Danish inventor admits journalist died on his submarine

Peter Madsen, the owner of a home-built submarine told investigators that a missing Swedish female journalist died onboard in an accident and he buried her at sea.

Three Swedish Sea Rescue Society units search for missing Swedish journalist Kim Wall at Lundakra Bay between Barseback and Landskrona, Sweden August 15, 2017.
Reuters

Three Swedish Sea Rescue Society units search for missing Swedish journalist Kim Wall at Lundakra Bay between Barseback and Landskrona, Sweden August 15, 2017.

The Danish inventor of a do-it-yourself submarine has said that a Swedish journalist missing since August 11 died in an accident on board the vessel, and that he dumped her body in the sea, Danish police said Monday.

The inventor, Peter Madsen, had initially claimed that he last saw Kim Wall when he dropped her off on the tip of an island in Copenhagen late on August 10.

But Madsen, who has been accused of negligent manslaughter, "told police and the court that there was an accident on board the sub that led to the death of Kim Wall, and that he subsequently buried her at sea in an undefined location of the Koge Bay" south of Copenhagen, police said in a statement.

Madsen's appearance before a judge on August 12 was held behind closed doors and the investigation has been classified, so it is not known exactly when he made his statement.

Danish and Swedish authorities have been searching for Wall, a 30-year-old reporter who had been writing a feature story about Madsen, after she failed to return from an interview with him aboard the 60-foot (18-metre) Nautilus on August 10.

Search for body

Danish police said the search for her body by helicopters, ships and divers during the weekend would continue on Monday. 

Swedish daily Aftonbladet quoted a letter from Wall's family on Friday "pleading for help from the public" about her whereabouts. 

Reuters

The home-made submarine UC3 Nautilus, built by Danish inventor Peter Madsen, who is charged with killing Swedish journalist Kim Wall in his submarine, sails in the harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark, August 10, 2017.

"We wish for nothing more than to have Kim back alive, but we realise that the chances are extremely slim," her family was quoted as saying. 

Wall was a freelance journalist who had reported for The Guardian and The New York Times. A graduate of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, she was based in New York and China. 

Her friends have described her as "invincible", "ambitious" and "always seeing something good in everyone", according to Swedish media reports. 

Madsen and Wall were seen onboard the vessel by several people in waters off Copenhagen the evening of August 10. 

Photos of the two emerged online standing next to each other in the sub's tower. Wearing an orange fleece and with her long auburn hair tied in a topknot, she appeared to be smiling. 

When Wall failed to return home, the sub was also reported missing. Rescue crews located it around midday on August 11 in Koge Bay, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of the Danish capital.

Sudenly sunk

Just after it was found, Madsen was rescued, alone, and the submarine suddenly sank.

Police have since said they believe Madsen "deliberately" sank the sub. It was brought to the surface and searched, and found to be empty.

Danish broadcaster TV2 showed images of Madsen as he was being interrogated by police after his rescue. 

When a journalist asked him what contact information he had for the missing journalist, he responded: "Only that her name is Kim." 

"I don't check the background when a journalist calls and asks 'Can I interview you'," Madsen said indifferently as he entered a police car.

AP

Police technicians board the amateur -built submarine UC3 Nautilus on a pier in Copenhagen harbour, Denmark, Sunday, Aug. 13, 2017, to conduct forensic probes in connection with a murder investigation. Picture: AP

The Nautilus was the biggest private sub ever made when Madsen built it in 2008 with help from a group of volunteers, described on a website about the vessel as "submarine enthusiasts". 

The volunteers were engaged in a dispute over the Nautilus between 2014 and 2015 before members of the board decided to transfer the vessel's ownership to Madsen, according to the website. 

Madsen had sent a text message to two members of the board in 2015, saying "there is a curse on Nautilus". 

"That curse is me. There will never be peace on Nautilus as long as I exist," Madsen wrote in his text message, according to a post written by the volunteers in Danish on the website. 

"You will never have a good feeling inside the submarine... do not throw more lifeblood into that boat."

Madsen had wanted to build his own rocket before turning instead to the submarine.

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