Peter Madsen Says Journalist Kim Wall Died Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Before He Dismembered Her

Danish inventor Peter Madsen has once again changed his story regarding what happened to journalist Kim Wall on his submarine. Madsen maintained that although he dismembered her body, Wall’s death was an accident.

Wall, 30, disappeared Aug. 10 after boarding Madsen’s submarine as part of a story she was writing. Her torso was discovered a week later, while her head and legs were found in October stuffed inside a bag. Portions of her body were weighted down with metal in what police said was an effort to make them sink.

Madsen, 46, said in his latest account that Wall died from carbon monoxide poisoning aboard the submarine, according to a statement released Monday by Copenhagen police. The inventor initially told police that he deposited Wall safely back on land. After her body was found, however, he changed his story, telling authorities she died after the submarine’s hatch accidentally fell on her head.

Madsen admitted during a police interrogation earlier in October that he dismembered her body and threw it in the bay.

“This explanation (by Madsen) naturally will lead police into gathering additional statements from the coroner and the armed forces’ submarine experts,” Copenhagen police investigator Jens Moller Jensen said, according to a translation by the Associated Press.

An autopsy revealed that Wall was dismembered after she died. Her DNA was found on Madsen’s face and neck and under his nails, authorities confirmed.

Madsen was charged with manslaughter but pleaded not guilty. The inventor and his lawyer have maintained he did not kill her. Police said they added an additional charge of sexual assault without intercourse after finding 14 stab wounds in and around Wall’s genitals. Madsen, however, has also denied those charges.

Throughout the course of the investigation, authorities revealed they found videos depicting the real-life decapitation and torture of women on Madsen’s computer. Madsen himself said the computer was used by other people and not just him alone.

Madsen was set to remain in custody through Nov. 15, police said.