Danish inventor 'buried journalist's body at sea'

By Ilker Girit

ISTANBUL

A Danish inventor charged with the mysterious death of a young journalist has claimed she died in an accident, and that he buried her at sea in a private submarine.

Peter Madsen, 46, has admitted leaving the body of Swedish reporter Kim Wall at sea after she died during a submarine tour, Danish police said on Monday.

"The defendant has explained to the police and the Court that there was an accident on board which caused Kim Wall’s death and that he consequently buried her at sea at a non-defined location in the Bay of Koge," Copenhagen police said in a statement.

The statement said that the "preliminary charge of manslaughter is upheld" for the Danish inventor.

Madsen, the private submarine’s owner, had invited the 30-year-old journalist on a short voyage on the night of Aug. 10, but Wall, who had been researching a story on Madsen, was later reported missing.

The sunken submarine was located by the emergency services on Aug. 11, according to local media, but Wall’s body remained unfound.

In his first police interrogation, Madsen denied the allegations, claiming Wall had left the 40-ton vessel of her own will.

Copenhagen police said the Swedish and Danish maritime authorities "have drawn up a specific track of the submarine’s sailing route" in the Bay of Koge and Oresund.

Over the weekend, helicopters and vessels searched for the body, and are continuing Monday, police added.