'Hatch hit her': Inventor tells court how journalist died on his submarine

An inventor accused of killing a Swedish journalist aboard his submarine claims she died after a hatch in the sub’s tower accidentally hit her.

A Danish judge has extended the detention of Peter Madsen who was arrested on August 11 following the death of freelance journalist Kim Wall, 30, News Corp reports.

In Mr Madsen’s first public hearing, he claimed Ms Wall died after she was accidentally hit by a hatch in the submarine’s tower, and denied all accusations of sexual assault.

He is being held on preliminary charges of manslaughter and handling of a corpse.

Mr Madsen told Copenhagen City Court he slipped when in the tower and tried to hold the 70kg hatch.

But the hatch fell down and hit Ms Wall, who was on her way up the tower.

Mr Madsen claimed the journalist bled from an open skull fracture and the accident horrified him.

He said he pulled Ms Wall up using a rope, which resulted in her clothes being pulled off. Mr Madsen then said he dropped her body into the sea and intended to commit suicide.

“It is necessary to go up on the bridge to steer the submarine. He [Madsen] lifted the hatch, and Kim was down inside the submarine, and they agreed that she should come up too. He suddenly slipped on the platform, and the hatch fell down and hit Kim,” the statement read in court said.

According to the BBC, Mr Madsen told the court he saw a pool of blood where Ms Wall had landed after she was struck in the head.

"In the shock I was in, it [throwing her overboard] was the right thing to do,” he told the court, according to The Guardian.

“I didn’t want a dead body in my submarine. I put a rope around her feet to drag her out. I thought a fitting end for Peter Madsen would be on board the Nautilus. I decided I couldn’t continue the life I had been living.”

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He then decided to sink the submarine by opening its valves, according to the statement, which was read in court and then confirmed by Mr Madsen, according to The Local.

Ms Wall disappeared during an outing on Mr Madsen’s submarine on August 10.

Her naked torso, which police say had a head, arms and legs deliberately cut off, was found off a Danish shore more than 10 days later.

The rest of her body is yet to be found, and Mr Madsen said he had no explanation as to why her corpse was missing limbs.

The prosecution hinted at the possibility that Ms Wall died in a sex crime.

Mr Madsen, who is married, insisted there was no sexual relationship between him and Ms Wall, and their contacts had been purely professional.

The self-taught engineer told the court he and his wife have an open marriage.

The prosecution cited witnesses who claimed Mr Madsen watched beheading videos, practiced asphyxiation sex and was fascinated by death and sex.

But his lawyer insisted there was no proof he committed murder.

"There is nothing that proves that my client murdered Kim Wall," Betina Hald Engmark told the judge, adding the court had merely heard "a lot of gossip."

Tuesday’s hearing was not aimed at determining Mr Madsen’s guilt, but whether there was enough evidence to maintain his detention while police continue investigations.

Mr Madsen appeared calm in court but was irritated by the prosecution.

The prosecution claims he has changed his explanation of the event as more information comes out.

According to the Copenhagen Post, the prosecution has requested Mr Madsen undergo a mental examination.