Danish man jailed for murdering journalist in submarine arrested after attempted prison break

THE DANISH man sentenced to life in prison for the murder of journalist Kim Wall aboard his homemade submarine was arrested today after a failed prison escape attempt sparked a clash with police.

“Peter Madsen tried to escape,” a Copenhagen police officer told AFP.

Police confirmed on Twitter that Madsen had been “arrested and removed from the scene” after being surrounded by police officers, with unconfirmed reports that he had threatened them with an explosive device.

The Danish tabloid BT reported that Madsen had taken a hostage and threatened prison staff with an object resembling a pistol to force him out of the facility.

He cited witnesses who said he managed to escape in a white van before police stopped him.

Photos from the scene showed Madsen sitting on the grass next to a leafy wall next to a road a few hundred meters from the prison, with two policemen lying face down on the ground pointing their guns at him.

Madsen, a 49-year-old submarine enthusiast, was convicted in April 2018 of murdering journalist Kim Wall, 30, while interviewing him aboard his submarine in August 2017.

In a documentary that aired in September, he confessed to the homicide for the first time, after insisting during the trial that his death was an accident.

“There is only one who is guilty, and that’s me,” Madsen said in the documentary.

In a case that made headlines around the world, Madsen admitted in court that he cut up his body and dumped parts of his body into the sea.

© AFP 2020