Mr. Madsen’s lawyer, Betina Hald Engmark, said after the announcement that her client “finds it positive that there is a final clarification” about the discovery of Ms. Wall’s body.

Ms. Engmark said she could not comment on the condition of Ms. Wall’s body beyond her client’s statement that he buried her at sea. “Due to the court’s closed doors, I’m not permitted to either confirm or deny reports on what happened to the body,” she said in a telephone interview.

The police said they are still looking for other parts of Ms. Wall’s body, but criminal law experts said that the evidence — which appeared damning — could already be enough to secure a conviction.

“The prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of a crime, but there are no rules demanding certain types of evidence,” said Trine Baumbach, an associate professor of law at Copenhagen University. “It’s a very pragmatic legal system and the sum of the circumstantial evidence can be enough,” she said, noting a recent murder conviction in a case in which the victim’s body was never found.

Sentences for murder in Denmark rarely go beyond 16 years, as Scandinavian countries place a heavy emphasis on the prospects of rehabilitation.

In a statement on Facebook, Ms. Wall’s mother, Ingrid Wall, wrote: “It is with boundless sadness and shock that we received news that the remains of our daughter and sister Kim Wall have been found. We cannot yet grasp the extent of this catastrophe and there are many questions that must be answered.”