Danish inventor facing murder charges
Danish inventor Peter Madsen will have his day in court, but, in the court of public opinion, he is in dire straits … and many are saying it’s well deserved.
Charges Against Madsen
According to multiple international news sources, Madsen will be charged with “murder” and “indecent interference with a human corpse” in the case of the death of journalist Kim Wall. Madsen was already being held on manslaughter charges, and now the new charges will be added to the growing list of horrific crimes for which he has been accused.
According to Danish authorities, Wall was last seen boarding a small submarine built by Madsen. There are other reports that an image of Wall has been found showing her standing in the submarine’s tower with Madsen on the day of her disappearance.
Sometime after that photo was taken, Danish police found part of a body, missing a head, that had washed up on an island near the Danish capital, Copenhagen. Investigators matched the body to Wall and, in further investigations, found blood matching Wall inside the submarine.
Police said the part of the body found washed up on the island had been “punctured” and “weighted down” in order to make it sink easier.
Madsen Changes His Story
During his court hearing on the manslaughter charges, Madsen said Wall “died in an accident” and was buried at sea, somewhere in Koge Bay. This was a much different statement than the one Madsen made previously, in which he told authorities he had dropped Wall off on land and had not seen her since. During questioning, Madsen changed his story.
The entire case began when emergency responders found Madsen aboard the sinking submarine, rescuing him before the ship foundered. Wall was not aboard. Then, as now, Madsen denies any criminal wrongdoing.
But the combination of physical evidence and Madsen changing his story multiple times have placed considerable doubt on his version of events. If Wall really had died in an accident, people want to know, why didn’t he call that in immediately. And why not tell authorities when he had been rescued?
The fluctuating story is not playing well in the press either. Madsen is generally being spoke of as if he’s already been proven guilty, and people are using the changing stories and the apparent attempts to hide evidence as plenty of justification to pass judgment on him. Sure, he will have his day in court, but, unless things change dramatically, his reputation will be in crisis long before any verdict is read.
