The Backpacker's Nightmare - Laos (2020)

On a cool January morning in 2020, a Laotian farmer trudged through the lush jungle outside the tourist town of Vang Vieng. The air was thick with humidity and the smell of vegetation, but something acrid and foul caught his attention.

Following the odor, he came upon a harrowing sight: the partly decomposed body of a young woman lying amid discarded rubbish and leaves .

As local police arrived and examined the scene, disturbing details emerged – the woman's throat appeared damaged and her body bore signs of severe trauma . This was no accident. It was the gruesome end of a journey that had begun as an adventure and ended in murder.

The victim was soon identified as 30-year-old Nerid Høiness, a backpacker from Norway who had been traveling through Asia . Not long before her corpse was found, Nerid had been living out her dreams on tropical beaches and in mountain jungles – until she vanished without a trace.

As investigators surveyed the grim discovery, whispers started to spread: Nerid hadn't been alone on her travels.

Stardust and Magic

Nerid Høiness was by all accounts an adventurous and bright young woman. She grew up in a loving family in Norway, and as an adult she developed a passion for yoga and travel . In her late twenties, she decided to pursue her dreams across the globe.

She trained as a yoga instructor in India and later spent time in Bali, Indonesia, honing her practice . By 2019, Nerid's wanderlust led her to Thailand, where she hoped to find work and new experiences. In between her Asian travels, she worked as a waitress in Oslo to save money, but her heart was set on exploring the world .

That same year, Nerid arrived on Ko Phangan, a tropical island in the Gulf of Thailand famous for its full-moon parties and laid-back vibe. Ko Phangan is a magnet for free-spirited travelers – hippies, backpackers, and yoga enthusiasts alike. Nerid fit right in. She originally had plans to teach yoga there and had even lined up a job with a local yoga studio run by an Israeli woman . But as often happens in travel, Nerid's plans changed when she met someone special.

It was on Ko Phangan in October 2019 that Nerid encountered Hiroyuki "Hiro" Ogu, a 38-year-old tourist from Japan . Hiro was a bit older and exotic, and he seemed to share her love for adventure. We don't know exactly how they met – But what's clear is that Nerid fell head over heels fast. She told her friends and family that she had met "the man of her dreams" in Thailand . On social media, she posted almost whimsical phrases about their connection, saying things like "together we are stardust and magic," capturing the heady infatuation she felt. In those moments, Hiro must have seemed like the perfect partner for her travels – charming, spontaneous, and equally drawn to the beauty of Southeast Asia.

'It's Been Three and a Half Weeks'

By late 2019, after only a few weeks together, Nerid was already talking about marriage. This shocked her family back home in Norway. Nerid had always been close with her mother, Ellen Høiness, who was not only her mom but her best friend and confidante . They used to speak on the phone frequently, even when Nerid was abroad.

But when Nerid called home from Thailand announcing she planned to marry this Japanese man "Hiro" she'd just met, Ellen was alarmed . How could her daughter be engaged to someone she'd known for less than a month? Ellen tried to reason with her. She explained that, even if Nerid was serious, it wasn't possible to simply get married at the Norwegian Embassy in Bangkok – the rules wouldn't allow it since the groom wasn't Norwegian .

Besides, Ellen reminded her gently, "You've only known him for two and a half weeks." Nerid bristled at that. She corrected her mother indignantly, "It's been three and a half weeks, actually," as if every extra day justified her rushing emotions .

That phone call ended in an argument. Ellen could tell something was different about her daughter. "She wasn't the Nerid I knew," Ellen later told reporters, recalling how quickly Nerid had changed under Hiro's influence . The normally open and cheerful young woman had become defensive, secretive, and adamant that she knew what she was doing. After that fight, the frequent calls and messages from Nerid started to dwindle . Ellen grew increasingly worried.

A Wrong Turn on Ko Phangan

Back on Ko Phangan, Nerid's life was indeed taking a troubling turn. She never followed through with the yoga job opportunity. Instead, she seemed to be pulled into Hiro's orbit, which, unbeknownst to her family, had a dark side. Hiroyuki Ogu was not just a carefree backpacker; he had a reputation on the island. Other travelers and locals would later report that Hiro could be controlling and volatile, especially with his girlfriends .

In fact, Nerid's brother would eventually uncover that Hiro had dated other Scandinavian women before, and those women described him as extremely abusive and frighteningly possessive . At least one former girlfriend from Europe said she had to flee from Hiro out of fear for her life, warning that he was dangerous .

Even more alarming were the rumors about Hiro's activities. People said he made frequent trips to Laos and that these jaunts were tied to drug running . Ko Phangan, despite its idyllic appearance, has a shadowy undercurrent of drug trade, and Hiro seemed entangled in it. Later reports indicated that Hiro might have been working with a cross-border drug smuggling gang, using his travels as a cover to transport illegal substances between Thailand and Laos .

He had even befriended several Western tourists before – possibly as a way to blend into the tourist crowd or to use them as unwitting accomplices. With his heavily tattooed torso and a charismatic demeanor, Hiro straddled the line between a globe-trotting free spirit and a man with dangerous secrets . He spoke fluent English in addition to Japanese , which made it easy for him to charm foreigners like Nerid.

As 2019 drew to a close, Nerid's mother could sense her daughter was in trouble, even if she didn't have the full picture. Ellen's concern grew when Nerid made an unusual request: she asked her mom for 5,000 Norwegian kroner (about $500) to buy a motorbike in Thailand for Hiro . It was such an odd plea – why should her daughter finance a motorbike for a man she barely knew? Ellen refused to send the money. They argued again, and after that, Nerid went silent. She stopped answering her mother's calls altogether.

The Last Message

By mid-December 2019, Ellen Høiness was frantic. She hadn't heard her daughter's voice in weeks, and the snippets of information she had were chilling. In desperation, on December 16, 2019, Ellen went to her local police station in Tønsberg, Norway and filed an official missing person report for Nerid . This was no small step – a mother doesn't report her adult daughter missing in a foreign country unless she truly fears something is very wrong.

And indeed, Ellen had good reason. Around that time, she managed to get in touch with the Israeli woman on Ko Phangan who had expected to employ Nerid. What she learned was every parent's nightmare. The Israeli contact bluntly told Ellen that Nerid had "taken a wrong turn" in life on the island – that she was mixed up with crime and drugs now .

Not long after Ellen's missing person report, something surprising happened – Nerid herself called home. It was as if she sensed that her mother was mobilizing authorities. In late December, just before Christmas, Nerid reached out to say she was okay . We don't know the full content of that call, but it's clear that Nerid downplayed any problems. She did not want to come home. She was intent on staying with Hiro. This call brought some relief to Ellen; at least her daughter was alive and in touch. But the relief was short-lived.

A couple of weeks later, as the New Year 2020 rang in, Nerid's contact became sporadic again. On January 8, 2020, Ellen received a brief text message from Nerid's phone that simply said "Happy New Year" . Oddly, the greeting was written in English, not Norwegian. That gave Ellen pause – usually, Nerid would send messages in Norwegian, her mother tongue.

Seeing her daughter use an English keyboard and phrasing felt off, like someone else might have been typing it . Was Hiro controlling her communications by then? Ellen suspected that the message wasn't truly from Nerid or at least not written freely by her. It felt like a generic reassurance, and after that, all attempts by the family to reach Nerid went unanswered . Unbeknownst to them, by January 8, Nerid and Hiro had already left Thailand and crossed the border into Laos .

Indeed, Nerid and Hiro embarked on a road trip to Laos in early January 2020 as part of their backpacking adventure. They traveled by motorbike from Thailand, heading northwards through scenic mountains and across the Mekong River into Laos . Immigration records later confirmed that the couple entered Laos on January 8, 2020 .

Their destination was Vang Vieng, a small town about 150 kilometers north of the Laotian capital, Vientiane. Vang Vieng is well-known on the backpacker trail – a once-sleepy village turned into a hotspot for young travelers seeking river tubing, cave explorations, and wild nightlife under limestone karst cliffs. It was the dry season, and the days were cool and pleasant. For a free-spirited couple, it must have sounded like the perfect next stop.

Screams in Room 301

After two days on the road, on January 10, the pair checked into a guesthouse in Vang Vieng . The guesthouse was called Soukkhakhone View (sometimes referred to by travelers as "Freedom Hostel") – an affordable, no-frills place popular with backpackers .

They got a room on the third floor, with a simple bed, a fan, and a view of the town's lush surroundings. Other tourists milled about, and nothing seemed immediately amiss. To the outside world, Nerid and Hiro were just another young international couple on a budget adventure.

However, behind the closed door of Room 301, a terrifying situation was unfolding. In the days after January 10, guests and staff at the Soukkhakhone View began hearing disturbing noises from the couple's room. Witnesses later told Lao police that they heard shouting, arguments, and blood-curdling screams – not just once, but repeatedly over several days . It sounded like Nerid and Hiro were fighting intensely.

Some might have assumed it was just relationship drama or drunken quarrels; others might have been too scared or unsure to intervene. Vang Vieng's party hostels aren't strangers to occasional rowdy behavior, but this was different. "We heard screaming coming from that room for a few nights," one witness recalled, describing what sounded like a prolonged domestic violence episode . Each night, the cries would start and stop. And then, after a certain mid-January night, the cries ceased altogether.

According to later investigations, January 14, 2020 was the last day anyone saw Nerid alive . She didn't emerge from the room after that date. Earlier in the week, other backpackers had seen her around the hostel common area or walking in town, but after the 14th, not a single sighting. Those who heard the fights noticed a chilling silence.

The forensic evidence would later paint a picture of relentless abuse. It appears that Hiro had been beating and assaulting Nerid repeatedly, over the course of several days .

Her body would later show bruises all over, a sign that she had endured a sustained pattern of violence . At some point, that violence turned fatal. The fatal blow (or rather, squeeze) was to her neck – her larynx was crushed, consistent with manual strangulation .

Nerid Høiness, who just weeks earlier was dreaming of a new life with her newfound love, died in that guesthouse room around mid-January 2020 under the most horrifying circumstances. It's hard to pinpoint the exact day of her death – initial reports suspected January 9, but later evidence suggested it was several days later, around January 15 or 16 .

What is clear is that by the time she died, Nerid's body was badly battered. In addition to the strangulation, one of the early autopsy reports from Laos noted that her skull had a fracture – her head was "partially crushed," possibly from a blunt impact or being slammed against something . Nerid had fought for her life, but she was overpowered by the man she thought she loved.

2 AM on the Stairs

Now, Hiroyuki Ogu was alone in a foreign country with the corpse of his girlfriend. A panicked, decent person might have run to the police or sought help at that point – claimed a terrible accident or a fight gone wrong. But Hiro did no such thing. Instead, he set about covering up the crime. What he did next was as cold-blooded and calculated as the murder itself. Rather than alert anyone, Hiro kept Nerid's death a secret and began planning how to dispose of her body.

For a couple of days, no one knew Nerid was dead. Hiro remained in the guesthouse, with Nerid's lifeless body still in the room.

But by all accounts, Hiro acted strangely in the days after Nerid's disappearance. Witnesses reported seeing him going up and down the stairs carrying odd items. On January 18, a day after Nerid had been killed, Hiro was seen hauling several long bamboo poles up to Room 301 on the third floor .

People found it peculiar – what on earth was he doing with bamboo sticks? The next detail would explain everything: Hiro used those bamboo rods to fashion a makeshift stretcher or frame, and he tied Nerid's lifeless body to his motorbike with them .

In a chilling feat of improvised engineering, Hiro essentially strapped the corpse of his girlfriend onto the back of his motorcycle using the bamboo poles for support . He waited until the early hours of January 19, 2020, when the hostel was dark and most backpackers were asleep or out partying, to make his move .

Security cameras at the guesthouse later revealed the final glimpse of this crime: Around 2 AM on January 19, Hiroyuki Ogu was caught on CCTV carefully carrying a limp human body down the steep stairs of the guesthouse . The grainy footage shows a man struggling under the weight of what looks like an unconscious (or lifeless) woman over his shoulder.

It was Nerid. Hiro then took her body outside and secured it to his motorbike, using the bamboo as a brace . Several witnesses who were awake at that late hour saw him in the act – a couple of shocked onlookers later told police they saw Hiro with "Nerid's lifeless body" being tied onto the bike . Some probably couldn't believe what they were seeing; it must have looked like a drunk person being given a ride, or a horrific prank. But it was all too real.

With his morbid cargo attached, Hiro mounted the motorcycle and rode off into the darkness . The town of Vang Vieng, which by day is full of adventure-seekers tubing in the river, was eerily quiet at that hour. He headed out of town on a dirt road that led into the jungle outskirts. The moon and his headlamp lit the way as he sought a secluded spot far enough from prying eyes.

Eventually, some distance outside Vang Vieng, Hiro found what he deemed a suitable dumping ground – an area of jungle brush that was also used as an informal garbage dump by locals. There, under the cover of night, he discarded Nerid's body on the jungle floor like trash . Hiro showed no mercy, no remorse; he didn't even bother to bury her properly. He left her exposed among the trees and refuse, hoping that nature and time would hide his crime.

After abandoning her remains, Hiro rode back to the guesthouse before dawn. Incredibly, he didn't flee immediately. To avoid arousing suspicion or simply to collect his belongings, Hiro stayed one more day in Vang Vieng.

He even checked out of the guesthouse normally on January 20, 2020, as if nothing was amiss . By the time anyone discovered Nerid was missing, he wanted to be long gone.

And he did vanish – at least for a while. On January 20, after checking out, Hiroyuki Ogu left Vang Vieng and headed south towards the Lao–Thai border. He knew it was only a matter of time before Nerid's body was found or questions were asked, and being a foreigner in Laos made him stand out. He needed to get out of Laos fast.

We don't have an exact record of his movements that day, but it's reasonable to assume he made his way back toward Thailand, where he felt more at home and had contacts. The Friendship Bridge border crossing into Thailand at Nong Khai (across from Vientiane) was probably his exit point. Within hours, Hiro would slip back into Thailand, thinking he had gotten away with murder.

A Farmer's Grim Discovery

For a brief moment, it seemed he had. No one in Laos yet realized a murder had occurred. In Vang Vieng, people noticed the quiet Norwegian woman wasn't around, but many backpackers come and go. It wasn't until January 22, 2020 – two days after Hiro fled – that the truth literally emerged from the jungle. That morning, the farmer found Nerid's remains, already decomposing in the 30°C tropical heat . Local authorities were alerted immediately. The discovery of a Western woman's body in such condition was a major incident for a small Laotian town.

Police secured the area and noted the state of the corpse. Given the advanced decomposition, they estimated she had been dead approximately 5 to 7 days by the time of discovery . That timeline pointed back to roughly mid-January for her death – consistent with when witnesses last heard screams. The injuries were obvious: the forensic team observed the severe trauma to her neck and signs of beating . This was clearly a homicide.

Crucially, investigators also found clues to her identity. It turned out that Nerid had been reported missing – twice. Her mother's report in Norway was in the international system, and interestingly, Nerid's friends in Thailand had also reported her missing when she failed to return or contact them after leaving for Laos .

And of course, the guesthouse registration records in Vang Vieng listed her name and passport details (hostels in Laos routinely hold passports of foreign guests). Very quickly, Lao police determined that the dead woman was Nerid Høiness, the 30-year-old Norwegian traveler.

They also learned that she had checked in with a companion – a Japanese man named Hiroyuki Ogu, who was now nowhere to be found. Hiro instantly became the prime suspect, and an international fugitive case was opened. The local Vang Vieng police realized they needed backup, given the gravity of the crime and the foreign nationals involved.

By January 23, 2020, a team from the Laotian capital – investigators from the Police Investigation Department, the Police Forensic Department, and the Criminal Intelligence Department – all arrived in Vang Vieng to take charge of the case . They joined forces with the provincial and district police to conduct a thorough investigation and manhunt .

The evidence left behind was damning. In Room 301 of the guesthouse, police reportedly found bloodstains and other signs of a struggle (although specific details weren't released, the fact that they didn't allow media to see the files suggests it was gruesome) .

CCTV footage from the guesthouse captured Hiro's movements with the body on January 19 . Multiple eyewitness accounts corroborated hearing the abuse and seeing Hiro carry Nerid's body out on his motorcycle . It was a solid case – except the suspect had a head start of a couple of days.

Laos is a small country, and Hiro's likely escape route was into Thailand. So, Laotian authorities quickly alerted Interpol and neighboring countries. By April 2020, Interpol had issued a Red Notice for Hiroyuki Ogu, effectively putting him on the international wanted list for murder . On Interpol's site, there were three photographs of Hiro – including one of him wearing glasses – and a note that he spoke English and Japanese . Police also shared that Hiro had distinctive tattoos covering his torso, making him easier to identify if spotted shirtless on some beach .

News of the murder and Hiro's escape spread in Norwegian and Japanese media. In Norway, it was a bombshell. The story of a Norwegian woman murdered abroad is tragic enough, but then it came out that Nerid was the daughter of a former Norwegian ambassador – her late father, Hans Fredrik Lehne, had been a diplomat, and her mother Ellen was a longtime Foreign Ministry employee .

The case garnered a lot of press, and there was public outrage that the killer was still at large. Norwegian authorities had limited jurisdiction since the crime happened in Laos, but they provided assistance where they could, and importantly, they supported Nerid's family through the ordeal. The Norwegian police in Tønsberg, Nerid's hometown, became liaisons, but even they had to rely on updates from Laos and Interpol .

Meanwhile, Hiro was doing everything he could to disappear. For almost two years, he managed to evade capture, hopping between countries in Southeast Asia. Initially, it appears he went back to the familiar turf of Thailand. Reports trickled in that Hiro was spotted on Ko Phangan again, as if hiding in plain sight among the very community of expats and travelers where he met Nerid .

Determined to find Hiro, the Høiness family hired private investigators, including a former UN police chief from Norway named Øyvind Olsen, to track him down . They worked with a lawyer, Sidsel Katralen, and combed through any digital traces. Miraculously, they managed to pinpoint Hiro's whereabouts on several occasions.

He seemed to bounce between Bangkok (the Thai capital) and Ko Phangan. They even found evidence on social media of Hiro's presence – posts or photos that gave away his location . Each time they got a lead, they would alert authorities, hoping for an arrest. Frustratingly, nothing happened for many months. Thai police either couldn't find him in time or didn't make it a priority since the crime wasn't committed in Thailand.

By late 2020 and into 2021, tips suggested Hiro had moved to Cambodia, perhaps feeling the heat in Thailand . In April 2020, Cambodian immigration officers in the riverside town of Kampot were actually circulating wanted posters of Hiro, after a sighting was reported there .

Cambodian authorities warned that the Japanese murder suspect could be dangerous and provided hotlines for the public to report him . This shows that the manhunt was active across borders. But still, Hiro slipped away. It's possible he bribed local officials or simply moved before the net tightened.

As month after month passed with Hiro on the run, Nerid's family grew increasingly anguished and angry. It seemed unbelievable that a known murderer was casually living in tourist spots as if nothing happened. In Norway, a prominent politician took up the cause: Per-Willy Amundsen, a former Minister of Justice, publicly lambasted the situation .

"It is a complete scandal that the man who abused and killed Nerid Høiness has not been arrested and brought to justice," Amundsen declared in frustration . He was so outraged that he even proposed a controversial measure – warning Norwegian travelers against going to Thailand at all, since "the man who killed Nerid still goes free" there .

All this public pressure did have an effect. Thai police claimed they were looking, and Interpol kept the notice active. But the real break in the case wouldn't come from Thailand or Cambodia. It came from Laos itself, in late 2021. In a twist of fate, Hiroyuki Ogu returned to Laos – the very country where he had committed the crime.

We still don't know if he returned voluntarily or was lured there by some ruse. If he was involved in drug trafficking, it's possible he couldn't resist resuming those operations, even in Laos.

The Christmas Present

Whatever the reason, Hiro's luck finally ran out. On November 20, 2021, Laotian police located and arrested Hiroyuki "Hiro" Ogu in Laos . The arrest was confirmed via a police press release in Vientiane and reported in both Lao and Norwegian media.

After 22 months as a fugitive, the alleged killer was in custody. Details of the arrest haven't been fully disclosed, but it appears to have been without incident. Hiro was promptly detained at the Nakha Prison (a detention camp north of Vientiane) as he awaited trial .

For Nerid's family, the news was overwhelming. It was just a month before the two-year anniversary of her death, and Christmas was approaching. Ellen Høiness, upon hearing that Hiro was finally captured, felt a wave of relief wash over her. "I thought, Finally! It has been a two-year battle," she told Norway's VG newspaper .

For two long years, every night she went to bed haunted by nightmares of what happened to her daughter. Now, she said, "I can get rid of some of my nightmares at night", knowing that the man responsible would face justice . It was, she said, "the Christmas present of the century" – nothing could bring Nerid back, but at least the family's fight to find her killer succeeded just in time for the holidays .

Norwegian police in Tønsberg, who had been working on the case behind the scenes, were thrilled to finally call Ellen with good news. One officer described how satisfying it was to deliver that message after working so long on the case, especially right before Christmas, when the family most missed Nerid . The entire community that had rallied around the Høiness family could breathe a sigh of relief.

With Hiroyuki Ogu in custody, attention turned to the Laotian legal system. Laos is a socialist one-party state with a legal process that can be quite opaque, especially to outsiders. There is no jury system; verdicts and sentences are decided by judges.

And in serious cases like murder – especially involving a foreign victim and a foreign perpetrator – the process can be slow and meticulous. Laotian authorities assured Norway that they would handle the prosecution according to their laws . Extradition was not on the table; Hiro would be tried in Laos, not sent to Japan or Norway.

It took some time for the case to move through the system, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic delays. Hiro remained jailed in the grim Nakha detention camp during this period, in harsh conditions, while prosecutors assembled the evidence.

The Supreme People's Prosecutor's Office of Laos decided that the trial would be held in the capital, Vientiane, rather than the provincial court . This indicated how high-profile the case was – they wanted their top people on it. By mid-2022, the indictment had been written and accepted by the court .

'It Was an Accident'

October 24, 2022 was a crucial date: that's when Hiroyuki Ogu finally stood trial in a Laotian courtroom . Nearly three years had passed since the murder.

There were no international media allowed to report, but later summaries from officials give us a picture of what transpired.

The prosecution laid out a damning case. They presented forensic evidence detailing every injury on Nerid's body and connected them unequivocally to "excessive and deliberate violence" by the accused .

They played the surveillance video capturing Hiro carrying the corpse on January 19 . Witness statements were read, recounting the screams from the guesthouse and the sight of him with her lifeless body .

When it was the defense's turn, Hiro had his own story to tell – one that few believed. After all this time, Hiro did not straightforwardly confess to murder. Instead, he offered an excuse: he claimed that Nerid's death was an "accident" that happened after the two of them had a fight . According to Hiro's statement, yes, they had argued and yes, she got some bruises during this altercation, but he insisted he never meant to kill her .

He told the court that he left her alive when he went to sleep, and when he woke up the next morning, she was suddenly dead . It's a story that strains credulity

Alternatively, at one point he even implied that Nerid might have taken her own life in a hysterical moment and that he only disposed of her body out of fear . This version of events conveniently omitted the extreme brutality of her injuries and the fact that a broken larynx from strangulation is not something one does to oneself. The judges listening must have noted how Hiro's account contradicted the forensic evidence. The extensive external injuries – bruises "all over" her body, as reported – and the crushed throat simply did not line up with a gentle passing in sleep or a self-inflicted harm .

Hiro's attempt to minimize his actions was likely fueled by one thing: in Laos, murder can carry severe penalties, possibly even the death penalty in extreme cases. If he could convince the court it was manslaughter or an accident, he might hope for a lighter sentence.

But the evidence of premeditation (he prepared the body disposal) and the cruelty of the act were too strong. Observers described that thick court file – a 15-centimeter stack of documents – compiled by prosecutors, which the judges would review in detail before sentencing .

By the end of that trial day in October 2022, the court had heard all sides. However, the Lao judicial process allowed the panel of judges to take their time deliberating the verdict and sentence. Unlike some Western systems where verdict comes quickly after a trial, in Laos the judges often go back, analyze evidence and written testimonies, and draft a detailed judgment.

And so, Hiroyuki Ogu was sent back to detention to await the court's decision. Weeks turned into months, and still no public sentence was announced. As of early 2024 – well over a year after the trial – no final sentence had been publicly declared yet . This delay has been puzzling. Laotian officials indicated that the judges were "evaluating the evidence" and would pronounce the sentence when ready . In the meantime, Hiro remains behind bars.

He's currently held at the Nakha prison camp, but once sentenced, he'll be transferred to Phonthong Prison in Vientiane, which is where Laos keeps all foreign inmates serving long-term sentences . Phonthong has a grim reputation – it's far from the freedom of island life that Hiro once enjoyed. One could say that in trying to escape justice for so long, Hiro ultimately ensured he'd spend even more time in a cage.

For Nerid's family, the slow pace of justice is frustrating, but they remain grateful that Hiro will not escape accountability. Nerid's uncle, Per Reidar Høiness, said that the arrest felt unreal and hadn't sunk in – and that the family desperately "needs to know what happened" during those final days .

They look forward to hearing Hiro's full explanation in court, though it likely won't offer the closure they want . Perhaps no explanation could. Their vibrant, caring Nerid was gone forever, and all they have are painful imaginings of her suffering.