Punishment for Peter Madsen
The inventor Peter Madsen has been sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday for the murder, preceded by sexual abuse, of the young Swedish journalist Kim Wall in his private submarine in August 2017, near Copenhagen. The 47-year-old was found guilty by a jury in the Copenhagen court of the murder of 30-year-old Wall. Madsen had sexually assaulted her and butchered her body before throwing it into the sea.
The decision of the jury, composed of a professional judge and two jurors, has been known after 11 days of hearing that revealed details about the sexual fantasies of the accused with tortured and beheaded women. The eccentric inventor was accused of premeditated murder, aggravated sexual assault and charges for the desecration of the corpse, crimes for which he has been sentenced to life imprisonment, which in Denmark is equivalent to about 16 years. Madsen, 47, admitted that he dismembered the body of journalist Kim Wall and that he threw her remains in the water, a crime punishable with six years in prison, but denied killing her.
According to prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen, Madsen killed Wall, 30, as part of a macabre sexual fantasy and tried to "create the perfect crime." Madsen said during the process that the journalist boarded the submarine on August 10 for an interview and died in an accident when the submarine suffered a loss of pressure and toxic gases entered the cabin. "I’m really sorry, but so much of what happened," the defendant told the court on Monday, the day of the final arguments.
Madsen was described by psychiatrists as a "polymorphous perverse" with "psychopathic characteristics" who also presents a "high risk" of recidivism. In his country he was known for his ambitious projects to make rockets and for being an amateur of space travel. During the process, he described himself as "a psychopath, but a caring one." A witness summoned by the defense told the court that the defendant was "a kind, empathetic and passionate man who was always willing to listen".
But in his final plea the prosecutor urged the court to use "common sense" and to convict Madsen for premeditated murder. Madsen "is a lie from A to Z". "It has been demonstrated by the psychiatric evaluations that say that the accused is a pathological liar" and "a danger to the rest". "He would do it again," concluded the psychiatric report.
During the trial, the defense took advantage of the lack of tangible evidence against her client. "The accusation has presented a very interesting story (...) but devoid of facts", said the lawyer Betina Hald Engmark when presenting the closing of her arguments. The victim had 14 injuries in the area of the genital organs that, according to the prosecutor, prove the sexual nature of the crime. According to international media, in addition to life imprisonment, the prosecution also requested that he be held under the secure custody system, a legal alternative that would keep him in jail indefinitely while he continues to be considered dangerous.
