# 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:** 16\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/101 "2018-01-16T18:13:17Z")
[Charges filed](https://apnews.com/3896428fca384f538c52f7732ab15901/Danish-man-charged-with-killing-reporter-on-his-submarine), as **Grim Render** noted in post #98 but I provide a link because there’s pictures. The first pic is of the submarine in dry dock. The second picture comes across as ultra-creepy given what we now know, eh. Like, “gonna be used as a book cover” kinda creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Norse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norse)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/102 "2018-02-16T12:11:51Z")
Wall’s friend May Jeong has written an article about Wall, Madsen, the murder and her trip to Denmark to learn about the case: [https://www.wired.com/story/final-terrible-voyage-nautilus/](https://www.wired.com/story/final-terrible-voyage-nautilus/) ---
**Author:** ![Tilt-A-Whirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e79b87/32.png) [@Tilt-A-Whirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tilt-A-Whirl)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/103 "2018-02-16T19:19:22Z")
I hate to take this thread on an even worse tangent, but I remember years ago being somewhat comforted by Cecil’s reassurance that snuff films were just an urban legend, they didn’t actually exist. – > **[Is there such a thing as a snuff film?](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1170/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-snuff-film/)** But that article was from 1993. It’s sounding like things have changed. As was quoted from the AP article already, “During their investigation, police have found videos on Madsen’s personal computer of women being tortured, decapitated and murdered. The videos were considered to be real, according to prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen.” In the age of the internet, have snuff films become a real thing? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/104 "2018-02-16T22:35:52Z")
> [@Tilt-A-Whirl](#): > > In the age of the internet, have snuff films become a real thing? The point of Cecil’s column was not that there are no videos of people being killed. Those have existed for about as long as movie cameras have existed. His point was that there is no industry that exists that kills people simply to film the killings for entertainment, without other psychological motives. He explicitly states that home videos made by psychopaths are not snuff films by his definition, which rules out Madsen’s videos. ---
**Author:** ![Tilt-A-Whirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e79b87/32.png) [@Tilt-A-Whirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tilt-A-Whirl)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/105 "2018-02-17T01:01:01Z")
I was going by Grim Render’s post, which says “Madsen himself does not appear to feature in the torture-murder videos found on his computer. They are however, still considered to be recordings of real murders.” ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2018, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/106 "2018-03-06T17:02:02Z")
[The trial is starting Thursday](https://apnews.com/f6806b4af9ed469eb3c18b443e77356a/Trial-to-begin-in-case-of-journalist-killed-in-submarine). ---
**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:** [March 29, 2018, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/107 "2018-03-29T23:17:06Z")
The trial is continuing: > [@](#): > > Police also found ample evidence of his penchant for snuff films on his computer, including several animated Russian flicks showing beheadings and documentaries about serial killers. He had searched the internet for beheadings before Wall was killed. The judge and lay jury members were shown several films found on Madsen’s computer that were too disturbing to show the public audience. When asked about them, Madsen said that any relationship between the film searches and Wall’s death was “purely coincidental.” > > Emma Sullivan, who was shooting a documentary about Madsen for Sky News, testified that he had told her in an interview not long before Wall was killed that he worried he might “be a psychopath.” He also made sexually explicit comments to her. > **[Danish Scientist Charged With Beheading Journalist Wanted to Make a Snuff...](https://www.thedailybeast.com/danish-scientist-charged-with-beheading-journalist-wanted-to-make-a-snuff-film-worried-he-was-a-psychopath)** > > Inventor Peter Madsen, on trial for allegedly killing and dismembering Swedish journalist Kim Wall, once told a journalist he worried he might be a psychopath. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/108 "2018-04-25T11:57:07Z")
[Guilty](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/world/europe/peter-madsen-kim-wall-convicted.html), life in prison. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/109 "2018-04-25T13:38:33Z")
Here’s CNN’s coverage. What a bizarre case - the mad genius and his submarine: [https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/25/europe/kim-wall-murder-peter-madsen-intl/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/25/europe/kim-wall-murder-peter-madsen-intl/index.html) ---
**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:** [April 25, 2018, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/110 "2018-04-25T14:32:27Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > [Guilty](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/world/europe/peter-madsen-kim-wall-convicted.html), life in prison. Note that: > [@](#): > > In Denmark, a life sentence (Livsvarigt fængsel in Danish) theoretically means life without parole: that prisoners will spend the rest of their lives in prison. However, prisoners are entitled to a pardoning hearing after 12 years, and upon motion of the minister of justice, the Danish King or Queen may grant a pardon, subject to a 5-year probationary period. Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment serve an average of 16 years, more for cases considered to be particularly grave. > **[Life imprisonment in Denmark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_imprisonment_in_Denmark)** > > In Denmark, a life sentence (Danish: Livsvarigt fængsel) is the most severe punishment available under the Penal Code, and is reserved for the most serious crimes. The sentence is of indeterminate length. Those under a life sentence in Denmark can request a pardon hearing after 12 years. If the petition is granted, the Justice Minister or his designee issues a pardon, subject to a parole period of up to 5 years. > Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment serve an average of 17 years. A person with... ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/111 "2018-04-25T14:40:22Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Note that: > > [Life imprisonment in Denmark - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_imprisonment_in_Denmark) With slightly different minimums, that’s normal in almost every Western country. I have a feeling his crime will indeed be considered “grave”. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/112 "2020-10-20T14:01:04Z")
> **[Danish submarine murderer Peter Madsen caught after escaping prison | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/20/europe/peter-madsen-prison-escape-intl-scli/index.html)** > > Police have captured Peter Madsen, the Danish inventor found guilty of the mutilation and murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall, after he briefly escaped from a jail near Denmark's capital. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/113 "2020-10-20T14:40:16Z")
If this guy keep this up, he might eventually get his own movie. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/114 "2020-10-20T15:11:11Z")
Thanks for the update. Hope they’ll now make _extra_ sure he’s held securely. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/115 "2020-10-20T15:26:57Z")
Breaking out of prison, by taking a prison psychologist hostage, by using a mock gun continues the movie script-like antics of this deranged murderer. I guess he watched a lot of MacGyver growing up. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/116 "2020-10-26T06:23:54Z")
I read a tribute to the woman he killed, Kim Wall, here: > **[Kim Wall was a journalist most aspire to be | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/26/opinions/kim-wall-opinion-jose/index.html)** > > Coleen Jose: Kim Wall was the kind of journalist we all aspire to be -- bringing her astute skill for communicating cultural and politcal nuance to a global audience. What a loss this selfish pervert inflicted on journalism, her family, and the rest of us in general. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883.md?page=5)