Danish inventor Peter Madsen has admitted to dismembering Swedish journalist Kim Wall on board his submarine in August and dumping her body parts in the sea, Danish police said in a statement on Monday.
Madsen, who still denies killing Wall, told police she died from carbon monoxide poisoning inside the submarine, while he was on the deck of the vessel. Previously he had said she died after being accidentally hit by a heavy hatch in the submarine’s tower.
Police said Madsen acknowledged he dismembered her body and threw it into Koge Bay southwest of Copenhagen.
On Aug. 10, Wall went missing after going on board a homemade submarine to write a story about the ship’s owner, Madsen, a well-known Danish inventor.
WATCH: Danish submarine owner says accident on board killed Kim Wall
A day later, Wall’s boyfriend alerted authorities that the submarine hadn’t returned. The Danish navy launched a rescue operation and found Madsen alive.
He was later arrested and charged with manslaughter.
Nearly two weeks later, the 30-year-old’s headless torso was found on a beach in Denmark’s capital city, Copenhagen. Her head, legs and clothes were found at sea in October.
No fractures to Wall’s skull were found that would have supported the claim that she was killed by the hatch.
The body parts and clothing were found with a knife and “heavy metal pieces” to make them sink near where her headless torso was found in August.
Madsen’s pre-trial detention is set to expire Tuesday but police said no new hearing will be held as the 46-year-old has voluntarily agreed to remain in detention.
— With files from Reuters and the Associated Press
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