Submariner Accused Of Killing Journalist Kim Wall Testifies

Swedish journalist Kim Wall went missing on August 10, last year. Peter Madsen, a Danish inventor, has since been accused of killing and dismembering her in his self-built submarine.

Madsen is finally on trial for the murder.

Wall had gone for an interview on Madsen's submarine and her text messages to her boyfriend had stopped soon after. Later, parts of her body were found in Koge Bay near Copenhagen

Madsen has been charged with pre-meditated murder, sexual assault and indecent handling of a body. Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for Madsen.

Forensic experts had found blood on Madsen's face. Wall's underpants and stockings were found in the submarine.

However, during trial Madsen said that the death was an accident. The accident was caused by a malfunction that made the engines stop, the pressure to drop, the hatch to lock shut and gases to poison the air in the submarine, resulting in Wall’s death. He said he survived because he was on top of the submarine at the time.

 "When I finally manage to open the hatch, a warm cloud hits my face. I find her lifeless on the floor, and I squat next to her and try to wake her up, slapping her cheeks," he said.

“I didn’t want to share with the rest of the world the horrible manner in which she died,” he said. He said he tried for two hours to get her body overboard, but gave up.

He has admitted to dismembering Wall's body and disposing it at sea.

When asked why he did so, he told the court: "I don't see how that mattered at that time, as she was dead."

The trial is expected to last 12 days over seven weeks, with a verdict expected on 25 April.

Kim Wall was an established journalist who had reported from North Korea, the South Pacific, Uganda and Haiti, writing for the New York Times, Guardian, Vice and the South China Morning Post.

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Picture Credit: ITV