New York, August 23, 2017—Danish police today confirmed that a body found off Copenhagen is that of Kim Wall, the Swedish freelance journalist who went missing earlier this month while reporting on an amateur-built submarine, according to media reports.
“We are shocked and saddened by the death of freelance journalist Kim Wall,” said CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova. “Wall’s death on a seemingly low-risk assignment underscores the dangers that journalists face around the world every day.”
Peter Madsen, the inventor whom Wall was interviewing at the time of her disappearance, is in custody on manslaughter charges, according to reports. Madsen initially told police he left Wall on an island near Copenhagen on August 10, but later said that he buried the 30-year-old journalist at sea after she died in an accident on board the submarine, according to reports.