Kim Wall (journalist)

Kim Isabel Fredrika Wall was a Swedish freelance journalist who disappeared while on board the UC3 Nautilus, a privately-built midget submarine owned by Danish inventor Peter Madsen, on the night of 10–11 August 2017 in the bay of Køge, Denmark. The submarine sank under suspicious circumstances on the morning of 11 August; Madsen was rescued afterwards. Ten days later, Wall's dismembered torso was found washed up on a beach in the south west of Amager. Madsen was charged with negligent manslaughter in Wall's death. Early life and education: Kim Isabel Fredrika Wall was born on 23 March 1987 and grew up in Trelleborg, in the Scania region of southern Sweden. She went to Malmö Borgarskola, a gymnasium (upper secondary school) located in Malmö. There she chose an International Baccalaureate program, which gave her access to studies across the world. She studied at the London School of Economics & Political Science, graduating with a bachelor's degree (which included several months through the University of Beijing) in international relations in 2011. She continued with graduate studies in journalism and international affairs at Columbia University in New York City, for which she received a scholarship from the Sweden–America Foundation. She finished this study with a Master's degree in international affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University. Career: Wall worked as a freelance journalist. Her work was published in The Guardian, The New York Times, Vice, Slate, Harper's Magazine and Time magazine. Topics she wrote about included the new Chinatown in Uganda, Gibtown, the problems of restarting tourism in Haiti, real-life "vampires", and Idi Amin’s torture chambers in Uganda. In 2016, she was awarded the Hansel Mieth Prize for Best Digital Reportage for "Exodus", a work on climate change and nuclear weapons testing in the Marshall Islands. "Exodus" was translated into German and published by Süddeutsche Zeitung. Many of Wall's articles have been translated into different languages. UC3 Nautilus and death: On the evening of 10 August 2017, at around 19:00 local time (UTC+2), Wall went to Refshaleøen, Copenhagen, Denmark, and boarded the submarine UC3 Nautilus to interview its owner, Danish inventor Peter Madsen. According to a former classmate from Columbia University, she wanted to pitch a report for Wired. UC3 Nautilus was scheduled to sail from Copenhagen to the island of Bornholm for an exhibit the following day. However, Madsen sent a text notifying his crew that the trip had been cancelled. When Wall and Madsen failed to return to harbour at the agreed time, Wall's partner alerted the authorities in the early hours of 11 August, and a sea and land search operation was launched, based in the port of Øresund. At 10:30 on 11 August, visual contact was made with UC3 Nautilus at the Drogden lighthouse in Køge Bay, after which radio contact was established. According to Madsen, the submarine was on course towards the harbour. About thirty minutes later, the vessel suddenly sank and Madsen was rescued by a private boat, transporting him into port. Swedish police subsequently declared Wall missing. Later that day, Danish police charged Madsen with negligent manslaughter, suspecting him of having scuttled UC3 Nautilus to conceal or destroy evidence. Madsen denied the charges and stated that he put Wall ashore on Refshaleøen around 22:30 the evening before. UC3 Nautilus came to rest at a depth of 7 metres (23 ft), where it was approached by divers. However, it was not possible to enter UC3 Nautilus under those conditions, so a cargo ship was contracted to resurface the submarine and allow access for homicide investigators. On 12 August, Madsen said in closed court he buried Wall at sea after an accident. On 14 August, the police stated that the submarine sank due to a deliberate act. On 21 August, the dismembered torso of a woman was found washed up on a beach in the south-west of Amager. The police identified the torso as that of Wall on 23 August, saying it had been "deliberately mutilated." Investigator Jens Møller later told the press that Wall's torso had been stabbed multiple times to prevent air buildup inside from floating it to the surface, and that a piece of metal had been fastened to it to ensure its sinking to the bottom.