A Danish inventor has been formally charged with luring a journalist onto his homemade submarine to murder and dismember her

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Kim Wall and Peter Madsen, pictured aboard the Nautilus UC3 on August 10, 2017.

• Peter Madsen was charged with homicide over Kim Wall's death in August.
• Police said Madsen lured her onto his homemade submarine in Copenhagen.
• The submarine sank, Madsen escaped and Wall was later found dismembered.
• Prosecutors say Madsen planned the murder and sexually abused Wall.

A Danish inventor has been formally charged with murdering the journalist Kim Wall on his homemade submarine.

Peter Madsen was last seen with Wall in August 2017 on board the UC3 Nautilus. The episode ended with the submarine sinking, Madsen escaping, and Wall's dismembered body being washed up on the shores of Copenhagen days later.

Police in Copenhagen announced on Tuesday that Madsen was being charged with homicide over the death, which prosecutors said was a pre-planned and deliberate attack.

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Kim Wall and Peter Madsen

A press release issued by police said Wall had died either as a result of strangulation or having her throat cut.

Madsen was also charged with dismembering her body and crimes of a sexual nature, though the precise details were not specified.

Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of life imprisonment.

Investigators dredged up the Nautilus after Madsen was first arrested in 2017, and combed it for evidence. Tuesday's statement also revealed that they have asked the court for permission to confiscate and destroy it.

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Danish investigators search the waters around Copenhagen for more evidence, including parts of Wall's body.

Prosecutors got part-way through a case against Madsen in 2017, but it later had to be rescheduled. Copenhagen Police has asked the media not to rehearse the evidence presented in that trial ahead of the new one.

Here is the text describing the charges against Madsen:

"According to the indictment, the homicide took place with prior planning and preparation. According to the indictment, the method of killing is unknown but the homicide could have taken place by cutting of the throat or strangulation. He is simultaneously being charged with sexual relations other than intercourse of a particularly dangerous nature, as well as for dismemberment."

Madsen has been informed of the indictment. The police statement did not specify what his response was.