Danish police believe Peter Madsen had the help of accomplices to escape.

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Mads Claus Rasmussen / AP / SIPA

Was Peter Madsen able to implement this plan on his own?

After the killer's spectacular failed escape from the submarine on Tuesday, Danish police suspect the latter of having resorted to one or more accomplices.

"This is what the next 14 days must shed light on," prosecutor Rasmus Kim Petersen told a press conference.

During his failed escape on Tuesday morning, he had managed to escape Herstedvester prison using a fake pistol and threatening staff, claiming to have a bomb on him.

He was surrounded soon after by police, only to be arrested two hours later when it was confirmed that he had no explosives on him.

Peter Madsen, 49, is serving a life sentence for the 2017 murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall in a home-made submarine, a case that had reverberated around the world.

His visitation and communication conditions had been tightened

During a closed-door hearing on Wednesday at Glostrup court on the outskirts of Copenhagen, the accused admitted the six charges against him, with the exception of possible complicity, explained his lawyer.

"He recognizes this escape attempt but not that it was produced with accomplices," Anders Larsen said on leaving court.

His client "had no intention of harming anyone," he said, describing him as "saddened by the situation".

"He thinks that his visiting and communication conditions have been tightened above all because of his person (...) and that's what motivated him" to escape, explained his new lawyer.

Peter Madsen has been formally remanded in custody for 14 days, which will not take place in the prison from which he escaped.

A large number of escapes in Denmark

Denmark, like other Nordic countries, has prison conditions that are intended to be as humane as possible, but is also one of the countries in Europe where the number of escapes is the highest, according to a report by the Council of Europe of 2018. The two phenomena are partly linked, according to experts.

Under Danish law, a life sentence can apply for early release from twelve years of sentence.

His escape attempt risks wiping out Madsen's chances of early release, experts say.

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Danish submarine: Peter Madsen admits murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall

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Danish submarine: Life imprisonment confirmed on appeal against Peter Madsen

  • Submarine

  • Murder

  • Miscellaneous

  • evasion

  • Denmark