Danish inventor accepts extended custody in submarine murder case

The headless torso of journalist Kim Wall was found in waters off Copenhagen

COPENHAGAN: A Danish inventor charged with murdering Swedish journalist Kim Wall in his home-made submarine has voluntarily accepted the prosecutor's request to extend his custody, his lawyer said on Monday, meaning he will not appear in court on Tuesday.

Peter Madsen, who denies murdering Wall and another charge of mutilating her body, was supposed to appear in court on October 31 but he will now remain in custody until November 15, the lawyer, Betina Hald Engmark, told Reuters.

Earlier this month police prosecutors had extended his custody until Oct. 31 after officers found images "which we presume to be real" of women being strangled and decapitated on the hard drive on Madsen's computer in a laboratory he ran.



That, together with new post-mortem evidence showing Wall was stabbed in her ribcage and genitals "around or shortly after her death," has added to the case against Madsen, the prosecutor has said. Wall, a 30-year-old freelance journalist who was researching a story on Madsen, went missing after he took her out to sea in the 17-metre (56-foot) craft in August.

Madsen has told the court in past hearings that Wall died accidentally, saying she was hit by a heavy hatch cover on his UC3 Nautilus submarine. The police earlier this month found the head and legs of Wall and said there was no fracture to her skull.