A TRUE-CRIME author set to publish a book about one of Jersey’s most notorious murders has defended his research in the face of criticism from a visitor to the Island.
Mark Bridgeman is set to publish his book on the unsolved killing of Tuula Höök next year, just ahead of the 60th anniversary of the discovery of the battered body of the Finnish au pair in a field in St Clement.
The author’s work has been questioned by German lawyer Hans-Georg Berg, who learned about the book when he read a JEP article during a recent holiday in Jersey.
In a letter to the JEP, Mr Berg states that he believes Mr Bridgeman’s investigations are “based on false assumptions as well as wrong conclusions”.
After learning that a key strand of the author’s research was based on the make of car driven by a man who offered Miss Höök a lift on the night of 30 December 1966 and may have been responsible for her subsequent murder, Mr Berg questions the relevance of this detail.
The author should, Mr Berg asserts in his letter, have kept an open mind about whether the car driver knew the field in St Clement where the body was left, as well as the possibility that the killer may have been female.
However Mr Bridgeman was swift to rebut the German lawyer’s observations when shown a copy of the letter.
“I have been working with the police and Tuula’s family, not trying to outsmart them,” he said. “All my conclusions, assumptions, and any possible scenarios have been discussed in detailed conversations with the police – including an analysis of evidence and photographs taken at the crime scene – from which a probable chain of events has emerged.
“Any conclusions or assumptions made by me are based on evidence which is known only to me and the States of Jersey Police; information which is not known to Mr Berg.”
The author said that he believed the criticism was disrespectful to Miss Höök’s memory and family, as “the book is as much about her life and legacy and not simply a dispassionate, technical study of a crime.”
He added: “The purpose of the book is to provide Tuula with a legacy, so she is commemorated and not merely remembered as a victim of an appalling murder.
“It is also to help the police solve a crime, not undermine them – they deserve a great deal of credit for some ingenious methods and damn hard work in this case which Mr Berg has no knowledge of, and which will be revealed in my book.”
The final text was delivered by Mr Bridgeman to his publisher earlier this month, with the book set to be published in spring of next year.
