THE BEST friend of the Swedish woman washed up on Prestwick beach has broken cover to declare: "My best friend was murdered!" Speaking exclusively to the Ayr Advertiser Series, Maria Jansson, Annie Borjesson's closest friend from Sweden, opened the books on her own investigation into how the talented 30-year-old came to be dead on Prestwick beach on December 4, 2005.

Maria confirmed previously documented information on the case, such as the freshwater diatoms found in Annie's body and also shed some light on possible leads that may have been overlooked by what was the police.

She also seconded Guje's Borjesson's allegation that police intimidated a known associate of Annie's who was helping to investigate the case, and also revealed that in the days leading up to Annie's death, a man posing as former Scottish rugby international Martin Leslie, was said to have been acting strange and aggressively around her.

Explaining why she is still seeking for what she calls "the truth", Maria said: "It is not only a feeling that makes us all convinced that something terrible happened to our Annie, there are also so many strange and unexplained things, many of which we believe are strong evidence that shows that the case should be re-opened.

"I would never have put myself and my family through these eight-and-a-half years of fighting to get Annie’s case reopened and properly investigated if I did not believe that my best friend was murdered!" Last week Annie's mother Guje revealed that days before her death, Annie made a disturbing phone call to her brother asking about the possibility of people tracking her online and listening to her calls. And this week Maria told of another haunting call from her best friend.

She said: "The last time I spoke with Annie over the phone we spoke about how fun we would have when she arrived at Stockholm Skavsta Airport, and she told me that she would book an appointment with her hairdresser.

"The only thing that was bothering Annie at the time of our conversation was the strange behavior by the man 'Martin Leslie'.

"Annie met this man whom she knew as Martin Leslie two times during her last week in life. The first meeting made her feel almost a little scared, and during our last phone call she told me about his strange behaviour at a Rugby gathering at Murrayfield Rugby Club, and she told me that she had now decided to try and keep away from this man.

"She thought he was there with the N.Z Rugby Team, during the big Rugby games. She also thought that 'Martin Leslie' had been to persistent with trying to make her drink alcohol on several occasions. She however declined his offer and thought that could be one of the reasons to his strange and aggressive behaviour." It was later found that the real Martin Leslie wasn't in the country on the dates of these meetings.

Last week Guje accused the police of intimidating a friend of Annie's who was helping with the family's investigation. Maria revealed the background to that alleged incident. She alleged that the friend in question had a conversation with a local shop owner, who knew Annie, but who has since denied knowing her. It is alleged that the shop owner made suspicious remarks about a cover-up, which the friend attempted to report to the police.

Maria added: "Shortly after Annie´s friend informed us about their conversation, and contacted the police, he suddenly became silent.

"We all started to become very worried and when finally Guje were able to reach him he told us that two CID policemen had told him to immediately stop helping the family with Annie’s murder since if they were to open up Annie’s case, he would become the prime suspect."