Danish inventor charged with killing, dismembering journalist Kim Wall in 'extremely disturbing' case
A Danish inventor was charged with the submarine killing and dismembering of Swedish journalist Kim Wall on Tuesday in what a prosecutor described as an "extremely disturbing" case.
Peter Madsen is also accused of having "sexual relations other than intercourse of a particularly dangerous nature" with the victim, according to authorities.
Prosecutors say Madsen either cut Wall's throat or strangled her before cutting up her body and depositing the remains into the sea.
Prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen said the killing of the 30-year-old journalist was planned, and prosecutors will ask that Madsen be sentenced to life in prison if he is convicted.
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A secondary claim could put the 47-year-old Madsen in a mental facility if deemed necessary by psychiatrists.
Wall was last seen aboard Madsen's submarine as it left Copenhagen in August. Madsen was later rescued from the sinking vessel without Wall.
Madsen told investigators he had dropped Wall off on an island several hours after their voyage began. He later said that Wall died accidentally inside the submarine while he was on deck and he had "buried" her at sea. He would later admit that he threw her body parts into the sea.
Her dismembered torso was found on a Copenhagen shoreline in late August. Her head and legs, along with her clothes, were discovered in bags at sea in October.
The charges were made public by the Danish prosecution authority on Tuesday. Buch-Jepsen called the slaying "very unusual and extremely disturbing."
Madsen's trial is set to start in March 8, and a verdict is expected in April.
Wall, who attended Columbia Journalism School in New York, wrote for the New York Times, Vice Magazine and The Guardian.
With News Wire Services