The Danish inventor Peter Madsen has been formally charged with the murder of the Swedish journalist Kim Wall, a public prosecutor has said.

Jakob Buch-Jepsen said the 46-year-old either cut Wall’s throat or strangled her after she boarded his self-built submarine for an interview in August last year.

The self-taught engineer was charged with murder and indecent handling of a corpse, the Danish prosecutor said.



Wall’s headless and dismembered torso was found floating off the coast of Copenhagen 10 days after she was reported missing, and her head, legs and clothes were discovered in bags at sea in October.

In a case that Buch-Jepsen described as “very unusual and extremely disturbing”, the inventor was also charged with sexual assault, without intercourse, of “a particularly dangerous nature”.

Police said Madsen faced a life sentence if convicted.

Officers board Peter Madsen’s submarine UC3 Nautilus on a pier in Copenhagen in August. Photograph: Jacob Ehrbahn/AP

In earlier police questioning, Madsen denied cutting up Wall’s body and claimed the 30-year-old died in “a terrible accident” when a heavy hatch cover accidentally fell on her head during their brief voyage on the 17-metre (56ft) submarine.

He later changed his story, saying Wall, who was researching a profile about him, died of carbon monoxide poisoning while on board. He admitted dismembering her body, weighting her body parts and throwing them into the sea.

Prosecutors have said that 15 stab wounds were found on Wall’s body, including 14 around the genital area. Traces of Madsen’s DNA were found on the body, as well as the marks of a saw blade consistent with the removal of her head and limbs.

A police examination of Madsen’s computer uncovered material featuring women being tortured and killed.

Wall, who had written for the Guardian and the New York Times, was last seen alive on the Nautilus on 10 August. After her boyfriend reported her missing, the submarine was located south of Copenhagen the following morning.

Madsen, who was rescued and arrested just before the vessel sank, initially claimed to have set the journalist down on dry land.

The start of the trial has been set for 8 March and a verdict is expected on 25 April.