# The Disappearing Journalist and the Submarine **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 17, 2017, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883 "2017-08-17T17:56:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2017, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/61 "2017-08-23T14:25:35Z")
I have to say you’ve chosen a great username for thread about crazy Scandanavians. Or about Ikea products. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2017, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/62 "2017-08-23T18:54:56Z")
Rather against the theme of the thread, but I’ve got to admit that his “hobby submarine” is an impressive looking thing. But I think it’s safe to say that even if someone accidentally dies while locked away in a submarine with you, only a psychopath would come up with a plan to cut up the body, sink the ship, and come out lying. I’d doubt that the death was really accidental though. Hopefully, the body is in good enough condition to perform a rape check. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2017, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/63 "2017-08-23T19:02:36Z")
There are videos of Madsen giving lecture/presentations (in English) on Youtube, [such as here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7fNHr46jD0&feature=youtu.be&t=16). He’s clearly an intelligent guy and I don’t get any weird vibes off of him - it’s a strange case. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/64 "2017-08-24T15:48:05Z")
Well this is pretty much what I expected when I started the thread, but that doesn’t make it any less tragic. > [@](#): > > Friends and family have urged the world not to let the nature of her death overshadow her life. > > "Please don’t remember her as the murdered Swedish journalist who died in a grisly horror straight out of a crime drama. Sadly, I think that’s a lost cause. If you want to be remembered for your work, you’ve got to avoid being killed and dismembered by a mad inventor on a submarine off Copenhagen. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/65 "2017-08-25T01:19:59Z")
I’ll try to bear that in mind. Some advice, though excellent, is harder to follow than others. 🙂 Note to self: avoid both submarines & Copenhagen. 😃 Seriously, I suspect her reputation outside Sweden was close to non-existent before this ideal media event, er … um … I mean her murder occurred. Some Swedes, being well-acquainted with her work, may be able to remember her for her life. The rest of us will know only of her death. In life, [Natalee Holloway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Natalee_Holloway) was known to about half the 1000ish people who attended her high school. Until she died. Then most of all 350 million Americans heard about her. As did a decent chunk of the rest of the English speaking world. 'Tain’t right. 'Tis so. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/66 "2017-08-25T02:32:47Z")
Murder charges are now being prepared against Madsen. There are some new details about the case described in [this article](http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/true-stories/investigators-confirm-kim-walls-body-had-puncture-wounds-metal-attached/news-story/e4a864e267b4181b261e59a2e626419d). Among other revelations, is that Madsen’s life was apparently a bit more turbulent beneath the surface. Some selected quotes about him from the article: > [@](#): > > However he has repeatedly fallen out with colleagues … [He said:]“there is a curse on Nautilus…That curse is me. There will never be peace on Nautilus as long as I exist” … [He] was “angry with God and everyone” … “Conflict has followed him his whole life. He has a hard time getting along with other people”… he is “very strange and that turns him into his own greatest enemy right now.” ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/67 "2017-08-25T05:17:06Z")
I just figured out that I have been following his rocket project on FB for years. Oy! ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/68 "2017-08-25T06:13:04Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > …If you want to be remembered for your work, you’ve got to avoid being killed and dismembered by a mad inventor on a submarine off Copenhagen. If only Hitler had thought of suicide-by-mad-Danish-submariner instead of just shooting himself in a bunker, maybe we’d think of him more fondly. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/69 "2017-08-25T07:32:57Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > Looking more and more like a Scandinavian murder mystery. Not seeing a lot of mystery here. ---
**Author:** ![Grim\_Render](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@Grim\_Render](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grim_Render)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/70 "2017-08-25T07:44:23Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > If only Hitler had thought of suicide-by-mad-Danish-submariner instead of just shooting himself in a bunker, maybe we’d think of him more fondly. Timing is everything. If Hitler had been murdered by a Danish inventor in the 1920s or even 30s I am pretty certain he would have been remembered more fondly. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/71 "2017-08-25T11:34:41Z")
Sorta like this didn’t work? [xkcd: Kill Hitler](https://www.xkcd.com/1063/) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/72 "2017-08-28T17:27:01Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > …suicide-by-mad-Danish-submariner… I’m going to hell anyway, but, _Damn_! if that isn’t a chuckle-inducing phrase! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/73 "2017-08-28T17:30:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Not seeing a lot of mystery here. You don’t? Then explain to us the motive for the death and how it happened. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/74 "2017-08-28T17:49:06Z")
He wanted to play “docking the little submarines” on his submarine. She didn’t want to play. It got violent and he won the fight. All the rest is simply blind panic. Men with erections are notoriously bad at detailed planning. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/75 "2017-08-28T18:01:00Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Not seeing a lot of mystery here. That always happens at the end of the story. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/76 "2017-08-28T18:08:53Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Men with erections are notoriously bad at detailed planning. Speak for yourself! ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/77 "2017-08-28T20:48:21Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > […]Seriously, I suspect her reputation outside Sweden was close to non-existent before this ideal media event, er … um … I mean her murder occurred. Some Swedes, being well-acquainted with her work, may be able to remember her for her life. The rest of us will know only of her death. […] I’m Swedish and I’ve never heard of her prior to this. Of course I don’t know of every journalist in Sweden but she certainly wasn’t a famous journalist by any account. I also never heard or read anybody exclaim “oh, no, nor _her_”. Well, FWIW. Obviously doesn’t make it less tragic, but FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/78 "2017-09-07T22:49:17Z")
Madsen is now claiming that [she hit her head on the hatch](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/09/06/danish-inventor-charged-with-killing-journalist-kim-wall-says-she-hit-head-on-submarine-hatch/?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.df30f9564e57), which fractured her skull. So he decided to give her a burial at sea. He claims he did not dismember her. > [@](#): > > He said he considered taking his own life, but changed his mind because he wanted to see his wife and three cats, Reuters reported. > [@](#): > > Madsen’s defense attorney, Betina Hald Engmark told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that her client is “not quite like other people.” Can’t argue with that. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/79 "2017-09-08T01:16:23Z")
Well, cats, sure. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/80 "2017-09-08T01:59:13Z")
1. Kill self. 2. Hold secret funeral and lie to the police. 3. Go back to shore and explain circumstances to the police honestly. Hmm… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883.md?page=5)