Peter Madsen’s Submarine Searched For Secret Chambers After Journalist Kim Wall’s Death

Following the death of missing Swedish journalist Kim Wall and the subsequent discovery of her body, Danish police said they were searching the submarine where she was last seen for any possible secret chambers. Wall, 30, entered the submarine with its creator, Peter Madsen, on Aug. 10 – the last time she was seen alive.

The nautilus submarine sank a few hours after Wall was reported missing. Madsen was rescued, but no trace of Wall was discovered.

Madsen, 46, initially told police he deposited her safely back on land. He later changed his story and said there was an accident on board the craft and that he had buried Wall “at sea.” Police discovered her torso in the waters off Copenhagen on Aug. 21 with her arms, legs and head deliberately removed. Wall’s body was also weighted down with metal to ensure it would not float to the surface.

Police said they thought Madsen deliberately sank the submarine in the wake of Wall’s death, while Madsen claimed the ship sank as the result of a technical malfunction. An initial search of the submarine yielded traces of Wall’s blood inside the ship. In a statement Tuesday, police said they were searching for any areas that may be concealed inside the craft, the Associated Press reported. Cadaver dogs were also deployed to look for clothing and more of her remains.

Madsen has been held in Denmark on manslaughter charges but has denied he killed Wall. His lawyer reiterated Wall’s statement that an “accident happened” on board the submarine. Madsen was scheduled to undergo psychiatric testing, according to Agence France-Presse. The inventor was also set to face additional charges for “indecent handling of a body,” the New York Times reported last week.

“At the initial hearing the court found reasonable suspicion that this was at least an involuntary manslaughter,” said prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen. “Based on the investigation since then, we believe we now are able to support a charge of manslaughter and would like the court to respond to that material.”

Wall, a freelance journalist who received her graduate degree from Columbia University, was remembered last week by her colleagues and friends for her engaging personality and her masterful work with numerous publications like the New York Times and the Guardian. It was unclear which publication she was working with on the story about Madsen’s submarine.

“She was one of those people who could walk into a room and start up a conversation with anyone,” former classmate Dhiya Kuriakose told the Columbia Journalism Review. “It didn’t matter your background, where you came from, what language you spoke, she had something to talk to you about.”