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Danish police confirm headless torso is missing journalist Kim Wall Danish police confirm headless torso is missing journalist Kim Wall
(about 9 hours later)
Danish police have identified a headless female torso found in the Copenhagen waterside as that of Swedish journalist Kim Wall, who police believe was killed on a homemade submarine. Police in Denmark have identified a headless torso found in the Copenhagen waterside as that of Swedish journalist Kim Wall, who police believe was killed on board a Danish inventor’s homemade submarine.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday morning, Copenhagen police’s vice-president, Jens Møller, also said that DNA taken from a hairbrush and toothbrush belonging to Wall had matched that of blood found on the submarine. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday morning, Copenhagen police’s vice-president, Jens Møller, said metal weights had been attached to the body to prevent it from floating to the service.
He said metal weights had been attached to the body to prevent it from floating. “The body bears the mark of having, most likely, been inflicted deliberate damage with the purpose of ensuring that gasses can pass out of the body – possibly in an attempt to avoid that a body rises from the seabed,” Møller said.
“Damage seems to have been done to the torso in an attempt to ensure that air and gases escape and the body won’t drift to the surface,” Møller said at the press conference. He also said DNA taken from a hairbrush and toothbrush belonging to 30-year-old Wall had matched that of blood found on the submarine.
Peter Madsen, a Danish inventor, was charged with manslaughter last week. He told a court hearing this week that Wall had died in an accident and that he had “buried” her at sea. Peter Madsen, a Danish inventor about whom Wall is believed to have been writing a feature article, was charged with manslaughter last week. He told a court hearing this week that Wall died in an accident on his vessel and that he “buried” her at sea.
This marked a change to a previous statement in which he claimed to have dropped Wall, 30, off alive on the tip of an island off Copenhagen late on 10 August before the vessel sank. He had previously denied playing any role in her disappearance. Madsen denies manslaughter. This marked a change from a previous statement in which he claimed to have dropped off Wall alive on the tip of an island off Copenhagen late on 10 August before the vessel sank. Madsen denies manslaughter.
On Monday, a cyclist passing the water’s edge south-west of the island of Amager discovered a torso missing the head, arms and legs. Wall’s mother, Ingrid, posted on Facebook on Wednesday: “We cannot see the end of the disaster yet, and a lot of questions are still to be answered.
On Wednesday morning, police confirmed a “DNA match between torso and Kim Wall”.
Wall’s mother reacted to Wednesday’s announcement with a message posted on Facebook. “We cannot see the end of the disaster yet, and a lot of questions are still to be answered,” Ingrid Wall wrote.
“The tragedy has hit not only us and other families, but friends and colleagues all over the world. During the horrendous days since Kim disappeared, we have received countless evidence of how loved and appreciated she has been, as a human and friend as well as a professional journalist. From all corners of the world comes evidence of Kim’s ability to be a person who makes a difference.”“The tragedy has hit not only us and other families, but friends and colleagues all over the world. During the horrendous days since Kim disappeared, we have received countless evidence of how loved and appreciated she has been, as a human and friend as well as a professional journalist. From all corners of the world comes evidence of Kim’s ability to be a person who makes a difference.”
On Wednesday, local media reported that Danish police said they would look into whether unresolved past cases could be connected with Wall’s case. In 1987, the torso of a Japanese tourist was found in the waters of Copenhagen harbour. Originally from Sweden, Wall had degrees from Columbia University and the London School of Economics, and had written for publications including the New York Times, Foreign Policy, Time and the Guardian.
Danish authorities had been searching for the reporter, who had been writing a feature story about Madsen, since she failed to return from an interview with him onboard the 18-metre (60ft) Nautilus. Danish authorities had been searching for the reporter since she failed to return from an interview with Madsen on board the Nautilus. She was last seen on the vessel by several people in waters off Copenhagen on the evening of 10 August. Her boyfriend reported her missing in the early hours the next day.
Wall was last seen on Madsen’s vessel by several people in waters off Copenhagen on the evening of 10 August. Her boyfriend reported her missing in the early hours of Friday. The submarine was later also reported missing, and rescue crews located it shortly after 10am on 11 August in Køge Bay, south of the Danish capital. At about 11am, Madsen jumped into the water after the submarine started to sink. He told personnel on the boat that rescued him that there had been a problem with the ballast tank and something had gone wrong when he tried to repair it.
The submarine was later also reported missing, but rescue crews located it shortly after 10am on 11 August in Køge Bay, about 30 miles (50km) south of the Danish capital.
At about 11am, Madsen jumped into the water after the submarine started to sink, telling personnel on the boat that rescued him that there had been a problem with the ballast tank and something had gone wrong when he tried to repair it.
Danish and Swedish maritime authorities used divers, sonar and helicopters in the search for the body in Køge Bay, south of the city, and in the Øresund Strait between the two countries.
Police refloated the Nautilus and towed it into harbour for investigation, later suggesting that Madsen may have sunk the boat on purpose to hide evidence.Police refloated the Nautilus and towed it into harbour for investigation, later suggesting that Madsen may have sunk the boat on purpose to hide evidence.
Madsen, an entrepreneur, artist, submarine builder and aerospace engineer, appeared before a judge on 12 August for preliminary questioning. The case is not open to the public to protect further investigations, police said. Madsen appeared before a judge on 12 August for preliminary questioning. The case is not open to the public to protect further investigations, police said.
Originally from Sweden, Wall held degrees from Columbia University and the London School of Economics, and had written on issues ranging from social justice to foreign policy for publications including the Guardian, the New York Times, Foreign Policy and Time. On Wednesday Madsen’s lawyer said her client still maintains that Wall died accidentally, and that the discovery of the journalist’s torso did not mean he was guilty of killing her.
“It doesn’t change my client’s explanation that an accident happened,” Betina Hald Engmark told Danish tabloid BT. “No matter what, we find it very positive that she has been found now.”
An entrepreneur, artist, submarine builder and aerospace engineer, Madsen, 46, nicknamed Rocket, has enjoyed a cult status in his native Denmark. For years, a team built around him and the aerospace engineer Kristian von Bengtson have worked on designing a rocket-driven spacecraft.
The Nautilus, which was Madsen’s third design for a “midget submarine” vessel and became the largest privately built submarine when it was unveiled in 2008, has been his most spectacular invention to date.
Measuring almost 18 metres and weighing 40 tonnes, it can be operated by one person from its control room. Madsen was known to regularly take fans and submarine enthusiasts on tours through the Øresund strait. Able to submerge in approximately 20 seconds, the boat can carry up to eight people to 100 metres below sea level.
On Tuesday a support group set up in his honour distanced itself from the inventor. “The dream is burst. In view of the latest information released by the Copenhagen police today, there is regrettably no way for us to continue as part of the Raket-Madsen Support Group,” the group’s president announced on its website.
Danish police said that in light of the findings they would look afresh into unsolved cases such as the murder of a Japanese tourist in 1986. Body parts of 22-year-old Kazuko Toyonaga were found in plastic bags at separate locations in the waters outside Copenhagen almost a month after the student disappeared on her travels through Scandinavia.
Jessica Reed, the Guardian’s US features editor, who commissioned Wall to write articles on a range of subjects, including the last freakshow in America, Voudou in Haiti, real-life vampires and an eccentric American couple who had befriended Gaddafi, paid tribute to the reporter.
“It would be sad to let this tragedy define what Kim’s life was,” Reed said. “She should be remembered for her insatiable curiosity, and her drive to find stories which no other journalist had touched before.
“She was deeply interested in the lives of outliers, people who lived their lives in their own terms. Her passion for her subjects was infectious, and as such she was an absolute pleasure to work with. She was a true professional.”