Danish prosecutors have formally charged inventor Peter Madsen with the murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall on his submarine last year.
Wall went missing in August 2017 after visiting the inventor on his homemade submarine for a story. On August 21, a dismembered female body was found in the sea off the Danish coast and later identified as Wall. The 30-year-old’s head and legs were later discovered.
Now, Madsen has been charged with premeditated murder in addition to dismemberment and a charge of “sexual relations other than intercourse of a particularly dangerous nature,” CNN reports.
RELATED: Inventor Accused Of Killing Journalist Kim Wall Had Disturbing Videos On Computer, Court Hears
Wall was found with 14 interior and exterior stab wounds to her genitals, police say. Her cause of death is yet to be determined.
Prosecutors claim that 47-year-old Madsen either strangled or slit Wall’s throat, dismembered her body and dumped it out at sea.
“This is a very unusual and extremely brutal case which has had tragic consequences for Kim Wall and her relatives,” prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen said, The Washington Post reports.
Madsen at first claimed Wall had died when she hit her head on a submarine hatch, then said she had died of carbon monoxide poisoning inside the submarine.
He has admitted to dismembering her body parts and dumping them at sea but has denied murdering or sexually assaulting her.
Madsen is set to stand trial on March 8; prosecutors are seeking a life sentence, which is usually around 15 years without parole in Denmark.
RELATED: Peter Madsen’s DNA To Be Tested Against Cold Cases
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