Out of Thin Air

I'm currently reading a book called Out of Thin Air: A True Story of Impossible Murder in Iceland. It highlights a few reasons why some true crime cases can really grip a nation.

One of the factors that can't be ignored is that, for Iceland in 1974, murder was such a rarity. There is always an interest in things that are out of the ordinary. Also, in a country as small as Iceland crimes like this feel much more personal. This was especially emphasized when the Icelandic police commissioned a bust to be created out of the sketches that had been done of a suspect. This clay face was broadcast into people's homes, inviting them to help with the case and identify this man. In a country as small as Iceland, people hoped the criminal would be recognized.

The timing of this case really can't be emphasized enough. In 1974, Iceland was very newly independent (only about 30 years independent at the time). There was a conflict between how much did the country want international influence and the connections and business it brought with it and how much effort needed to be asserted to maintain Icelandic culture, stories, traditions, and language. One of the suspects in this case had a father who was American of Polish descent. One of the disappearances also took place in Keflavik. The book describes this as fitting as "[i]t was the place where the outside world clamoured to get in: not just music and strange tastes from abroad, but now serious crime too. There was no clearer sign that Icelandic society had gone to seed than a group of young drug dealers confessing to a murder." Thus this case took on the additional weight of being a morality tale about the dangers of foreign influence.

One reason I think it continues to be in the country's eye is that one of the suspects went to this horrible boarding school called Breidavik. After the many abuses it inflicted on children, it was shut down in 1979, but it was found that 75% of those who attended between 1953 and 1970 were convicted of a crime later in life. Because these realizations and crimes happened after 1974, I think the school, and thus the dangers of schools like it, helped keep this case in people's minds. After all, what better example of how dangerous abusive schools can be than a drug dealer turned potential murderer?

Another reason this case was very much followed in Iceland was a fairly common one for true crime: one of the suspects was famous. One of the men accused of murder was a former sports star. The idea that he could be a criminal was shocking and his story of wrongful conviction and imprisonment was found very tragic by the public who were ready to find him beloved once more.

There would also later be implications of a politician helping cover up the crime. This came at a very fraught time in Icelandic politics. Iceland and Britain were in the middle of the so-called Cod Wars where they were in a constant legal battle with Britain over the sovereignty of their waters. Having a politician involved in a case that ultimately involved drugs, fraud, and murder was very contentious. This ultimately led to a foreign investigator helping with the case. This again surely brought up debate about the place of foreign influence in Iceland.

How the press operated in Iceland at the time was certainly a factor. Only months before accusations about this crime happened, the first newspaper that was not beholden to any political party was formed. this meant that "for the first time, there was an attempt at an entirely independent paper in Iceland." This was huge and a story that people were interested in helped boost sales and this new newspaper needed help establishing itself.

I should add a note that I'm far from done with the book and I'm sure more factors will arise, but here are just a few of what went into making this case a piece of cultural knowledge in Iceland.

(Prompt by Betsy Rubin)