Kriti Mehrotra
Netflix’s ‘Mr. Good: Cop or Crook?’ is a documentary series that examines the life and crimes of Norway’s most trusted police official turned corrupt convicted drug trafficker, Eirik Jensen. After all, although he vehemently maintains his innocence, he has been found guilty not once but twice for his alleged hand in the hashish smuggling ring led by his then-informant Gjermund Cappelen. So now that we know the different opinions people have formed on him since his 2014 arrest, let’s find out more about the one individual who hasn’t wavered in her support for him, shall we?
Who is Ragna Lise Virke?
Ragna Lise Virke is former policeman Eirik Jensen’s long-term girlfriend and true partner — someone who has honestly proven that a real relationship is a mix of both the good and the bad. The couple actually met around the start of the storm back in February 2015, when the artist had been hired to take pictures for his book, only for it to spark a connection neither of them could ignore. “I didn’t fall head over heels in love with Eirik,” Ragna admitted in the original docuseries. “It was a process, and we actually talked a lot about starting a relationship under the circumstances.”
Ragna continued, “He was in the newspapers almost daily; there wasn’t a soul who didn’t know who Eirik Jensen was. He asked me several times, ‘Do you know what you’re doing? Do you know what this could lead to?’ Eirik’s main concern was, ‘if we start a relationship, then you have to stay. I can’t handle both the case and being abandoned’.” And stay she did. Despite the media circus, controversies, criminal claims, and mental strain on her as well as her boyfriend while going through the legal process, Ragna not only stuck by his side but also helped at every step of the way.
In fact, when Eirik was first convicted back in 2017, she went through the evidentiary documents and managed to find discrepancies in the timeline that could potentially establish his innocence. Ragna thus encouraged him to be his authentic, fighter self by filing an appeal, which he did, but eventually to no avail. “I believe Eirik worked too closely with not just Gjermund Cappelen but also some other informants,” she clarified in this Netflix four-parter. “Eirik trusts people, and it’s kind of a paradox that these same qualities possibly contributed to him being in this situation.”
Where is Ragna Lise Virke Now?
Ragna was incredibly realistic about the different likelihoods by the time the verdict for Eirik’s third trial came around in the summer of 2020, yet the reality still broke her heart. “21 years,” she said. “Those words hurt so much, I can’t even describe it… I lost my boyfriend right there and then, in a way.” In an interview shortly after his sentence, she’d candidly revealed, “I miss everything, the conversations, I miss Eirik every minute around the clock. I miss my boyfriend.”
Coming to her current standing, Ragna is a Hønefoss native through and through, where she continues to dedicate herself to her craft as a painter, photographer, as well as illustrator. She has even illustrated the covers of three books by renowned Norwegian-Swedish author Margit Sandemo. More importantly, since Ragna and Eirik are still together, whenever she’s not visiting him at Kongsvinger Prison or working, it seems like she’s dedicating herself to finding ways to get him acquitted.
Read More: Where Are Eirik Jensen’s Mom and Sister Now?
