Copenhagen's Murder Detective Turns Poet: Inside Nordic Police Work

Martin Wittrup Enggaard, a senior homicide investigator with Copenhagen Police and member of Denmark's national serious crime unit, has published an unconventional account of murder investigation that sits at the intersection of memoir, procedural manual, and poetry.

The book, titled 'Endnu et drab' ("Another Murder"), was released in September 2025 by Danish publisher Klim. Rather than focusing on a single high-profile case, Enggaard uses anonymized examples from real investigations to document the systematic methods Danish police deploy when responding to homicide—from initial emergency dispatch calls through forensic examination and suspect interrogation.

What distinguishes this work internationally is its form. Enggaard, born in 1985, has eschewed the conventional true crime memoir format favored in Anglo-American publishing. Instead, he frames procedural investigation as extended lyric narrative, a choice that reflects a growing European trend of literary non-fiction that prioritizes accessibility without sacrificing analytical rigor.

"The ambition is to make crime investigation stories available to a broad audience without compromising seriousness or precision," according to publisher notes. The approach reflects both Enggaard's professional experience and his artistic inclinations—he published a concurrent poetry collection, 'Enhver kontakt efterlader spor' ("Every Contact Leaves a Trace"), which draws its title from Locard's exchange principle, a foundational concept in forensic science.

Enggaard has become a recognized voice in Scandinavian criminal justice policy beyond his investigative role. In 2023, he initiated a public petition that successfully resulted in Danish police gaining legal authority to use genetic genealogy—DNA family databases—to solve serious violent crimes and homicides. This reform positions Denmark alongside the United States, Germany, and other jurisdictions that have adopted genealogical DNA as an investigative tool, though it remains legally contentious in parts of Europe due to privacy concerns.

The timing of both publications—book and poetry collection released simultaneously—underscores Enggaard's wider argument: that understanding homicide investigation requires engagement with both technical procedure and human narrative. The book documents how Copenhagen Police processes murder scenes, the collaboration between forensic specialists and detectives, and the psychological weight carried by investigators managing multiple unresolved cases.

Danish criminal procedure differs in notable ways from common-law systems. Denmark's legal framework emphasizes prosecutorial investigation more heavily than U.S. or UK models, with police working under closer coordination with the Danish State Prosecutor's Office (Rigsadvokaten). Homicide investigations often extend across years, particularly in cases without immediate suspects. Enggaard's account offers international readers a window into how a Scandinavian police force—operating within a consensual, social-democratic legal culture—approaches violent crime.

The book's anonymization of case details reflects legal obligations to protect ongoing investigations and bereaved families, a constraint that shapes how Nordic crime narratives are constructed and published. This contrasts with the heavily named, detailed case accounts common in Anglo-American true crime publishing.

Enggaard's emergence as an author on criminal investigation comes amid broader European interest in police reform, investigative transparency, and the mental health impact of serious crime work on law enforcement. His dual role—as active homicide detective and published writer—positions him as part of a small cohort of European police officers willing to publicly document the systematic and emotional realities of their profession.

The book has generated interest among Scandinavian readers and internationally within law enforcement and criminal justice academic circles, though significant English-language coverage remains limited. For those seeking insight into how Nordic police systems function, particularly at the investigative level, the work fills a gap in English-language true crime and procedural literature.