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| Rocket and Submarine Inventor Under Scrutiny in Disappearance of Swedish Journalist | Rocket and Submarine Inventor Under Scrutiny in Disappearance of Swedish Journalist |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| COPENHAGEN — He was the rare middle-school science whiz to realize his dreams of becoming a celebrated inventor. He started building rockets as a teenager, and mused about making space tourism a reality. Fellow Danes admired his prowess in technology and design, though his temper at times seemed out of place in a society that treasures politeness. | COPENHAGEN — He was the rare middle-school science whiz to realize his dreams of becoming a celebrated inventor. He started building rockets as a teenager, and mused about making space tourism a reality. Fellow Danes admired his prowess in technology and design, though his temper at times seemed out of place in a society that treasures politeness. |
| Peter Madsen, 46, is at the center of a mystery that has shocked Scandinavia: the death of a Swedish journalist, Kim Wall, 30, who vanished after boarding Mr. Madsen’s self-designed 55-foot-long submarine on the evening of Aug. 10. | Peter Madsen, 46, is at the center of a mystery that has shocked Scandinavia: the death of a Swedish journalist, Kim Wall, 30, who vanished after boarding Mr. Madsen’s self-designed 55-foot-long submarine on the evening of Aug. 10. |
| They were the only people on board the vessel, which sank. | They were the only people on board the vessel, which sank. |
| After initially telling investigators that he had dropped off Ms. Wall at a remote section of the port of Copenhagen, Mr. Madsen — who has been charged with involuntary manslaughter — changed his story to say that Ms. Wall died while on board his ship and that he buried her body at sea. | After initially telling investigators that he had dropped off Ms. Wall at a remote section of the port of Copenhagen, Mr. Madsen — who has been charged with involuntary manslaughter — changed his story to say that Ms. Wall died while on board his ship and that he buried her body at sea. |
| On Monday afternoon, on the edge of Amager Island, near where the submarine sank, a cyclist came across a grisly discovery: a woman’s torso, without its arms or legs or head. A postmortem examination started that evening, and on Wednesday morning the police announced that the DNA matched Ms. Wall’s. | |
| Mr. Madsen’s longtime zest for science was accompanied by a strong confidence in his own abilities. | Mr. Madsen’s longtime zest for science was accompanied by a strong confidence in his own abilities. |
| Born in 1971, one of four sons, he was raised by their father in Hong, a small town on the west coast of Zealand, Denmark’s largest island. He told a biographer that his father, a carpenter who built barracks and bunkers for the German occupiers during World War II, had been abusive. | Born in 1971, one of four sons, he was raised by their father in Hong, a small town on the west coast of Zealand, Denmark’s largest island. He told a biographer that his father, a carpenter who built barracks and bunkers for the German occupiers during World War II, had been abusive. |
| When he was 15, according to a biography, he added an air of importance to his space dreams by using a made-up affiliation, the Danish Space Agency, when introducing himself to people whose help he sought to develop his rockets. | When he was 15, according to a biography, he added an air of importance to his space dreams by using a made-up affiliation, the Danish Space Agency, when introducing himself to people whose help he sought to develop his rockets. |
| “At one point I’m talking for two hours with an engineer at the Navy’s Materials Command about high-concentration hydrogen peroxide, and getting so much information because he doesn’t get that I’m only 15,” Peter Madsen told the biographer Thomas Djursing, the author of “Rocket Madsen: Denmark’s Do-It-Yourself Astronaut.” | “At one point I’m talking for two hours with an engineer at the Navy’s Materials Command about high-concentration hydrogen peroxide, and getting so much information because he doesn’t get that I’m only 15,” Peter Madsen told the biographer Thomas Djursing, the author of “Rocket Madsen: Denmark’s Do-It-Yourself Astronaut.” |
| During school breaks, Mr. Madsen told Mr. Djursing, he peppered chemistry and physics teachers with questions about rocket fluids, and after school he trawled the library for books on space travel and moon landings. | During school breaks, Mr. Madsen told Mr. Djursing, he peppered chemistry and physics teachers with questions about rocket fluids, and after school he trawled the library for books on space travel and moon landings. |
| His first rocket launch was an accident — the rocket landed on the grounds of a nearby machinery manufacturer. His second launch also failed, landing in a nursing home garden. | His first rocket launch was an accident — the rocket landed on the grounds of a nearby machinery manufacturer. His second launch also failed, landing in a nursing home garden. |
| But the third was a success, taking off from a patch of grass behind his school, when Mr. Madsen was 15. It rose at a stable rate to some 330 feet in the air before descending. | But the third was a success, taking off from a patch of grass behind his school, when Mr. Madsen was 15. It rose at a stable rate to some 330 feet in the air before descending. |
| “I loved the idea that a fully armed rocket stood behind the school,” Mr. Madsen told his biographer. “The school day was my count down where I constantly looked at my watch thinking ‘T-minus-4 hours,’ ‘T-minus-3 hours,’ etc.” | “I loved the idea that a fully armed rocket stood behind the school,” Mr. Madsen told his biographer. “The school day was my count down where I constantly looked at my watch thinking ‘T-minus-4 hours,’ ‘T-minus-3 hours,’ etc.” |
| Mr. Madsen went to study engineering at a university, but he did not complete his degree. | Mr. Madsen went to study engineering at a university, but he did not complete his degree. |
| In time, he became something of a local celebrity loved for his ambitions and innovations; some admirers envisioned his taking on space giants like NASA or even the British billionaire Richard Branson, perhaps the best known promoter of space tourism. | In time, he became something of a local celebrity loved for his ambitions and innovations; some admirers envisioned his taking on space giants like NASA or even the British billionaire Richard Branson, perhaps the best known promoter of space tourism. |
| Volunteers and donors flocked to support Mr. Madsen, who in 2008 co-founded Copenhagen Suborbitals, an amateur space exploration company. But by the time the organization had its first successful launch from a platform in the Baltic Sea in 2011, Mr. Madsen had fallen out with his friends and colleagues and continued his work alone. | Volunteers and donors flocked to support Mr. Madsen, who in 2008 co-founded Copenhagen Suborbitals, an amateur space exploration company. But by the time the organization had its first successful launch from a platform in the Baltic Sea in 2011, Mr. Madsen had fallen out with his friends and colleagues and continued his work alone. |
| “Peter Madsen found simple solutions to big problems and became an inspiration even for professional rocket engineers all over the world,” said Mr. Djursing, the biographer. | “Peter Madsen found simple solutions to big problems and became an inspiration even for professional rocket engineers all over the world,” said Mr. Djursing, the biographer. |
| But he also had a reputation as ornery and ill-tempered; Mr. Djursing described him as a “one-man army,” who alienated engineers because of his tendency to get frustrated and angry. However, no known indications that he was violent have been found. | But he also had a reputation as ornery and ill-tempered; Mr. Djursing described him as a “one-man army,” who alienated engineers because of his tendency to get frustrated and angry. However, no known indications that he was violent have been found. |
| Mr. Madsen began launching submarines in 2002, and had taken visitors onto his third and latest submarine, the UC3 Nautilus, in the past; Ms. Wall had told her family that she was going to Denmark to interview Mr. Madsen. | Mr. Madsen began launching submarines in 2002, and had taken visitors onto his third and latest submarine, the UC3 Nautilus, in the past; Ms. Wall had told her family that she was going to Denmark to interview Mr. Madsen. |
| The two were seen leaving Refshaleoen, a site on Copenhagen harbor, around 7 p.m. on Aug. 10, a Thursday. Around midnight, the UC3 Nautilus was spotted by a merchant marine vessel, as it moved through the harbor in a clockwise direction. | The two were seen leaving Refshaleoen, a site on Copenhagen harbor, around 7 p.m. on Aug. 10, a Thursday. Around midnight, the UC3 Nautilus was spotted by a merchant marine vessel, as it moved through the harbor in a clockwise direction. |
| When Ms. Wall, who was from southern Sweden, across a small strait from Denmark, failed to come home that night, her boyfriend called the authorities, who began a search. Late the next morning, rescuers came across the Nautilus; Mr. Madsen jumped off and swam toward safety as the vessel sank to a level of about 22 feet. Police have said that the submarine was sunk intentionally, but have not said how or why. | When Ms. Wall, who was from southern Sweden, across a small strait from Denmark, failed to come home that night, her boyfriend called the authorities, who began a search. Late the next morning, rescuers came across the Nautilus; Mr. Madsen jumped off and swam toward safety as the vessel sank to a level of about 22 feet. Police have said that the submarine was sunk intentionally, but have not said how or why. |
| People who know Mr. Madsen have expressed shock. Mr. Djursing said in a phone interview that he felt “anger, confusion and powerlessness,” like “under a blanket of something absurd and very evil.” | People who know Mr. Madsen have expressed shock. Mr. Djursing said in a phone interview that he felt “anger, confusion and powerlessness,” like “under a blanket of something absurd and very evil.” |
| On Monday, after the police revealed that Mr. Madsen had changed his story about the time he had spent with Ms. Wall, Jens Falkenberg, a fellow member of the amateur submarine building community, told the newspaper BT, “Peter is a colorful personality, but he’s in no way evil, and I don’t believe there’s anything violent in him.” | On Monday, after the police revealed that Mr. Madsen had changed his story about the time he had spent with Ms. Wall, Jens Falkenberg, a fellow member of the amateur submarine building community, told the newspaper BT, “Peter is a colorful personality, but he’s in no way evil, and I don’t believe there’s anything violent in him.” |
| “To me Peter is not a murderer,” Mr. Falkenberg said. “I can’t imagine Peter having killed her intentionally, but I can imagine an accident happening. The submarine is an ungainly place and you move around awkwardly. Perhaps she fell and broke her neck.” | “To me Peter is not a murderer,” Mr. Falkenberg said. “I can’t imagine Peter having killed her intentionally, but I can imagine an accident happening. The submarine is an ungainly place and you move around awkwardly. Perhaps she fell and broke her neck.” |
| Deirdre King, a friend of 14 years, told the newspaper Ekstra Bladet that she couldn’t see Mr. Madsen as a killer. “I’ve been sailing with Nautilus and there are many places you can get hurt,” she said. | Deirdre King, a friend of 14 years, told the newspaper Ekstra Bladet that she couldn’t see Mr. Madsen as a killer. “I’ve been sailing with Nautilus and there are many places you can get hurt,” she said. |
| Relatives and friends of Ms. Wall, a graduate of the London School of Economics and Columbia University’s Journalism School, have expressed grief. “She was beloved by her community,” the journalism school, where she received a master’s degree in 2013, said on Twitter. “She will be missed.” | Relatives and friends of Ms. Wall, a graduate of the London School of Economics and Columbia University’s Journalism School, have expressed grief. “She was beloved by her community,” the journalism school, where she received a master’s degree in 2013, said on Twitter. “She will be missed.” |