Drama in the Danish submarine case: Peter Madsen, sentenced to life for the murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall in his home-made submersible, admitted his guilt for the first time in a documentary broadcast Wednesday.
This admission, which comes more than three years after the fact, does not shed light on the exact circumstances of the young woman's death.
Asked by phone, the 49-year-old inventor answers "yes" to the journalist's question asking him if he killed Kim Wall, but his explanations on the details of the death remain unclear.
"It's my fault if Kim is no longer there now," admits the forty-something, sentenced in April 2018 for his premeditated murder, preceded by sexual violence.
"There is only one culprit and it's me"
On the evening of August 10, 2017, the journalist boarded the Nautilus with Peter Madsen, the designer and owner of the submersible.
The thirty-something wanted to portray this self-taught engineer obsessed with the conquest of seas and space, well known in her country.
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Kim Wall was reported missing overnight by her companion and her body was later found at sea, dismembered.
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“Apart from August 10, 2017, I never did anything to anyone,” says Peter Madsen, who describes himself as non-violent.
However, he assures us that "there is only one culprit and that is me".
A conversation that "shakes things up"
During the trial, he admitted having cut the lifeless body of the young woman before throwing her in the Baltic Sea, but maintained that her death was accidental.
He first claimed that Kim Wall had been given the hatch cover on her head, before killing herself by falling to the bottom of the submarine, then he described her dead asphyxiated by exhaust gases during 'a depressurization of the passenger compartment.
In the documentary, Peter Madsen now speaks of a conversation in which Kim Wall "shakes things up" and admits that it resulted in the death of the young woman.
At the same time, he also evokes a situation in which the journalist touches a mine whose explosion kills her.
14 injuries inflicted on victim
“Here he's trying to put the blame on Kim Wall, and that's a very classic trait for killers like Peter Madsen with obvious psychopathic traits.
They never take responsibility for their actions, no matter how serious.
He is trying to justify and explain what he did, "said Kurt Kragh, a former specialist investigator, to the tabloid Ekstra Bladet.
The autopsy, which was presented at length during the trial, does not mention injuries linked to the detonation of explosives.
It details 14 injuries - including at least one inflicted while the victim was alive or in agony - located in and around his genitals.
A documentary on 20 hours of conversation
The documentary series, entitled "Secret Recordings with Peter Madsen" and of which only the first episode was broadcast, is based on more than 20 hours of telephone conversation between a journalist and the assassin, recorded without the latter's knowledge.
He then gave his authorization for their use.
The case, unique in the legal annals of Denmark, had an unprecedented media impact in this kingdom.
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Kim Wall case: Madsen, a perfect character for a film… black
It should be the subject of a television series focusing on the complexity of the investigation.
Madsen will not be represented there.
