Inventor says he dumped body, didn’t kill journalist
TALLINN, Estonia — She was a promising young journalist, tested in trouble spots throughout the world, reporting on a Danish inventor famed for building what was thought to be the world’s largest private submarine. The story seemed to present little danger, but it cost Kim Wall her life.
The Swedish journalist’s dismembered, naked torso was found on a southern Copenhagen coast in late August. Her head, legs and clothes were later discovered in plastic bags at sea. The bags also contained a knife and heavy metal objects designed to take them to the ocean floor. Wall’s arms are still missing.
Inventor Peter Madsen has offered a shifting variety of explanations for Wall’s death.
Police revealed Monday that Madsen now admits dismembering Wall’s body and throwing the body parts into a bay but steadfastly denies killing her. He now says she died from carbon monoxide poisoning inside Madsen’s submarine while he was on the vessel’s deck.
“This explanation naturally will lead the police into gathering additional statements from the coroner and the armed forces’ submarine experts,” said Copenhagen police investigator Jens Moller Jensen.
Police on Monday expanded the charges against him to include sexual assault.
Madsen, 46, generated attention in 2008 with the launch of Nautilus, which was billed as the world’s largest privately built submarine.
He denies killing the 30-year-old Wall, who had carved out a name for herself by producing a string of stories from Sri Lanka, Uganda, Cuba, the Marshall Islands, and many other countries.
The journalist was last seen alive Aug. 10 on the submarine, the UC3 Nautilus. Police believe Madsen and Wall did not know each other before their trip.