Man sentenced to over 11 years in prison for 1990 New Year’s Eve murder, following DNA evidence breakthrough

34 years after the murder of 23-year-old Hanne With on New Year’s Eve in 1990, a verdict has been passed. Henrik Krogh Rasmussen, 54, was found guilty and sentenced to 11 years and six months in prison by a unanimous jury in Copenhagen City Court. He denied committing the murder throughout the trial, claiming he experienced a blackout on the night of the crime. Following the verdict, he has requested time to consider an appeal.

Henrik Krogh Rasmussen was arrested in early February of this year, charged with the murder that occurred over three decades ago. His arrest was based on DNA evidence found on Hanne With’s trousers. In 2024, the police, in cooperation with the Forensic Genetics Institute in Copenhagen, conducted a genealogical investigation using the DNA evidence. The DNA matched that of his son in the police register, leading the police to him.

The DNA evidence played a significant role in the trial. Experts stated that it was highly likely that the DNA found on Hanne With’s trousers belonged to Rasmussen. Furthermore, a barefoot print found at the scene was identified as belonging to him, according to an expert from the National Unit for Special Crimes. In the verdict, the presiding judge stated that the court found it proven that Rasmussen was present in the apartment on the day of the crime.

Hanne With, a sex worker struggling with substance abuse, was last seen alive around Copenhagen Central Station on the last day of 1989. When she failed to meet her boyfriend as planned, he rushed to her apartment where he discovered her body, bearing multiple injuries. She had been strangled and had sustained blows and kicks to her head and body, some of which were inflicted post-mortem according to the court.

During the trial, Hanne With’s boyfriend at the time of her death testified. He was 22 years old when she was killed, and they had been dating for three years. He stated in court that he would never forget the sight that greeted him in the apartment that night.

Rasmussen, who was in Copenhagen on New Year’s Eve 1989 working on a naval ship, claimed he was intoxicated and on drugs that night but did not recall being in Hanne With’s apartment. The prosecutor challenged his claim, pointing to a taxi driver’s statement from 1990 that he had driven Hanne With and a customer to her apartment on the night of her death. The prosecutor expressed doubt about Rasmussen’s truthfulness in his closing statement.