Danish inventor convicted of murdering journalist Kim Wall recaptured after prison break
Danish inventor Peter Madsen, who was convicted of torturing and murdering journalist Kim Wall on his homemade submarine, escaped a Copenhagen jail where he is serving a life sentence, on Tuesday.
Madsen was recaptured near the suburban jail in the Danish capital, a spokesperson for the West Copenhagen police told NBC News.
Police also confirmed the operation was now over and Madsen was back in custody.
A press conference is scheduled for later Tuesday, police said on Twitter.
In 2018, Madsen was sentenced in the Copenhagen City Court to life in prison for murdering Wall, 30, a reporter from Sweden, after he lured her aboard his submarine in 2017 with the promise of an interview for a story.
The exact cause of her death was never established but the court also found Madsen guilty of sexual assault and the defilement of a corpse, having dismembered Wall's body and dumped it at sea.
The freelance journalist, who studied at New York's Columbia University Journalism School, wrote for leading magazines and newspapers and the gruesome case garnered global attention.
Madsen had initially denied murdering Wall and claimed she died accidentally inside the submarine, but later confessed to throwing her body parts into the Baltic Sea.
He lost his appeal and apologized to Wall's family, who were present in the appeals court.
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Life sentences in Denmark usually mean 16 years in prison, but convicts are reassessed to determine whether they would pose a danger to society if released and can be kept longer.
West Copenhagen police said on Twitter the operation was now over and they had removed all road blocks and cordons from the area near the Herstedvester jail.
