ODENSE, Denmark — A Danish inventor convicted of killing a journalist aboard his homemade submarine in Copenhagen in 2017 attempted to escape from prison on Tuesday, according to reports from local news outlets, but was apprehended by the police.
The inventor, Peter Madsen, reportedly fled the Herstedvester Prison near Copenhagen, but was arrested a short time later in Albertslund, on the western outskirts of the city. Photos and videos posted by Ekstra Bladet, a local news outlet, appeared to show Mr. Madsen seated on the side of the road surrounded by police officers with the area cordoned off. Media reports said he may have had a “belt-like” object around his waist.
The police said in a statement posted to Twitter that they had responded to an incident in Albertslund in which “a man has been arrested after attempted escape” but did not name Mr. Madsen. A short time later, the police said that the person had been removed from the scene. The state broadcaster, DR, said the police had confirmed the escaped prisoner was Mr. Madsen.
The police also said that investigators were on site and that the area had been cordoned off. Kirsten Schlichting, 78, who lives and works near the prison, spoke with TV 2, a national news network, and described a heavy police presence as officers tried to apprehend Mr. Madsen.
“The only thing I’m worried about is the school which is also close by, but I don’t know if there are students there,” Ms. Schlichting said. “But I’m not afraid. There’s lots of police watching out.”
Mr. Madsen was found guilty of the premeditated killing — equivalent to a murder conviction — of the journalist Kim Wall in 2018 and sentenced to life in prison. A life sentence is rare in Denmark, even in murder cases, but Ms. Wall’s grisly death horrified the nation, and the brutality of the crime made Mr. Madsen’s trial one of the most closely watched in Scandinavian history.
Ms. Wall, 30, disappeared after meeting Mr. Madsen for an interview aboard his homemade submarine in August 2017. Her body was later discovered dismembered, and Mr. Madsen was soon arrested and charged with her killing.
Mr. Madsen initially offered a series of shifting explanations about Ms. Wall’s whereabouts, before admitting to dismembering her body and tossing body parts overboard. But he denied killing her.
