Headless female torso found in Copenhagen waters is missing Swedish journalist, Danish police say

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Danish police identified a torso found on the shores of Copenhagen as that of missing Swedish reporter Kim Wall.
Divers from the Danish Defence Command preparing for a dive in Koge Bugt near Amager in Copenhagen on Aug 22, 2017 where a woman torso was found yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

COPENHAGEN (REUTERS) - Danish police on Wednesday (Aug 23) identified a headless female torso found in the Copenhagen waterside as that of Swedish journalist Kim Wall, who police believe was killed on a home-made submarine.

"DNA match between torso and Kim Wall," the police said on Twitter, declining to comment further until a press briefing at 0700 GMT (3am Thursday Singapore time).

Danish inventor Peter Madsen, charged with killing Wall on his home-made submarine, told the court she had died in an accident and that he "buried" her at sea, changing his previous statement that he dropped her off alive in Copenhagen.

The body was found on Monday by a passing cyclist and police said then it was too early to identify the body which was missing its head, legs and arms.

The case has been followed closely by Danish and Swedish media and has drawn interest from around the world.

Madsen has been charged with manslaughter of Wall who has been missing since he took her out to sea in his 17m submarine on Aug 10. He denies the charge.

He was rescued a day after his UC3 Nautilus sank. Police found nobody else on the vessel.

Danish and Swedish maritime authorities used divers, sonar and helicopters in the search for the body in Koge Bay, south of the city, and in the Oresund Strait between the two countries.

Madsen, an entrepreneur, artist, submarine builder and aerospace engineer, appeared before a judge on Aug 12 for preliminary questioning.

The case is not open to the public to protect further investigations, police said.

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