A Danish man created a DIY submarine to lure woman journalist on board and then enacted his twisted fantasies

Peter Madsen was a relatively unassuming Danish inventor who made global headlines after his homemade submarine sank in waters off the coast of Denmark. The problem was that the Swedish journalist, Kim Wall, who had been on board with him was nowhere to be found.

Madsen, a then 46-year-old entrepreneur, had been involved in several engineering projects by 2017, including a crowd-funded human space program which he ultimately left in 2014. However, he was perhaps most well known for his DIY submarines. Madsen had built three submarines, UC1 Freya, UC2 Kraka, and UC3 Nautilus.

In August of 2017, Swedish journalist Kim Wall took an interest in Madsen’s submarines and the Danish entrepreneur was all too happy to offer her a firsthand experience of onboard one of his subs. 

Peter Madsen and the missing journalist

On August 10, the pair embarked on their journey under the waves. Things seemed fishy when the submarine did not return at the expected time. On August 11, Madsen was rescued by a Danish military operation as per a Buzzfeed article published at the time. He told authorities that the submarine had sunk but claimed he had dropped Wall off on dry land before the incident.

With no sign of Wall, the police suspected the worst and arrested Madsen for manslaughter. He then changed his story and confirmed that she was indeed dead. He told authorities that the Swedish journalist had died after the hatch door hit her head. 

Shortly after his arrest, Danish police made two discoveries. First, they began finding dismembered body parts washing up on the shore, and secondly, they learnt that the submarine had been deliberately sunk, which contradicted Madsen’s story that it was an accident.

We all know where this is going

Unfortunately for Kim Wall, it seems Madsen may have been planning his horrific crime for a long time. The Danish engineer changed his story once again, admitting to dismembering Wall’s body, but maintaining that her death was an accident, this time claiming that she died from a gas leak.

Evidence found from an autopsy on Wall’s body found 15 stab wounds as well as traces of Madsen’s DNA, as per The Guardian. An examination of his computer found material that featured women being tortured and killed. 

In January 2018, Madsen was charged with murder, indecent handling of a corpse, and sexual assault (due to stab wounds around the genital region). He was handed a life sentence. For a couple of years, he maintained his innocence but ultimately confessed in a documentary released in 2020.