In 2017, Peter Madsen, credited with inventing his submarine, was sentenced to life imprisonment after he was convicted of murdering Swedish journalist Kim Wall. On Tuesday, he staged a prison break only to get apprehended hours later by local police.
Prison authorities had promptly contacted the police after Madsen escaped from prison custody by threatening the warders that he was wearing a bomb belt. He escaped from the Herstedvester prison, located at Albertslund, Denmark, at 10:21 a.m. local time, according to a statement by Western Copenhagen Police Department. The department quickly went on a manhunt for the fugitive. He was seen inside a van near the prison facility, and the police apprehended him in no time.
In a video of the scene posted by the police, Madsen could be seen sitting on the grass with his hands behind his back. He knew his little adventure had come to an end as police snipers surrounded him.
The police said that although they are not aware of the exact circumstances that led to his escape, Madsen made a run for the outside world after holding a prison staff hostage and carrying what looked like a gun and bomb belt. Investigations are ongoing to unravel the immediate and remote strategies of the prison break.
The head of the Herstedvester prison, Hanne Hoegh Rasmussen, made a statement to the press shortly after. She said that no one had been injured in the fracas and that the prison staff received psychological support following an incident that must have left them traumatized.
Wall had gone to interview Madsen when he killed her and dismembered her body. She was a prolific and renowned journalist who had won lots of awards. She was last seen on August 10, 2017, boarding the submarine of Madsen to carry out the interview. She was aged 30 years.
Madsen had initially denied any involvement in her killing. He told the investigating team that he had dropped her off in Copenhagen after their interview. After much pressure, he confessed to killing her but later on claimed she died from generator fumes in his submarine when put on the stand during the trial.
Investigators found Wall’s dismembered body off the coast of Copenhagen days later. The police discovered that Madsen had sexually assaulted Wall before killing her.
The Danish Justice Minister Nick Haekkerup, in a statement on Twitter, promised to carry out a series of prison reforms that will make it harder for prison inmates to attempt a successful prison break in the future.
Source: washingtonpost.com
