Headless torso confirmed as that of journalist in submarine mystery

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Journalist Kim Wall had reported on conflicts, crises and natural disasters around the world. Earlier this month, she set out to sea from laid-back Copenhagen for a story about an eccentric Danish inventor and his homemade submarine.

She never returned. On Wednesday, police confirmed that Wall’s headless torso had been found on a beach near the Danish capital. The inventor, Peter Madsen, has been arrested on suspicion of killing her.

Wall, 30, was last seen alive on the evening of Aug. 10 on Madsen’s submarine, named UC3 Nautilus. The freelance journalist’s family says she was working on a story about Madsen, 46, a celebrity entrepreneur and engineer who dreamed of launching a manned space mission.

Early the next day, Wall’s boyfriend reported her missing. Madsen was rescued from his sinking vessel south of Copenhagen hours later.

Madsen, who remains in police custody on suspicion of manslaughter, initially told police he had let Wall off on an island several hours into the trip. Later, he said she had died accidentally and he had “buried” her at sea.

On Monday, a cyclist discovered a torso on a beach on Copenhagen’s southern Amager island, near where Wall was believed to have died. Copenhagen police said Tuesday that the body’s head, arms and legs had “deliberately been cut off.”

Copenhagen police investigator Jens Moeller Jensen told reporters Wednesday that DNA tests had confirmed the torso was Wall’s.

Dried blood found inside the submarine was also a match to DNA obtained from Wall’s toothbrush and hairbrush, he said.

Moeller Jensen said the torso “washed ashore after having been at sea for a while,” and was attached to a piece of metal “likely with the purpose to make it sink.”

The investigator said marks on the torso indicated that someone had tried to press air out of the body so that it wouldn’t float.

The cause of the journalist’s death is not yet known, police said.