Submarine Captain Charged With Kim Wall's Murder Allegedly Had Real Decapitation Videos

The man accused of murdering journalist Kim Wall allegedly had videos of real women being tortured and murdered on his computer, the prosecutor in the case said Tuesday. Peter Madsen, 46, was being held on charges of manslaughter and abuse of a corpse in the death of the 30-year-old Swedish journalist.

Wall went missing Aug. 10 after boarding Madsen’s homemade submarine in order to write a story about it. Her torso was found more than a week later in waters off Copenhagen with her head and limbs deliberately cut off. Special Prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen detailed new findings in the investigation at a pre-trial hearing Tuesday.

Investigators found a hard drive on Madsen’s computer aboard the submarine containing videos that depicted the torture of women, Buch-Jepsen said.

“We think it’s video recordings of true killing of women,” he said, according to Swedish newspaper The Ekstra Bladet. He also noted that some of the videos appeared to depict “decapitation and burning.”

Madsen himself said via video call at the hearing that the computer was used by other people, not just him alone.

“I would like to clarify that the computer in the custody of the police and the items that have been removed from the space laboratory are not mine,” said Madsen.

The prosecutor alleged Madsen killed Wall sometime between Aug. 10 and 11, dismembered her body and attached a pipe to it in order to make it sink. While a cause of death had not yet been officially determined, Buch-Jepsen also revealed Tuesday that Wall’s body had “several” stab wounds as well as stitches sewn onto her body, according to The Local Sweden. The prosecutor announced that DNA from Wall was found on Madsen’s body, as were scrapes on his face and neck. An autopsy revealed that Wall had been dismembered after her death, Buch-Jepsen said.

“It’s not just that we have the same grounds for arrest as before, but I think they are stronger than last time,” said Buch-Jepsen.

Madsen himself has maintained that Wall died in an accident and pleaded not guilty to the charges leveled against him. The inventor initially told police he had deposited Wall safely upon land. Upon further questioning, however, he told investigators the journalist died when the submarine’s 15-pound hatch hit her on the head and that he dumped her body in the Baltic Sea after the “accident.” Defense lawyer Betina Hald Engmark argued Tuesday that Madsen should be released.

A judge ruled Tuesday that Madsen would remain jailed until Oct. 31 as the investigation into Wall’s death continued.