Real Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories Book III

Peter Madsen

Peter Langkjær Madsen (Danish:[ˈpʰe̝ˀtɐ ˈlɑŋˌkʰeˀɐ̯ ˈmæsn̩]; born 12 January 1971) is a Danish convicted murderer, former engineer and entrepreneur. InApril 2018, he was convicted of the 2017 murder of Swedish journalistKim Wall on board his submarine, UC3 Nautilus, and sentenced to lifeimprisonment.

Biography

Madsen was born in 1971 to Annie andCarl Madsen. He spent his early life in Sæby and Høng (both inKalundborg Municipality), Denmark. Annie was more than 30 yearsyounger than Carl and had three other boys from two previous men.Carl was allegedly abusive toward his three stepsons. Annie left whenPeter was six, taking the children with her. After a couple of years,Madsen returned to his father, with whom he shared an interest inrockets.

While attending primary and secondaryschool in Høng, Madsen developed an interest in rocket fuel with thehelp of chemistry and physics teacher Johannes Fischer. He developedhis first large rocket at Høng and launched it on 3 March 1986. Itwas one meter tall, modeled after the American ICBM MX Peacekeeperand built in his father's workshop. It reached a height of 100 m (330ft) before crashing without harming anyone. In 1987, Madsen wasaccepted at the gymnasium (upper secondary school) in the nearby townof Kalundborg. He moved to live in a youth house in the town. Hisfather died in 1990 when Peter was 18.

Madsen continued to experiment and toconsult engineers, and became friendly with the family responsiblefor the fireworks in Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens. He also joined theDansk Amatør Raket Klub (DARK) rocket club in Copenhagen, but theother members gradually became disillusioned with him. DARK membersclaimed that "saying his name would start the fire sprinklersystem". He never finished any formal education, but tookcourses in welding and engineering to learn something aboutsubmarines. His enthusiasm brought impressive results, but alsocaused conflicts with others. Madsen funded his lifestyle throughfinancial support from people, organizations, and enterprises whichsaw promise in him.

Personal life

Madsen was married at Copenhagen CityHall in November 2011. His wife had worked in the film industry andhad also helped in Madsen's workshop at Refshaleøen, Copenhagen. InFebruary 2018 it was reported that his wife had abandoned him. Madsenhimself explained that he had lived in an "openrelationship". His wife has chosen to remain anonymous andher identity has not been released by the media. According to areport from Wired magazine, Madsen was a regular at fetish parties.

In 2020, Madsen married 39-year oldRussian-Mauritian opposition activist Jenny Curpen. Curpen has hadpolitical asylum in Finland since 2013, because of her persecution inRussia. In a post on Facebook, Curpen said that she received deaththreats after her marriage was made public.

Projects

Submarines

Madsen built three submarines: UC1Freya, UC2 Kraka and UC3 Nautilus. The Nautilus was a privately builtmidget submarine, launched on 3 May 2008 in Copenhagen, Denmark.Constructed over three years, it cost approximately US$200,000 tobuild (1.5 million DKK).