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The death of Swedish journalist Kim Wall and the consecutive conviction of inventor and entrepreneur Peter Madsen has been one of the most publicized homicide cases in recent Danish history. The incident took place on August 10, 2017, miles offshore from Køge Bay, Denmark.
Journalist Kim Wall had been pursuing the Danish entrepreneur and inventor for years to get an interview. When he finally accepted her offer and invited her over to his self-built submarine, UC3 Nautilus, Madsen had more than an interview on his mind.
While Wall was only supposed to be on board for two hours, she did not return home that night and was reported missing by her partner.
The next day, Peter Madsen was rescued from a sinking Nautilus, while Wall was nowhere to be found. The Danish genius had killed, dismembered, and buried her at sea with weighted pieces of metal. The news quickly made headlines and the inventor was dubbed a murderer. Madsen is currently serving his life sentence in a Danish prison.
Read on to get a closer look at some facts about Peter Madsen.
His passion, his creation, and more - 5 things to know about the Danish inventor and murderer, Peter Madsen
1) Peter Madsen was a self-made genius
Much before he became the infamous killer who murdered a journalist on his submarine, Peter Madsen was known to have a brilliant mind. He gave his life to science and made great progress in the private sector of producing submarines and rockets. From an early age, Madsen was invested in the science behind rockets, an interest he shared with his father, Carl Madsen.
During his primary and secondary school years, Madsen built an interest in learning about rocket fuel from his physics and chemistry teacher, Johannes Fischer. He successfully built and launched his first rocket in 1986, a one-meter tall model designed after the American ICBM MX Peacekeeper. Soon after, he got into welding and engineering to learn about submarines.
Madsen gathered funds from organizations and enterprises and built the first private Danish submarine, the UC1 Freya in 2002 with Claus Nørregaard. He was also responsible for building two more such sea-faring vessels - UC2 Kraka and the infamous UC3 Nautilus.
Peter Madsen also founded the Copenhagen Suborbitals and RML Spacelab with the objective of space exploration.
2) Madsen has married twice to date
Peter Madsen tied the knot in 2011, soon after his rise to fame. He married somebody from the film industry, who had also helped him during workshops in Copenhagen Suborbitals
She chose not to reveal her identity and information about her has not been released to media outlets. While it is known that she had previously come to court hearings, she withdrew her support after incriminating proof was found.
Since the duo's divorce was finalized in 2018, Madsen has been in jail. However, in 2019 he got married to Russian artist, Jenny Curpen. Curpen had been staying in Finland under political asylum because of her persecution in Russia. The two got married on December 19, 2020, and announced it on their social media.
While Curpen had said that their marriage was for an art project on Madsen, it was still a genuine one. They have been divorced since January 2022.
3) He built the largest privately produced Danish submarine and turned it into a crime scene
Peter Madsen was indeed an exceptionally talented man who became famous for his many scientific endeavors. He was the first person to have built a submarine by himself in Denmark. Madsen worked on a 7.5 m long submarine with Claus Nørregaard and named it UC1 Freya, his first creation.
Since then, Madsen has created two more submersibles - UC2 Kraka and UC3 Nautilus. Nautilus was one of the biggest privately built Danish submarines. However, the incident that took place on August 10, 2017, marked the end of the line for the vehicle, the owner, and the guest.
Peter Madsen invited journalist Kim Wall onboard under the pretext of an interview and then proceeded to kill her at sea.
The following day, Madsen deliberately sunk the submarine, feigning an accident. It was later brought on shore as evidence. At the end of the trial, it was destroyed and submerged by the authorities.
4) Madsen had some extreme fetishes
After he was indicted for the death of Swedish journalist, Kim Wall, the police conducted thorough searches of Peter Madsen's properties for any relevant evidence. During their investigation, the police found disturbing videos on Madsen's computer. There were multiple snuff films that explicitly showed women getting tortured and even killed.
Witnesses also said that Madsen used to frequent s*x clubs and similar parties. He was also once part of a BDSM group but was kicked out of it. According to other witnesses during the trial, Madsen was said to have extreme fetishes which involved asphyxiation, mutilation, and death.
These were also factored in before the court prosecuted Peter Madsen for Wall's death under charges of premeditated murder, indecent handling of a corpse, and s*xual assault.
5) He has psychopathic tendencies and is a pathological liar
While he was in custody under suspicion of Kim Wall's death, Peter Madsen was interrogated multiple times regarding the events that unfolded that day. The story he provided kept changing throughout the course of the trial. Initially, Madsen denied any involvement and said that he had dropped Wall off at 10:30 pm that night.
After the mutilated torso of Wall was discovered a few days later, Madsen changed his narrative. He then claimed that she had died of an unfortunate accident where the 70 kg hatch fell on her head and killed her. He then said he buried her at sea, "according to maritime tradition."
The final story that Madsen provided stated that Wall had died of carbon monoxide poisoning on the sub, while he was somewhere else. When he was later found guilty of the murder and dismembering of Kim Wall, Peter Madsen's confession lacked any empathy.
He said that Wall's lifeless body had become a problem to deal with, and he approached it the same way he would tackle any other problem and divide the situation into smaller problems. He is believed to have psychopathic tendencies with no sense of empathy or guilt.
