Aug. 23 (UPI) — A headless body that was found in Copenhagen Harbor this week was identified by police as belonging to missing journalist Kim Wall — a Swedish national who disappeared two weeks ago after taking a ride on a privately-built submarine.
Wall, 30, went missing Aug. 11 after joining the sub’s creator, Danish inventor Peter Madsen, to do a story about the watercraft.
Following DNA testing, authorities positively identified the body — found near Copenhagen’s Amager island Tuesday — as Wall’s.
After revealing that Wall’s DNA matched the body’s, police investigator Jens Moller said the reporter’s blood was also found in Madsen’s submarine. He added that weighted material had been attached to the torso to prevent it from floating to the surface. The body’s arms, legs and head had been removed — police said by “deliberate cutting.”
Madsen remains in custody on a charge of negligent homicide, and will face a court hearing on Sept. 5.
According to police, Madsen first said he’d dropped Wall off in Copenhagen — but later said she died in an accident aboard the submarine, and that he buried her at sea.
The sunken sub was later found in the harbor area, but Wall was not aboard.
The Copenhagen Post reported Wednesday that Wall may have been killed because she was working on a story about the South American cocaine trade. Citing an unidentified source, it noted that she had previously reported on the topic.
