Who / What done it? Why?

pete_c

Guru
Who Done It? Why?
 
whodoneit.jpg
 
is a 1942 comedy-mystery film starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello.
 
This post though is not about the 1942 comedy mystery film.
 
UC3 Nautilus
 
nautilus.jpg

UC3 Nautilus is a privately built Danish midget submarine. It was launched on 3 May 2008 in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built over a three-year period as an art project by Peter Madsen and a group of volunteers, and cost approximately US$200,000 to build (1.5 million DKK). This submarine was Peter Madsen's third submarine design, and at the time of launch, was the largest privately built submarine in the world.

On 11 August 2017, the submarine sank in the bay of Køge. The following day Danish police had it brought onto land as part of the investigation of the disappearance of a Swedish journalist, who was last seen aboard the submarine.
 
UC3.jpg
 
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG2TZP44Jcw[/youtube]
 
August 12, 2017
From the BBC
 
A crowd-funding page was set up for the Nautilus prior to 2014 to attempt to raise $50,000 (£39,000) to cover refurbishment costs - just $6,170 was raised. At that time the Nautilus had logged more than 1,000 dives and had a team of 10 volunteers working on her refurbishment.

In 2015, after a dispute with the group of volunteers maintaining it, ownership of the Nautilus was transferred to Mr Madsen, says a statement on the website (in Danish).

"You may think that a curse is lying on Nautilus. That curse is me," he had messaged members of the board, according to the statement. "There will not be peace on Nautilus for as long as I exist."

The craft finally re-launched earlier this year. It has a diesel and an electric motor and is 17.8m in length.
 
Peter Madsen: Who is Danish DIY submarine enthusiast?
 
12 Aug 2017
From the BBC

Police in Copenhagen say they are charging submarine enthusiast and rocket builder Peter Madsen in connection with the death of a missing Swedish journalist.

The Dane is the skipper and designer of the UC3 Nautilus, a privately-owned submarine which sank off the Danish coast on Friday.

Some reports describe Mr Madsen as a "hobby engineer", and it is not clear what his background and training is.

While building his own crowd-funded submarine might seem challenging enough, after completing the Nautilus - which he claims is the world's biggest privately-built submarine - in 2008, he moved on to a more lofty ambition - space exploration.

He now runs an organisation called Rocket-Madsens Space Laboratory, which is funded by donations, and aims to launch a rocket from a floating platform in the Baltic, near the island Bornholm.
 
Danish submarine owner detained over missing journalist

12 Aug 2017
From the BBC

A Danish submarine owner has been charged by police after the disappearance of a female journalist who was accompanying him on a trip. The missing woman has been identified as Kim Wall, a 30-year-old freelance journalist who had been writing an article about Peter Madsen and his vessel.
 
Owner of private submarine 'Nautilus' held on suspicion of murder after it sinks and journalist goes missing

'I am fine, but sad because Nautilus went down,' Peter Madsen tells TV cameras

Jan M Olsen Copenhagen
Independent UK
August 12, 2017

The owner of an amateur-built submarine has been arrested on suspicion of murder after his vessel sank in Danish waters and a journalist who had joined him for what was supposed to be a short voyage was reported missing, Copenhagen police said.

Police said in a statement that the man denied killing the missing reporter and said he dropped her off on an island about three hours into their trip.

The statement did not identify the submarine's owner, Peter Madsen, 46, but his success financing his submarine project through crowdfunding and completing the UC3 Nautilus in 2008 made headlines.

Mr Madsen appeared on Danish television on Friday to discuss the submarine's sinking and his rescue.

Footage aired on Denmark's TV2 channel showed him getting off what appeared to be a private boat and making a thumbs-up sign as he walked away.

"I am fine, but sad because Nautilus went down," he told TV2.

Mr Madsen said "a minor problem with a ballast tank ... turned into a major issue" that ultimately caused the vessel — considered the largest privately built submarine of its kind — to sink.

The ballast tank is a compartment that holds water, which is used as ballast to provide stability for a vessel.

"It took about 30 seconds for Nautilus to sink, and I couldn't close any hatches or anything," Mr Madsen said. "But I guess that was pretty good because I otherwise still would have been down there."

However, Swedish police said later in the day they were investigating the whereabouts of a missing woman who had been on the submarine at some point.

"Whether the woman was on board the submarine at the time of her disappearance is unclear," police said in a statement.

The woman was a journalist writing about Mr Madsen and his submarine, Swedish and Danish media reported.

"He told us that the journalist who also had been on board had been dropped off Thursday evening," navy spokesman Anders Damgaard told The Associated Press. "They were the only two on board yesterday."

It was the reporter's boyfriend who alerted authorities the submarine was missing early on Friday. Two helicopters and three ships combed the sea from Copenhagen to the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm.

The navy initially said the sub was "found sailing" south of Copenhagen. But Mr Damgaard later said the 40-ton, nearly 18-meter-long submarine had sunk.

Mr Madsen "told us he had technical problems" to explain why the submarine failed to respond to radio contact, Mr Damgaard added.
 
Inventor charged over mystery disappearance of journalist from his sunken submarine

by Raf Sanchez
Telegraph UK
12 August 2017 • 4:52pm

A Danish submarine inventor has been charged over the disappearance of a Swedish journalist who was with him on his vessel before it mysteriously sank near Copenhagen.

Peter Madsen, a 46-year-old entrepreneur, had invited Kim Wall, a 30-year-old freelance journalist, to join him on what was supposed to be a short voyage aboard his private submarine Nautilus.

When the submarine did not return as scheduled on Friday morning, Miss Wall’s boyfriend raised the alarm and a major naval search was launched to find the vessel.

Rescuers found Mr Madsen standing in the tower of the sunken Nautilus but there was no sign of Miss Wall.

The inventor said he had dropped her on an island in Copenhagen’s harbour on Thursday evening but her family said she had disappeared.

Danish police later arrested Mr Madsen on suspicion of her death.

He appeared in court on Saturday, where prosecutors accused him of killing Miss Wall “in an unknown way and in an unknown place” sometime after 5pm on Thursday.

Mr Madsen denies the charges and smiled in the courtroom as he talked with his defence lawyer.

Nautilus, believed to be the world’s largest privately owned submarine, is lying in shallow waters of Denmark’s east coast but police divers have not yet been able to enter it.

Danish police suspect that Mr Madsen may have deliberately sank the Nautilus to conceal evidence of Miss Wall’s death, according to Ekstra Bladet, a Danish newspaper

The journalist was born in Sweden and studied at the London School of Economics, Columbia University in New York and the Sorbonne in Paris.

She divided her time between New York and Beijing and had written for the New York Times, Time Magazine and the Guardian.

Mr Madsen appeared calm during an interview with Danish television shortly after the submarine sank, saying: “I am fine, but sad because Nautilus went down.”

He said there had been a problem with a ballast tank that “turned into a major issue”.

Nautilus, named after the ship from the classic science fiction novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, was built by Mr Madsen after raising $200,000 (£154,000) online. 
 
Was a Swedish journalist trapped on amateur submarine-maker's craft when it sank off Denmark?

By Chris Pleasance and Kelly Mclaughlin For Mailonline
Published: 07:01 EDT, 12 August 2017 | Updated: 11:47 EDT, 12 August 2017

A Danish inventor whose crowdfunded submarine sank near Copenhagen on Friday has now been arrested on suspicion of killing a journalist last seen on board.

Peter Madsen is being investigated over the disappearance of journalist Kim Wall who was on the £154,000 UC3 Nautilus submarine before it was wrecked.

Miss Wall, 30, has not been seen since the ill-fated voyage began on Thursday, with police and family saying they have been unable to get in contact with her.

Madsen claims the pair set off on their voyage on Thursday night, at that he dropped her near a restaurant called Halvandet at the mouth of the harbour around 10.30pm, according to Swedish newspaper Expressen.

It was not until the following day at 10.45am that the Danish Navy said the submarine had been found sunk in the harbour.

The newspaper also reports Madsen sent a mysterious text to a friend around the time he claims to have dropped Miss Wall off, saying she had left the vessel and cancelling a trip he was supposed to be taking on the submarine the following day.

He did not respond to questions from the friend about why he had dropped Miss Wall off or why the trip was being cancelled.

Madsen was arrested on manslaughter charges on Saturday before a judge ordered that he be held in custody while investigations are carried out.

Speaking to reporters at court, Madsen said 'there is something I really want to tell you later', without elaborating any further.

The prosecutor asked for doors to the hearing to be closed as information likely to distress Miss Wall's family was about to be heard.

The 40-ton, 18-meter long Nautilus, one of three subs built by Madsen, was found by divers under 7m (24ft) of water, though they were unable to enter it safely.

A salvage ship, the Vina, has now raised the sub from the sea bed close to Copenhagen's south island of Dragoer and brought it back to shore to be inspected.

Authorities were alerted that something had gone wrong with the submarine by Miss Wall's boyfriend after she failed to return home, prompting a major search operation involving two helicopters, three ships and several private boats.

Kristian Isbak, who had responded to the Navy's call to help locate the ship, sailed out immediately Friday and saw Madsen standing wearing his trademark military fatigues in the submarine's tower while it was still afloat.

'He then climbed down inside the submarine and there was then some kind of air flow coming up and the submarine started to sink,' Isbak told The Associated Press.  

'(He) came up again and stayed in the tower until water came into it' before swimming to a nearby boat as the submarine sank, he added.

Madsen said there was a valve error that became serious when he tried to repair it.

Footage aired on Denmark's TV2 channel showed Madsen, 46, getting off what seemed to be a private boat and making a thumbs up sign as he walked away.

Upon his rescue from Køge Bay, Madsen said: 'I'm fine. But I'm sorry because 'Nautilus' has gone down.'

Miss Wall is a freelance journalist who graduated with a masters from Columbia University before going on to write about identity, gender, pop-culture, social justice and foreign policy.

She is from Sweden but spent time living in New York and Beijing. Her writing has appeared in Harpers, The Guardian, New York Times, Foreign Policy, Vice Magazine, Slate, South China Morning Post, The Atlantic, Roads & Kingdoms, and TIME.

The submarine was Madsen's third attempt at building such a structure and was the largest privately built submarine in the world at the time of its launch.

The Nautilus was a diesel-electric submarine. The diesel engine is uses when sailing or propelling just below the surface, while the electrical engine is used when the submarine is deep below the water's surface.

It was built like a post-World War II submarine, with a galley, crew bunks, officer's mass, bridge and engine room.

It's named after the famed submarine manned by Jules Verne's Captain Nemo character in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
 
Police find no trace of missing journalist on sunken submarine
 
By Press Association
Published: 07:25 EDT, 13 August 2017 | Updated: 07:25 EDT, 13 August 2017

Danish police said there was no trace of a missing Swedish journalist inside an amateur-built submarine that sunk off the Nordic country’s eastern coast last week.

Copenhagen police spokesman Jens Moller Jensen said investigators uncovered no trace of 30-year-old freelance journalist Kim Wall in the UC3 Nautilus sub, which was raised and transported for investigation on Saturday.

Police will now continue to search for Wall in the waters near the island in Copenhagen’s harbour where the sub’s owner Peter Madsen allegedly dropped her off late Thursday.

Madsen made a last-minute escape from the sinking sub and has denied any responsibility for the fate of Wall. He was arrested on Friday on preliminary manslaughter charges.

Mr Moller Jensen said there are indications that the Danish inventor deliberately sank his submarine.
 
Monday August 14, 2017
 
Interesting news....over there...
 
BT.jpg
 
Sinking of homemade sub carrying Kim Wall a 'deliberate act,' police say
Published August 14, 2017
Fox News


The sinking of an amateur submarine was a “deliberate act,” Danish investigators said, as officials on Monday continued searching for the body of a Swedish journalist believed to have been aboard the doomed craft.

    Sunken submarine owner Peter Madsen held over missing Swedish journalist Kim Wall
    — Sky News (@SkyNews) August 12, 2017

Peter Madsen, 46, was the lone survivor after his 40-ton homemade Nautilus sub foundered off Denmark’s eastern coast on Thursday evening. Madsen was arrested hours after he was rescued, hit with preliminary manslaughter charges in the death of 30-year-old Kim Wall, who was seen departing on the sub with Madsen shortly before the Nautilus sank.

Madsen initially told authorities he dropped off Wall prior to the sub’s sinking, but police say Madsen has since changed his statement, though they haven’t elaborated on how, the BBC reported.

Officials now believe Wall, who was based in Brooklyn, N.Y., was aboard the Nautilus when it sank. But though the craft has been raised, Wall’s body was not found inside of it.

“It appears to be a deliberate act to sink the submarine,” Jens Moller, the chief homicide investigator of the Copenhagen police, said at a Sunday news conference.

Authorities have not said what that act was or what the motivation behind it may have been.

Madsen has maintained his innocence and told a local television station the sub sank due to technical issues.

“I was toying with various things on the submarine and then an error occurred,” he told TV2.

What is likely the last picture taken of Wall, showed the freelance journalist, smiling, aboard the sub and standing alongside Madsen, whose back is turned, just before the Nautilus departed on its ill-fated Thursday voyage.

    Kim Wall: Danish submarine was 'deliberately sunk'
    — BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) August 13, 2017

Wall had been writing about Madsen and the Nautilus at the time of the incident. And though investigators charged Madsen with preliminary manslaughter, they sent mixed signals about whether they had come to a firm conclusion about Wall’s fate.

“We’re still hoping that we’ll find Kim Wall alive,” Moller said. “But we are preparing ourselves for the fact that she may not be.”
 
Thursday August 17, 2017
 
Currently case is on hold pending finding the missing reporter Wall.  Madsen is being held for 24 days.  No other news at this time.
 
Monday August 21, 2017
 
Kim Wall died in accident on board submarine: Peter Madsen

Michael Barrett
[email protected]
Sweden's news in English     
21 August 2017  10:47 CEST+02:00

 Submarine owner Peter Madsen, who is charged with causing the death of missing journalist Kim Wall, now says he buried her at sea after she died on board, Copenhagen Police have confirmed.

“The accused has told police and the court that an accident occurred on board the submarine which caused Kim Wall’s death, and that he subsequently buried her at sea at an unspecified location somewhere in Køge Bay. Copenhagen Police can additionally confirm that the current charges remain in place. No further information will be given with regard to the investigation of the case, since it is being conducted behind closed doors,” the police statement read.

he information was approved for release by Copenhagen City Court following a request from the prosecution authority, according to the police statement.

Both Swedish and Danish marine authorities have now mapped out a detailed track of the route taken by the submarine in the Öresund Strait and Køge Bay on the evening of Thursday August 11th, when Madsen’s NC3 Nautilus submarine disappeared, through to it being relocated at 10:14am the following day, police also confirmed.

The search for Wall’s body by both Danish and Swedish authorities is continuing on Monday.

Divers from the Danish side of the investigation began on Friday searching along the route mapped by the investigation and will continue with this work today, according to the statement.

Investigation over the weekend has involved the use of sonar trackers as well as helicopters and boats.
 
Update
 
Woman's body found in water near Copenhagen: police

The Local
news.denmark
21 August 2017
20:31 CEST+02:00

 Copenhagen police have confirmed that they have found the body of a woman in the water on the coast of the island of Amager south of the Danish capital.

At a press briefing on Monday evening, investigation leader Jens Møller Jensen said that a female torso, without arms, legs or head, had been found in water off the island of Amager.

Police are so far unable to confirm the identity of the woman.

“We have recovered the body in the proper manner. It is the torso of a woman… The torso has been taken to the Department of Forensic Medicine [at the University of Copenhagen, ed.] where an inquest will be conducted,” Jensen said.

“Clearly, the police, like the media and everyone else, are speculating as to whether [the body] is Kim Wall. It far, far too early to say anything about that. We simply do not know,” he added.

Autopsy of the body would be completed either on Monday night or on Tuesday, the lead inspector said.

At 3:41pm on Monday, police received a report from a resident of a body lying in water on the shore of the southwestern part of Amager.

Freelance journalist Kim Wall went missing after having boarded the 18-metre UC3 Nautilus sub on the evening of August 10th, apparently as part of her work on a feature story about its owner, inventor and entrepreneur Peter Madsen.

Madsen was brought back alone to a harbour on Copenhagen on Friday after the vessel sank in waters near Køge Bay.

The submarine owner initially claimed that he had brought Wall back to land at around 10:30pm on the night of her disappearance.

Copenhagen Police confirmed on Monday morning that Madsen told Copenhagen City Court on August 12th that he had buried Wall at sea after she died on board due to an “accident”.
 
Wednesday August 23, 2017
 
Body found near Copenhagen is Kim Wall: police

Michael Barrett
[email protected]    
23 August 2017
08:04 CEST+02:00

 Copenhagen Police confirmed Wednesday morning that a torso washed up near Copenhagen is that of missing Swedish journalist Kim Wall.

“DNA match between torso and Kim Wall,” police wrote early on Wednesday in a tweet confirming the DNA match.

 Lead investigator Jens Møller Jensen said at a press briefing at Copenhagen’s Politigården police headquarters on Wednesday morning that DNA from muscle taken from the torso and blood found in the submarine had been matched to samples from some of Kim Wall’s belongings.

“There’s a connection that tells us it is one and the same person… we have an identical DNA match from a hair brush and a toothbrush belonging to Kim Wall, from blood in the submarine, and from the torso on which we conducted autopsy yesterday,” he said.

 The lead inspector also told media that it appeared Wall's body had been tampered with to make it sink.

“With regard to the autopsy, I can add that there are some injuries to the torso that appear to have been caused deliberately in an attempt to ensure that air leaves the body to prevent it from floating or leaving the sea bed.”

“Similarly, metal was attached to the body, ostensibly to make sure that it sank to the bottom,” Jensen said.

The inspector added that he considered the DNA match to be a “relatively big breakthrough” in the investigation of Wall’s death.

The discovery of the torso and Wall’s disappearance could now be treated as one and the same case, he said.

The torso was found near the shore on the island of Amager on Monday afternoon.

On Tuesday, police said that the body’s arms, legs and head had been ‘deliberately’ removed.

“Current status is that there is a torso whereby the arms, legs and head have been removed by means of deliberate cutting,” lead investigator Jens Møller Jensen said in a video statement released to press via Twitter on Tuesday.

 Freelance journalist Wall went missing after having boarded the 18-metre UC3 Nautilus sub on the evening of August 10th, apparently as part of her work on a feature story about its owner, inventor and entrepreneur Peter Madsen.

Madsen was brought back alone to a harbour on Copenhagen on Friday after the vessel sank in waters near Køge Bay.

The submarine owner initially claimed that he had brought Wall back to land at around 10.30pm on the night of her disappearance.

On Monday August 14th, police said that they believed the Nautilus to have been sunk deliberately, after the vessel was raised and brought to land for forensic examination.

Copenhagen Police confirmed on Monday morning that Madsen told Copenhagen City Court on August 12th that he had buried Wall at sea after she died on board due to an “accident”.

That information was kept behind closed doors by the court until Monday.

Madsen’s lawyer Betina Hald Engmark told the BT tabloid on Wednesday morning that the DNA match does not change the explanation given by her client for Wall’s death.

“The DNA match does not change my client’s explanation that there was an accident,” Engmark told the newspaper.

“We consider it to be a positive thing that she [Wall, ed.] has now been found,” she added.

Police will continue searching in waters off Copenhagen for the remaining parts of the body, Jensen confirmed on Wednesday.

 A call by police for any witnesses who may have seen the submarine on the night of Wall’s disappearance or following morning still stands, he added.

The investigation will proceed with further forensic testing as well as ongoing collection of witness statements.
 
Friday August 25, 2017
 
Peter Madsen denies new charge of mutilating corpse: police

Michael Barrett
[email protected]    
25 August 2017
12:56 CEST+02:00

Submarine owner Peter Madsen has denied improper treatment of the body of Kim Wall after Copenhagen Police broadened its charges against him.

The police prosecution announced via a press statement on Friday morning that the charges against Madsen had been extended after the inventor was re-questioned on Thursday.

He denies both mutilating a corpse and killing Wall, according to the police statement.

No further information was given "in respect of the closed nature of the case and the ongoing investigation", police wrote.

46-year-old Madsen has been held in custody since August 11th. He was initially detained for 24 days on preliminary manslaughter charges by Copenhagen City Court.

The submarine owner claimed immediately after his rescue he had brought Wall back to land at around 10.30pm on the night of her disappearance.

 He changed his story the following day, telling Copenhagen City Court on August 12th that he had buried Wall at sea after she died on board due to an “accident”.

The new explanation was kept behind closed doors by the court until Monday this week.

Wall’s torso was found at the shore on the island of Amager next to Copenhagen on Monday afternoon.

Police later confirmed that the body’s legs, arms and head, which have not yet been found, were removed deliberately.

Lead investigator Jens Møller Jensen said at a press briefing at Copenhagen's Politigården police headquarters on Wednesday morning that it appeared Wall's body had been tampered with to make it sink and that metal had been attached to it, "ostensibly to make sure that it sank to the bottom".


On Friday morning, police divers were searching the waters at Dragør Harbour, where Madsen was first brought to land after his UC3 Nautilus submarine sank on August 11th.

“When the police investigates a death on land, the route of the accused will normally be tracked by police dogs. Since the accused travelled by sea, police divers are helping to conduct this search,” read the statement.

On Thursday evening, an object found in waters near the Swedish Falsterbro peninsula turned out to be unrelated to the case.

 A citizen in Sweden had reported the possible sighting of a body north of Falsterbro, but forensic examination by Swedish police showed the object to have come from a “large animal”, South Sweden police commissioner Mattias Sigfridsson confirmed to TV2 on Thursday evening.

Copenhagen Police have so far been contacted over 650 times by members of the public in connection with the investigation.

"We would like to say thank you for that. At the same time, we would like to apologize for not yet having got back to everyone that has contacted us. We have begun by categorizing the reports, so that we are covered in all areas on an ongoing basis. We will contact all witnesses that have not yet heard from us," Møller Jensen said in the press statement.

Police added that any potential witnesses who had not yet come forward were still encouraged to do so.
 
Tuesday August 29, 2017
 
Danish police scan submarine for hidden compartments

Michael Barrett
[email protected]    
29 August 2017
13:44 CEST+02:00

The UC3 Nautilus, the submarine at the centre of the case involving the death of Swedish journalist Kim Wall, is being scanned for hidden compartments.

The vessel is being scanned using technology from Danish tax agency Skat, police confirmed in a press statement on Tuesday.

Police said that they could not rule out the possibility of hidden compartments existing on board the sub.

“The scan is taking place on the basis of many different reports on possible cavities, on submarines in general and also in relation to Nautilus,” police wrote in a press statement.

Scanners usually employed by the tax authority to investigate containers for smuggled contraband will be used to investigate the submarine.

“We are searching, in relation to the nature of the case, for evidence of a crime as well as potential weapons and so on. We stress that the scan is being conducted to rule out the presence of undiscovered compartments, and not on the basis of specific suspicions of this,” the statement continued.

Police are also continuing their ongoing search for parts of Wall’s body that are yet to be recovered using Swedish tracking dogs that are trained to search in water.

Searches carried out by aircraft earlier this week failed to yield further leads in the case.

The police prosecution announced via a press statement on Friday last week that charges against Peter Madsen, the owner of the submarine, had been extended.

46-year-old Madsen has been held in custody since August 11th. He was initially detained for 24 days on preliminary manslaughter charges by Copenhagen City Court.

The submarine owner claimed immediately after his rescue he had brought Wall back to land at around 10.30pm on the night of her disappearance.

He changed his story the following day, telling Copenhagen City Court on August 12th that he had buried Wall at sea after she died on board due to an “accident”.

Wall’s torso was found at the shore on the island of Amager next to Copenhagen on August 21st.

Police later confirmed that the body’s legs, arms and head, which have not yet been found, were removed deliberately, and that the body had been tampered with to make it sink.

Madsen denies both mutilating a corpse and killing Wall.
 

Tuesday September 5, 2017
 
Kim Wall was killed by submarine hatch: Peter Madsen
 
The Local
[email protected]    
5 September 2017
16:20 CEST+02:00

Submarine owner Peter Madsen's explanation of the events that caused the death of Kim Wall became public after Copenhagen City Court decided to open its doors to procedures on Tuesday.

According to Madsen’s version of events, which was read to the court by prosecution lawyer Jacob Buch Jepsen, Wall died at around 10pm on August 10th after a hatch weighing 70 kilograms fell on to her.

Madsen has been charged with manslaughter and the prosecution has requested he undergo psychiatric evaluation.

Madsen denies his guilt, confirmed defence lawyer Betina Hald Engmark, but admits the charge of irregular conduct with a corpse due to having thrown Wall’s body overboard, according to reports by TV2 and DR, who were present in court.

“It is necessary to go up on the bridge to steer the submarine. He [Madsen] lifted the hatch, and Kim was down inside the submarine, and they agreed that she should come up too. He suddenly slipped on the platform, and the hatch fell down and hit Kim,” read the statement read out at the hearing.

Madsen then went into shock and began acting irrationally after realizing that Wall had been killed, according to the account.

 The amateur inventor told the court that he became suicidal following the accident and decided to sail out into the Öresund and take his own life, before changing his mind and burying her at sea.

He then decided to sink the submarine by opening its valves, according to the statement, which was read in court and then confirmed by Madsen.

After his statement had been read out to the court, Madsen responded to questions from both the prosecution and defence lawyers and witness testimonies were read out.

Examination at Copenhagen’s Rigshospitalet following his arrest showed evidence of “fresh injuries” which Madsen said were due to his work on the vessel, the court heard.

The submarine owner also stated that he did not know Wall prior to August 10th.

According to Madsen, he heard the sound of Wall falling to the bottom of the submarine before finding her bleeding and unconscious, and realizing she had died.

He said that her shoes and tights had come off as he dragged her body up through the submarine’s tower.

He had no explanation for why Wall’s torso was found on August 21st with its arms, legs and head intentionally removed.

Details of the autopsy of Wall’s torso were also presented to the court, but not allowed for press coverage due to their sensitive nature, both for the ongoing investigation and for those close to Wall, reports TV2.

 Freelance journalist Wall's torso was found floating in Køge Bay off Copenhagen on August 21st, ten days after she went missing while interviewing Madsen aboard his homemade submarine for a feature story.

After the 30-year-old failed to return home following her interview on August 10th, her boyfriend reported her as missing on August 11th.

 That same day, Madsen was rescued from waters between Denmark and Sweden shortly before his submarine sank. Investigators recovered and searched the vessel, which police believe he sank intentionally.

Police said that Wall's legs, arms and head, which have not yet been found, were removed deliberately, and that the body had been tampered with to make it sink. Wall's blood was found inside the submarine.

Madsen is a self-taught engineer who, in addition to launching his homemade submarine, has also successfully launched rockets with the aim of developing private space travel. The 18-metre Nautilus was the biggest private submarine ever made when Madsen built it in 2008 with help from a group of volunteers.

Wall, from Trelleborg in southern Sweden, worked as a freelance journalist based in New York and China, and her articles were published in The Guardian, The New York Times and others.
 
Saturday September 9, 2017
 
Family and friends pay tribute to Swedish journalist Kim Wall

The Local
[email protected]    
9 September 2017
15:42 CEST+02:00

Saying they want to inspire young female journalists to continue her work, the family and friends of slain Swedish journalist Kim Wall have launched a fund in her honour.

Wall, a 30-year-old journalist who was based in New York and China, was killed on August 10th while aboard the homemade submarine of Danish amateur inventor Peter Madsen. Her work had been published in The Guardian, The New York Times, Vice and many others as she made a name for herself in what she called “the male-dominated world of foreign policy” reporting.
 
Wall’s family and friends on Friday launched a fundraising campaign that features a documentary about the Trelleborg native’s short life and writing career.

The fundraiser’s organizers said that they hope to raise $100,000 to establish the Kim Wall Memorial Fund to support “a young female reporter to cover subculture”, which her friends said Wall often referred to as “the undercurrents of rebellion.”
 
As of Saturday, some $14,000 had been donated toward the goal and the campaign video had been viewed well over 200,000 times on Facebook.
 
“The funds collected here will be directed to the International Women’s Media Foundation, a steadfast ally to women journalists, who have agreed to support and administer this grant,” organizers wrote on their gofundme page. “Kim would have wanted more women to be out in the world, brushing up against life. We are asking for your help in realizing her vision of this braver, lovelier world.”
 
Madsen, 46, has been charged with killing Wall and mutilating her body in an incident that has attracted widespread global attention.
 
Wall's torso was found floating in Køge Bay off Copenhagen on August 21st, ten days after she went missing while interviewing Madsen aboard his homemade submarine for a feature story.
 
After the 30-year-old failed to return home following her interview with Madsen on August 10th, her boyfriend reported her as missing on August 11th. That same day, Madsen was rescued from waters between Denmark and Sweden shortly before his submarine sank. Investigators recovered and searched the vessel, which they believe he sank intentionally.
 
Police said that Wall's legs, arms and head, which have not yet been found, were removed deliberately, and that the body had been tampered with to make it sink. Wall's blood was found inside the submarine.
 
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
 
New findings in Denmark submarine investigation: Kim Wall was stabbed 'several times'

The Local

[email protected]    
3 October 2017
16:43 CEST+02:00
 
Police are still uncertain on the cause of journalist Kim Wall's death, despite the ongoing investigation revealing that she was stabbed several times.

No definite cause of death has yet been ascertained, special prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen said on Tuesday during a hearing at Copenhagen City Court to extend the preliminary detention of submarine owner Peter Madsen, who is suspected of causing her death.

A judge at the court extended Madsen’s preliminary detention to 31st October, reports Ritzau.

Madsen is accused of killing Wall, 30, and of improper conduct with her body.

After the journalist’s torso was found on shores near Copenhagen, forensic examination confirmed that her head, arms and legs had been removed deliberately.

The 46-year-old amateur submarine and rocket builder denies both charges and had declined to voluntarily extend his preliminary detention.

Buch-Jepsen said during Tuesday’s court hearing that several stab wounds had been found in Kim Wall’s chest and abdomen. Fourteen stab wounds were found in the lower abdomen area, according to news agency Ritzau’s report of Buch-Jepsen’s statement.

The injuries were sustained "around the time of death or shortly afterwards", according to the report.

The arms, legs and head appear to have been removed from the body by sawing, Buch-Jepsen said.

According to the prosecutor, investigation of the case has also led to a hard drive, probably belonging to Madsen, on which videos are stored showing executions of women by hanging and burning.

The videos are probably real, according to the prosecution authority.

The accused claimed during the hearing that other individuals had access to the hard drive on which the videos were found.

Madsen’s defence lawyer Betina Hald Engmark said that there was no greater cause to suspect her client and that he should be released.

Engmark cited bruising found on Wall's backside as supporting Madsen’s claims that the journalist died as the result of an accident.

The owner of the UC3 Nautilus submarine said during a prior hearing last month that Wall died after she was accidentally hit by a hatch on the submarine, after which she fell.

Freelance journalist Wall went missing after having boarded the 18-metre UC3 Nautilus sub on the evening of August 10th, apparently as part of her work on a feature story about its owner, inventor and entrepreneur Madsen.

Madsen was brought back alone to a harbour in Copenhagen on Friday August 11th after the vessel sank in waters near Køge Bay.

 The 46-year-old has been held in custody since.

The submarine owner claimed immediately after his rescue he had brought Wall back to land at around 10.30pm on the night of her disappearance.

He changed his story shortly afterwards, telling Copenhagen City Court on August 12th that he had buried Wall at sea after she died on board due to an "accident".

Wall's torso was found at the shore on the island of Amager near Copenhagen on August 21st.

Police later confirmed that the body's legs, arms and head, which have not yet been found, were removed deliberately, and that the body had been tampered with to make it sink.
 
Saturday, October 7, 2017
 
Danish police find decapitated head of Swedish journalist
 
The Local

AFP
[email protected]    
@thelocalsweden

7 October 2017 10:29 CEST+02:00
 
Danish police said on Saturday divers had recovered the decapitated head and two legs of Swedish journalist Kim Wall, who vanished in August while interviewing a Danish inventor aboard his homemade submarine.

Copenhagen police inspector Jens Moller Jensen told reporters divers had found bags containing her missing clothes, her head and legs in Koge Bay, south of the Danish capital.

"Last night our forensic dentist confirmed that it was Kim Wall's head," he said.

Her headless torso was found floating in waters off Copenhagen on August 21st, 11 days after she went missing.

Self-taught engineer and inventor Peter Madsen, 46, has been accused of Wall's death, with prosecutors saying he dismembered her body before throwing it overboard.

Madsen, who is married and has been in custody since August 11th, claims the 30-year-old Wall died when a 70-kilogramme (154-pound) hatch door fell on her head, and in a panic, he threw her body overboard.

He has insisted her body was intact at the time.

But Jensen said the decapitated head contradicted Madsen's version of events.

There is "no sign of fracture on the skull and there isn't any sign of other blunt violence to the skull," he said, citing an autopsy carried out overnight.

 Locating Wall's head has been a priority for investigators, as the final autopsy on the torso was not able to establish the cause of death.

However, it did show multiple mutilation wounds to Wall's genitals.

Fetish films

Prosecutors believe Madsen killed Wall as part of a sexual fantasy, then dismembered and mutilated her body.

Earlier this week, Prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen told a court custody hearing that a hard disk found in Madsen's workshop contained fetish films in which real women were tortured, decapitated and burned.

"This hard drive doesn't belong to me," Madsen insisted, saying numerous people had access to his workshop.

Madsen has insisted there was no sexual relationship between him and Wall, and their contacts had been purely professional.

Jensen said the divers on Friday found the body parts and clothes in bags weighed down with metal pieces. Her torso had also been weighed down when it was found, also in Koge Bay.

"Yesterday morning we found a bag within which we found Kim Wall's clothes, underwear, stockings, and shoes. In the same bag laid a knife, and there were some car pipes to weigh the bag down," he said.

"Around dinnertime we found one leg, and then another leg. And then we found a head that also laid in a bag, and was weighed down with multiple metal pieces."

Wall worked as a freelance journalist based in New York and China, and her articles were published in The Guardian, The New York Times and others.

At the time of her disappearance, Wall was believed to be working on a feature story about Madsen, an eccentric, well-known figure in Denmark.

Madsen has successfully launched rockets with the aim of developing private space travel.

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.

But the group became engaged in a long-running dispute over the Nautilus, before members of the board decided to transfer the vessel's ownership to Madsen, according to the sub's website.

In 2015, Madsen sent a text message to two members of the board claiming:

"There is a curse on Nautilus".

"That curse is me. There will never be peace on Nautilus as long as I exist," Madsen wrote, according to the volunteers.

By Ethan Bilby
 
 
Thursday, October 12, 2017
 
Police divers have found a saw close to the route sailed by Peter Madsen's UC3 Nautilus submarine.
 
The Local
 

news@thelocal.se    
@thelocalsweden
 
12 October 2017
10:30 CEST+02:00
 
 Investigations will now confirm whether the saw is connected to the death of Swedish journalist Kim Wall, reports the Ritzau news agency.

Copenhagen Police confirmed in a press statement that the saw was found on Wednesday, close to the route sailed by the vessel on August 11th.

The implement will be examined by forensic experts to ascertain whether it was used to removed Swedish journalist Kim Wall’s head, arms and legs from her body.

"The saw is now being examined by our forensic technicians to assess whether it is the saw police have been looking for in connection with the submarine case," lead investigator Jens Møller Jensen said.

Earlier this week, Madsen announced through his lawyer that he no longer wished to answer police questions in connection with the case.

That came after a weeks-long police search resulted on Saturday in the discovery of 30-year-old Kim Wall’s missing clothes, her head and legs, and a knife in Køge Bay south of the Danish capital.

Madsen denies both killing Wall and improper conduct with her body and has previously claimed that she died after being accidentally hit by a hatch on the submarine.
 

Monday, October 30, 2017
 
Submarine owner Peter Madsen admits dismembering Swedish journalist Kim Wall
 
The Local
 

news@thelocal.se    
@thelocalsweden
 
30 October 2017
15:06 CET+01:00
 
 Danish inventor Peter Madsen has admitted dismembering the body of Swedish journalist Kim Wall, whose body parts were found at sea after she interviewed him on board his homemade submarine, Copenhagen Police have confirmed.

In initial police questioning, Madsen, who is suspected of her death, had denied cutting up her body and said she died in an accident when a heavy submarine hatch fell on her head.

He has now changed his story to say she died of carbon monoxide poisoning while on board, police said in a statement.

"He has now explained that Kim Wall died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning inside the submarine at a time when he was on deck," police wrote.

"Furthermore, Peter Madsen has admitted that he subsequently dismembered her corpse and disposed of the body parts in Køge Bay," the statement continued.

“This version of events naturally requires police to gather diverse supplementary statements from forensic specialists and submarine experts,” lead investigator Jens Møller Jensen said.

Madsen, 46, has also voluntarily extended his preliminary detention until November 15th, Copenhagen Police confirmed via press statement.

His detention on suspicion of killing Kim Wall has already been extended twice and had been due for review on October 31st.

Wall, a freelancer based in China and New York, never returned from her interview with Madsen on August 10th.

Her torso was found floating in Køge Bay on August 21st, and her head, legs and clothes were recovered in plastic bags in the same waters on October 7th.

Madsen, a self-taught engineer and inventor, has been held in custody on suspicion of killing Wall since August 11th and has now changed his version of events twice.

He denies killing the 30-year-old journalist.


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

The following day, he changed his story to say a 70-kilo (154-pound) hatch fell on her head, killing her, and that he threw her body overboard, intact, in a panic.

That version of events was made public by Copenhagen City Court on September 5th.

Police said on October 7th that an autopsy of her head showed no sign of a skull injury.

The case has now been slated for a jury trial at Copenhagen City Court in the spring, Copenhagen Police also confirmed.

Eight days, spread between March 8th and April 25th 2018, have been initially set aside for the trial.

Scheduling of court proceedings was made with investigation of the case nearing completion, special prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen said via the police statement.

“Naturally, there is still some investigation of relevant information to be completed, but the case is broadly ready. It will therefore now move into the presentation phase and I expect a decision to be made with regard to indictment by the end of the year,” Buch-Jepsen said.

Police divers have continued searching waters in Køge Bay over the last two weeks in an effort to locate Kim Wall’s arms as well as mobile telephones belonging to her and Madsen. That search has so far remained unsuccessful.
 

Tuesday, January 16, 2018
 
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.
 
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 Koge 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.
 
News today
 
Monday August 21, 2017
 
Kim Wall died in accident on board submarine: Peter Madsen

Michael Barrett
[email protected]
Sweden's news in English     
21 August 2017  10:47 CEST+02:00

Submarine owner Peter Madsen, who is charged with causing the death of missing journalist Kim Wall, now says he buried her at sea after she died on board, Copenhagen Police have confirmed.
 
 
Updated OP.
 
Still strange.
 
Guy creates submarine. Reporter wants to do story about submarine. Guy intentionally sinks submarine to kill reporter.
 
Updated OP
 
Thursday, October 12, 2017
 
Police divers have found a saw close to the route sailed by Peter Madsen's UC3 Nautilus submarine.
 
The Local
 

news@thelocal.se    
@thelocalsweden
 
12 October 2017
10:30 CEST+02:00
 
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