Annie Börjesson death: BBC documentary to look into death of Swede living in Edinburgh found on Scottish beach

Annie Börjesson was living and studying in Edinburgh when her body was found on a beach

For Annie Börjesson, December 4, 2005, was supposed to be a day of reuniting with friends and family in Sweden, ready to start the festive season back in her homeland after her first year of living in Edinburgh.

But the talented 30-year-old would never even board the plane. Instead, a dog walker would discover her body lying face down in the sand on Prestwick Beach in Ayrshire, a bag containing her passport and belongings lying nearby.

Police treated it as an open and shut case, writing her death off as suicide by drowning, but for Annie’s heartbroken family, the investigation only left them with more questions. Why had she left the airport without getting on her flight? How had her belongings washed up at exactly the same time and place as Annie’s body? What could have brought their daughter to end her life on a beach miles from her home?

Annie Börjesson was found dead on Prestwick Beach in 2005

Now, a new BBC documentary is to take a look back at Annie’s untimely death, which is still shrouded in mystery almost 20 years on.

The four-part series 'Body on the Beach: What Happened to Annie?' will see Scottish investigative journalist Hazel Martin try to uncover the truth about how Annie's life ended. Through interviews with Annie's loved ones, including her best friend Maria Jansson, a range of experts and the police who worked on the case 18 years ago, Hazel uncovers the strange series of events which led up to Annie’s death and the secrecy surrounding the evidence and documents relating to the case.

The second episode sees Hazel visit Annie’s flat at Linton Court in Murieston Road, Edinburgh, where she learns disturbing details that may suggest that Annie had not intended to end her life. Not only was there no suicide note, but Annie had paid her next month’s rent, packed up library books to return and had even bought a membership at a nearby swimming pool.

But it’s only when Hazel learns of Annie’s distress and paranoia that someone was bugging her phone and computer in the days before she died, her possible link to an American investigative journalist known for researching US intelligence agencies and discrepancies in post-mortem findings that she realises that Annie's death – suicide or not – was never as simple as everyone was led to believe.

“I was only 13 when Annie died but the story of her death has always stayed with me,” said Hazel. “Many people, her friends and family included, believe that Annie was actually murdered. The question is – could they be right?”

All four episodes of ‘Body on the Beach: What Happened to Annie?’ will be available on BBC iPlayer from July 4. It will air on BBC Scotland from July 4 and on BBC Three from July 5.