A Danish rocket-builder turned submarine captain is currently on trial, charged with murdering and dismembering a Swedish journalist.

Kim Wall, a 30-year-old freelance journalist, was reported missing on August 11th, 2017 after failing to return home from a trip on UC3 Nautilus.

The captain, Peter Madsen, is now on trial at the City Court of Copenhagen. He has admitted to dismembering Miss Wall but denies that he murdered her. Mr Madsen says Miss Wall died from carbon monoxide poisoning and that he dismembered her in order to get her out of the submarine.

Wednesday 21st March: Peter Madsen explains himself

On Wednesday, the prosecution and defence both questioned Mr Madsen. Wearing blue tracksuit bottoms, a black short-sleeved t-shirt and canvas shoes, Mr Madsen was questioned for five hours.

The court was shown several videos that had been found on Madsen’s computer. There were two videos of women being decapitated and impaled and one real video in which a live woman was decapitated.

In the (animated) video from Madsen's harddrive, a woman is dancing while taking her clothes off. In the end she sits down naked, a man gets behind her and slits her throat several times and finally decapitates her, holding her head in one hand @SkyNews #SubmarineTrial #KimWall

— Julie Astrid Thomsen (@julieastridthom) March 21, 2018

Mr Madsen denied being inspired by the videos.

As for the dismembering, much of the discussion centered upon a saw and a hose, as well as several blue and orange nylon straps that were found in the submarine. The prosecutor, Jakob Buch-Jepsen questioned the need for a saw in the submarine, but Mr Madsen said he needed it to build shelves. The prosecution indicated that the saw and straps were used to dismember and dispose of Miss Wall and that the hose was used to clean up. Mr Madsen continually refused to go into detail about how he dismembered Miss Wall.

"It's something so horrible that I do not want to go into detail. I will just say, that it was horrible," Peter Madsen says tells the court about dismembering Kim Wall @SkyNews #SubmarineTrial #KimWall

— Julie Astrid Thomsen (@julieastridthom) March 21, 2018

The defence lawyer, Betina Hald Engmark, questioned Mr Madsen on how he moved from building rockets to building submarines. She also questioned him on the relations between him and his former rocket building club, Copenhagen Suborbitals.

Thursday 22nd March: Witnesses take the stand

The trial continued today, with the first witnesses appearing on the stand. The prosecution has called 29 witnesses and the defence has called 8.

The first to take the stand was one of the men on the boat that rescued Mr Madsen from UC3 Nautilus. Reporting live from the trial, the Danish newspaper Berlingske wrote that the witness said Mr Madsen seemed calm and was even able to joke:

“We joked a little with Peter Madsen about whether we needed to dive down to the submarine to get things out of it for him. We had brought diving equipment but he said that the submarine should be left as it was.”

The second witness was the medical examiner. She said it was not possible to confirm or deny Mr Madsen’s explanation of carbon monoxide poisoning.

It is not possible to prove if Kim Wall died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to the body's condition and time in the water, the medical examiner says @SkyNews #SubmarineTrial #KimWall #PeterMadsen

— Julie Astrid Thomsen (@julieastridthom) March 22, 2018

Berlingske further reports that the medical examiner’s report is at odds with some of Mr Madsen’s explanation.

“Madsen explained that Kim Wall died at 23.05 on the 10th of August. He said he did not start dismembering the body before 7 o’clock the next morning. However, the forensic examinations show that at the very least the stab wounds around the abdomen were not made before the morning of the 11th. The witness says the lesions around the genitals were applied around the time of death.”

A key witness to take the stand today was Kim Wall’s boyfriend. The court heard his description of his deceased girlfriend:

"She was at the same time an incredibly ambitious journalist and and amazingly curious person, who found beauty in all places and couldn't stop herself from travelling, experiencing, discovering and sharing with others," Wall's boyfriend says @SkyNews #SubmarineTrial #KimWall

— Julie Astrid Thomsen (@julieastridthom) March 22, 2018

The boyfriend, who has been happy to talk to the media without mention of his name, said Miss Wall was afraid to be on the submarine.

"She was afraid to be on a submarine," Kim Wall's boyfriend says of how she was feeling before she left @SkyNews #SubmarineTrial #KimWall #PeterMadsen

— Julie Astrid Thomsen (@julieastridthom) March 22, 2018

The last witness to take the stand was an intern who worked for Mr Madsen during 2017. ‘S’, as he preferred to be called, was on shift on the 10th of August when Mr Madsen took Miss Wall out on Nautilus.

‘S’ testified that Mr Madsen and his wife had a somewhat unconventional relationship.

"One could get the perception that he had a speciel interest for the openings in the human body," 'S' says, adds he often tried to put things in the nose, ears of his wife "It seemed childish." @SkyNews #SubmarineTrial #KimWall #PeterMadsen

— Julie Astrid Thomsen (@julieastridthom) March 22, 2018

What’s next?

Peter Madsen faces either a lifetime sentence or a custodial sentence. In Denmark, a lifetime sentence is re-evaluated after 13 years, at which point the defendant may be released. A custodial sentence, however, is not reviewed. The sentence will increase in severity depending on the psychiatric reports produced and whether Mr Madsen is found guilty of murder as well as dismemberment.

The trial continues.