Accident? Or not?
When the UC3 Nautilus sailed from the Port of Copenhagen on the evening of Aug. 10, the homemade submarine bore just two people: its famed Danish inventor and the Swedish journalist reporting on his invention.
Less than a day later, only one of them was still alive.
Peter Madsen's submarine sank midday Aug. 11; he was rescued by a private boat, but journalist Kim Wall was nowhere to be found. It was Wall's boyfriend who reported her missing, and authorities wasted no time in arresting the 46-year-old Madsen after he came ashore, charging him that same day with manslaughter and arranging his first court appearance for the following day, a Saturday.
Initially he told authorities he had dropped off his 30-year-old companion back in Copenhagen. Now, according to a statement released Monday by Copenhagen police at the behest of the defense and the prosecutor's office, Madsen has recanted that story.
"The defendant has explained to the police and the Court, that there was an accident on board which caused Kim Wall's death," police say in the statement, "and that he consequently buried her at sea at a non-defined location in the Bay of Køge."
[...] Compounding the speculation is Madsen's outsize reputation. Something of a "wannabe Elon Musk or Richard Branson on a much smaller scale," according to Overgaard, the man often known as "Rocket Madsen" has built three submarines with the aid of crowdfunding and aspires to send a homemade rocket to space.
More about Peter Madsen. Related Kickstarter.
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Copenhagen prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen announced in a court hearing Wednesday that "images" of the torture, decapitation, and burning of a woman were found on a computer hard drive at RML Spacelab, the organization devoted to building a manned suborbital rocket led by Danish aerospace engineer Peter Madsen. The BBC reports that the images, "which we presume to be real," said Buch-Jepsen, were on a computer believed to belong to Madsen—the suspect in the death of journalist Kim Wall in an incident aboard his submarine the UC3 Nautilus.
Madsen, for his part, claimed the video was not his and that the computer the video was on was a computer that everyone in the lab had access to. But other evidence presented in this latest hearing on his case has prompted the judge overseeing the case to order he be held in custody another four months, as Buch-Jepsen told the court of the video and other evidence that have "strengthened" the case against Madsen since his last hearing on September 5.
Pro tip: do not keep torture pr0n on your work computer.
Previously: Submarine Builder Charged With Manslaughter After Burying Journalist at Sea
Danish engineer and co-founder of Copenhagen Suborbitals Peter Madsen has admitted to dismembering journalist Kim Wall, but denies murdering her:
Danish police say that inventor Peter Madsen has admitted to dismembering Swedish journalist Kim Wall, who was researching a story in August on board a submarine he built. He denies killing her and maintains that her death was an accident, authorities say.
Madsen was alone when he was rescued from the sinking UC3 Nautilus, which police believe he sunk deliberately. As NPR's Colin Dwyer has reported, he initially claimed that he dropped Wall off safely the same day they set out — then he changed his story, saying he "buried her at sea" after a heavy hatch fell on her head.
Divers later found Wall's severed head in Denmark's Køge Bay. As NPR's Amy Held reported, police said there were "no signs of fracture or blunt force trauma to the skull," casting doubt on Madsen's claims. The head was in a bag weighted down with metal, authorities said.
Now, according to a Copenhagen police statement, Madsen has changed his story once again. He says that Wall died from carbon monoxide poisoning inside the submarine while he was sitting on the submarine's deck. During an interrogation on Oct. 14, police say, Madsen said that after Wall died, he dismembered her body and threw the remains in the bay. "This explanation (by Madsen) naturally will lead the police into gathering additional statements from the coroner and the armed forces' submarine experts," Copenhagen police investigator Jens Møller Jensen said, according to an Associated Press translation.
Also at Ars Technica, The Register, BBC, and NYT.
Previously: Submarine Builder Charged With Manslaughter After Burying Journalist at Sea
Search of "Rocket" Madsen's Space Lab Finds Footage of Woman's Decapitation
Danish Court Sentences Inventor To Life For Woman's Murder In 'Submarine Case'
A Copenhagen court has sentenced eccentric inventor Peter Madsen to life in prison over the murder of Kim Wall, a journalist who was killed after joining Madsen on his submarine last August. Parts of Wall's body were recovered after Madsen claimed he "buried her at sea." The case has captivated Denmark and drawn international headlines, with its shocking and gruesome details, and Madsen's wildly shifting explanations for what happened.
The submarine had left a dock in Copenhagen's harbor on Aug. 10, 2017. But one day later, the sub sank. Madsen was rescued; he initially told police he had let Wall off of the sub after just a few hours. But it was also noted that he had fresh scratches on both arms. No sign of Wall was found until some of her remains washed ashore. After the submarine was recovered and brought on land, blood in the craft was matched to Wall's DNA. The discovery of Wall's body prompted Madsen to say that a horrible accident killed Wall — but Danish authorities were skeptical of that story.
[...] "Prosecutors have said they do not know exactly how Wall did die, but that the murder seemed to be premeditated judging from the range of unusual instruments found on board. Much of the case against Madsen was built on his untrustworthiness, a psychological evaluation that found him narcissistic and lacking in empathy, and torture videos found on his computer."
The court ordered Madsen to pay about $19,700 to Ole Stobbe, Kim Wall's boyfriend. Wall had been pursuing an interview with Madsen for months, and was a few days away from moving to Beijing with Stobbe when Madsen texted her. The court also ordered the recovered submarine to be destroyed.
Also at Ars Technica.
Previously: Submarine Builder Charged With Manslaughter After Burying Journalist at Sea
Search of "Rocket" Madsen's Space Lab Finds Footage of Woman's Decapitation
Submarine Builder Peter Madsen Admits to Dismembering Journalist
(Score: 4, Informative) by engblom on Wednesday August 23 2017, @06:53AM (18 children)
They have found the body of Kim Wall. Peter has been cutting off head, arms and legs and these parts are still not found. They did a DNA test on the torso and the result came some while ago confirming it is Kim Wall.
When he is saying he "buried her in the sea", it is maybe something his advocate has invented because simply saying "I got rid of the body, by throwing her into the sea" would make him sound more guilty.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Entropy on Wednesday August 23 2017, @07:20AM (1 child)
That will be awkward to explain..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 23 2017, @07:36AM
Peter will have an easy time explaining his sperm inside the torso.
It was consensual. No witnesses!
(Score: 2, Informative) by engblom on Wednesday August 23 2017, @07:28AM (6 children)
One more update: Even though Peter willfully sank his submarine (earlier confirmed), they have been finding blood inside of it matching Kim Wall.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 23 2017, @07:46AM (1 child)
A woman's blood proves nothing; everyone knows women can bleed for a week without dying. She's probably hiding at her sister's house and getting a good laugh at the man whom she framed for murder. All men belong in prison. Especially a man named Peter belongs in rapist prison since his name literally means rock hard penis.
(Score: 5, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 23 2017, @08:05AM
You've got to admit, though: The part about leaving her own torso in the sea makes this an unusually elaborate frameup, no?
(Score: 5, Interesting) by inertnet on Wednesday August 23 2017, @10:22AM (3 children)
Interesting bit from the BBC website:
(Score: 2) by looorg on Wednesday August 23 2017, @03:36PM (2 children)
Since Madsen was only 15 years old back then I would not put high odds on him being responsible for that one.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 23 2017, @06:05PM (1 child)
idk, the TV is suggesting that hh holmes starting killing people at an early age. TV!!!
(Score: 2) by looorg on Wednesday August 23 2017, @06:56PM
Different times. Back in 1876 you might have been a man at age 15 but today you are still a child. It's not the killing part that is out of the question, it's more about the dismemberment. Beyond the mental fortitude it also takes some resources and a secluded location that most 15 year old boys just don't have access to. "Hi Mum! Going to do some heavy work with power-tools down in the basement ... don't come down here and try not to notice the smell."
(Score: 2) by looorg on Wednesday August 23 2017, @12:55PM (2 children)
Buried her at sea is nicer then dumping her in the sea which is a lot nicer then I mutilated her corpse and then tossed it into the sea.
While it is probably a nicety it could also just be a matter of practicality, he might have had to dismember the body to make it easier to transport out of the submarine. A limp body is heavy and unyielding and he has to get it up the ladder in the tower or out some small hatch, which would be much easier in small and handy bits instead of as a whole.
It still doesn't rule out his story of an accident on board, even tho his actions are somewhat odd if it was an accident -- dismemberment, body dump and then scuttle the sub instead of just returning to port and notify the authorities about the accident. But then people do weird and crazy things when they feel pressure.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by forkazoo on Thursday August 24 2017, @12:25AM (1 child)
It's entirely possible that there was some sort of accident, followed by a strange moment of panic and an attempted coverup because he figured nobody would believe it was an accident for some reason. That explanation sounds completely crazy. But then some sort of premeditated plan to sink your own *submarine* in order to avoid negative attention sounds equally crazy. Obviously sinking your own submarine is going to attract some attention, so luring your planned murder victim onto the sub seems like a lousy plan.
Hopefully, forensics can figure out where she died and the truth can come out. As odd as the whole thing is, I am inclined to avoid rushing to judgement until the authorities can figure out WTF actually happened.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @03:43AM
He probably wanted sex, she didn't, and things ended badly. There was no earlier plan to sink the sub.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday August 23 2017, @02:16PM (2 children)
"Buried at sea" usually takes place after a memorial service. The memorial service generally takes place after doctors and clergy have examined the body, next of kin notified - and probably some other details that I'm forgetting. I have actually buried some service members at sea. I think those guys were all dead for about a month, before we actually slid their carcasses off of the sheet of plywood. Visit the coroner, get manicure, haircut, etc from the undertaker, visit the hometown church, visit the base chapel, then chill for awhile in some deep freeze, until a ship is available to carry him back to sea for the last time.
It's been a long, long, LONG time since people were "buried at sea" within hours of assuming ambient temperature.
(Score: 3, Touché) by bob_super on Wednesday August 23 2017, @06:12PM (1 child)
> It's been a long, long, LONG time since people were "buried at sea" within hours of assuming ambient temperature.
True in general, though the US navy has been known to make an exception in case you are found 1200 km from the sea with a few 5.56 wounds.
(Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Thursday August 24 2017, @07:18PM
A lot of people disagree with what happened after the fact and the way he was treated so solemnly. I mean, they treated him so solemnly after the fact. Cleanse the body, wash the body. I mean, give me a break. But anybody sitting in that office would've done the same. I keep hearing about, oh, bin Laden. The military did an incredible job. And they called him and they said "we have him." And Obama said, "go get him." What's he going to say, don't get him? And he gets all this credit? It's a lot of crap. 🇺🇸
(Score: 2) by wisnoskij on Thursday August 24 2017, @02:44AM
What exactly is the difference between burying someone at sea and dumping a body overboard?
(Score: 3, Informative) by Hawkwind on Friday August 25 2017, @03:57AM (1 child)
http://cphpost.dk/news/kim-walls-blood-found-in-peter-madsens-submarine.html [cphpost.dk]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 03 2017, @04:03AM
*grisly, not grizzly
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 23 2017, @06:56AM (2 children)
Is america great again yet? Where are the wall jobs? Where are the coal jobs? Where are the tech jobs?
I rode a bus today. What did I see? A billboard ad saying GET SKILLS in RETAIL JOBS FOR YOU. Why? Self checkout machines have replaced retail clerks. The only guy who still has a job is the bus driver. Self driving buses will end the last job in town real soon now.
America is dying, trumpstains.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 23 2017, @12:45PM (1 child)
Trump is a product of a dying country. The title of president is a weak position in this country. The most powerful people sit in private highrise offices and board rooms, not the oval office or washington. Those people sold the country down the river so they could buy a few more submarines/yachts/fillet mignons/drugs/mistresses/etc. They don't care about joe and mary six packs like us who need those jobs they exported for pennies to the dollar. As far as they are concerned, we can go die in the gutter because lesser subhuman trash like us don't deserve to live. Washington is a puppet. And it's time to chop off the hand up the puppets ass.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 23 2017, @04:15PM
Never forget that the real rulers, the owners, believe that they will ride out N-day and the year from hell in luxury bunkers or "vaults." In this era, I believe those things are referred to as "nuclear war" and "nuclear winter." After living through them, however, it becomes necessary to set them apart from any other war or winter that has ever happened. Wars will happen again. Winters will happen again. N-day and the year from hell must never happen again.
There is a movie that I was vaguely aware of in college called "Fight Club." I sat down and finally watched it after I arrived from 2042, and I was surprised how prescient it was. In one of the scenes, Tyler Durden tells a character who I suppose is a stand-in for the owners that you do not fuck with the people who serve you. The people who serve you can piss in your soup. I believe the book spends some time on the various creative things that disgruntled employees in the kitchen of an expensive restaurant might do to food meant to be consumed by their "betters."
I prefer the metaphor that John Titor used during his visit to my original timeline about running out of gas on the side of the road. Debt slaves with advanced degrees in science and engineering preparing meals that they will never be able to eat that will be scarfed down by people who do not know themselves science, engineering, or how to prepare those meals is another apt metaphor for this era.
During the year from hell, we entombed the entrances and HVAC systems of any luxury vaults we could find in cement. Did they think that the people who built those very HVAC systems would forget the details the moment the job was done, like a robot that switches on and off? It was an act of catharsis at the time, retribution for the horrors we were living with when it became apparent that summer would never come that year, but I suppose that some among us did understand the profound reason for what we did.
Have some patience, and make sure you have a spare gas can as a practical matter, just in case. Get away from major cities now before the 2018 riots, so that you won't even need a bug out bag when the time comes. The car is about to run out of gas on the side of the road. We have many people on this board who are prepared. For everybody else, the walk to the gas station will do them some good.
(Score: 2) by jimshatt on Wednesday August 23 2017, @08:25AM
(Score: 3, Funny) by fustakrakich on Wednesday August 23 2017, @04:11PM
No, more like a wannabe Hans Reiser...
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..