladet will report directly. Marius Borg Høiby himself will not be present but participate via video link, the Oslo district court announced on Friday.
The reason is: medically documented reasons.
That Marius Borg Høiby will be sentenced to prison is almost obvious. Among other things, he has confessed to drug crimes, crimes against restraining orders, traffic offenses and some of the crimes in close relation with which he was charged.
And he has remained in custody pending sentencing despite his mother recently revealing that her chronic lung disease is now so bad that she will need a transplant – another indicator that he has prison to look forward to.
– The points he admitted to will probably give him a prison sentence of at least one year. If he is also sentenced for the rapes, there is reason to believe that it will be a good bit longer, perhaps more than three years, says Øystein Milli, crime commentator for the Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang.
The support failed
In which prison he ends up if he is convicted is unclear. While waiting for the verdict to become final, he can be released.
– It is likely that this case – regardless of the outcome – will be appealed, perhaps both to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. Thus, a possible prison sentence is further down the line, says Øystein Milli.
The accusations against Marius Borg Høiby, and the revelation of Mette-Marit’s friendship with the now-deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, have caused support for the Norwegian monarchy to plummet. However, the news that Mette-Marit’s unusual variant of pulmonary fibrosis has worsened has once again increased sympathy for the Norwegian royal family.
– There is an understanding that Marius needs to be with his family. But when it comes to the perception that people have of him after everything that came out during the trial, I don’t think it has changed, says Øystein Milli.
Couldn’t get air
Borg Høiby was arrested after the police were called to an apartment in Oslo in August 2024. When police arrived, his then-girlfriend, dubbed the Frogner Woman in Norwegian media, was found with a concussion and visible head injuries.
There was a knife in the wall. A crystal chandelier was knocked down and smashed on the floor.
The woman herself has testified about how Høiby beat her so that she lost her hearing, pushed her and repeatedly choked her until she couldn’t breathe.
– When I’m lying there, I think that he has to let go. If he doesn’t, I pass out.
In connection with the arrest, several videos were found on Borg Høiby’s mobile phone and computer, videos that appear to show him abusing sleeping women, which led to suspicions of adultery in four cases. Another one of his ex-girlfriends also came forward and testified about how she was subjected to violence in a close relationship by Mette-Marit’s son.
Marius Borg Høiby thinks he has been subjected to a witch hunt and portrayed as a monster.
– I am whole Norway’s object of hatred. I have lost 98 percent of my social network. And the few I have left don’t dare go out to eat at a restaurant with me and don’t want to be seen with me, and yes… I’m sitting all alone, he said one of the days in court.
Footnote: The verdict will be announced Monday morning at 08:30.
