SHARE
COPY LINK

CRIME

Danish inventor Peter Madsen charged with journalist’s murder: prosecutors

Danish prosecutors on Tuesday formally charged inventor Peter Madsen with last year's murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall, whose dismembered body parts were found at sea after she interviewed him on his homemade submarine.

Danish inventor Peter Madsen charged with journalist's murder: prosecutors
Peter Madsen's UC3 Nautilus submarine. File photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Scanpix Denmark

Madsen, who was arrested and detained shortly after Wall's disappearance in August, has admitted dismembering her body and dumping it at sea but has denied intentionally killing her.

The prosecution will ask for a sentence of life imprisonment, Copenhagen Police confirmed.

A secondary claim for safe custody (forvaring in Danish) will also be made based on a Danish Medical Legal Council psychiatric assessment of Madsen, according to the police statement.

“This is a very unusual and extremely brutal case which has had tragic consequences for Kim Wall and her relatives. The interest in the case has been enormous. However, we hope the media will respect that further evidence in the case must be presented in court and not in the press,” Copenhagen Police special prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen said.

Madsen's trial will begin on March 8th, charged with premeditated murder as well as dismemberment and “sexual relations other than intercourse of a particularly dangerous nature”, prosecutors said.

They said it was not known exactly how Wall died, “but the homicide could have taken place by cutting of the throat or strangulation”.

The murder was committed “with prior planning and preparation”, according to the police indictment.

In a tragic case that shocked the public, the remains of 30-year-old Wall were found in Køge Bay off Copenhagen, weighed down by metal objects, after she vanished while interviewing Madsen on his submarine on August 10th.

Prosecutors have previously said they believe Madsen may have killed Wall as part of a sexual fantasy. Madsen has denied any sexual relations with Wall.

The 30-year-old Swedish journalist worked as a freelance writer based in New York and China, and her articles were published in The Guardian, The New York Times and others.

After intentionally sinking his submarine early on August 11th in Køge Bay, some 50 kilometres off the Danish capital, Madsen was picked up by a rescue vessel and initially told police he had dropped Wall off on land after their interview the previous evening.

He then went on to change his version of events several times.

A 46-year-old self-taught engineer, Madsen is an eccentric and relatively well-known figure in Denmark.

His homemade submarine Nautilus, launched in 2008, was the biggest private sub ever made when he built it with help from a group of volunteers.

In Tuesday's press statement, police also confirmed charges of severe violation of the Act on Safety at Sea against Madsen.

In the indictment, the prosecution claims the inventor's submarine should be confiscated and scrapped.

READ ALSO:  

CRIME

Three injured in suspected knife attack in central Sweden

At least three people have been injured in a suspected knife attack which took place in broad daylight in the centre of Västerås in central Sweden on Friday afternoon.

Three injured in suspected knife attack in central Sweden

Police were called to the scene at shortly before 1.30pm on Friday after several women who Swedish police described as “elderly” were found injured with stab wounds. 

The man suspected of attacking the three women, who is reportedly in his late 20s, was later shot by police. According to Region Västmanland he is “seriously injured”.

“They have been injured with a sharp object but whether it is a knife or something else, we do not know right now,” Tobias Ahlén-Svalbro, a spokesperson from the local police told Sweden’s public broadcaster SVT. 

The three women have been taken to hospital, with one, in her 70s, described as having serious injuries. The others’ injuries are less severe.

“We are investigating two crime scenes,” Ahlén-Svalbro said. “As far as I understand the situation, two of them were injured in one area and the other somewhere else, but both areas are in central Västerås.”

The police have opened an investigation into aggravated assault, he added.

“We have already received several witness statements and would like to hear from any other witnesses who have seen or heard something.”

SHOW COMMENTS