Denmark: Submarine killer Peter Madsen briefly escapes prison

Peter Madsen, whose high-profile case received International attention following the murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall, briefly escaped a prison near Denmark’s capital. According to CNN, the Copenhagen West Region police confirmed that Madsen escaped Herstedvester Prison in Albertslund on the outskirts of the capital using a fake pistol and a belt that looked like a bomb. He was, however, caught a less than a mile from the prison. 

The 49-year-old, who has been serving a life sentence for the sexual assault and murder of Wall aboard his homemade submarine, was detained after the cops surrounded him a quarter-mile from Herstedvester prison on October 21. Danish media outlets showed dramatic footage of Madsen. In the footage, while two snipers were seen lying flat on the ground with their rifles pointed at Madsen, he, on the other hand, was seen sitting down on the ground with his back against a hedge. 

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While speaking to Danish news organisation Ekstra Bladet, the head of the prison workers’ union said that Madsen took a prison psychologist captive and used her as a shield as he walked out of the prison. The union official said that the 49-year-old was carrying what seemed to be a gun and guards did not want to risk the hostage’s life. The media outlet also reported that a witness informed that Madsen had been driving a white van when officers surrounded him and pulled him from the vehicle. 

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Kim Wall’s killing  

Madsen was first arrested back in 2017 following his rescue after the sinking of the submarine he designed and built. Wall, a 30-year-old journalist, had been working on a story about the inventor and she was last seen alive on the vessel just before its sinking. It was after a week that authorities found Wall’s torso washed up ashore in Copenhagen. Her head and legs were then found later. 

The 49-year-old had told the police that he had dropped Wall safely ashore but he later changed his story multiple times. He had consistently denied the charges of murder and sexual assault and had claimed that Wall died by accident. Later, he admitted to dismembering her body and tossing it into the sea in a state of panic. Madsen was found guilty on all three charges he faces - premeditated murder, the indecent handling of a corpse and ‘sexual relation other than intercourse, of a particularly dangerous nature’. 

(Image: @BreakingSimon/Twitter) 

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