From yesterdays TL of reporter Robin Elizabeth Herr @CaliforniaRobin
#petermadsen is back on the stand to be questioned by the defense. Defense: Re the 4 Aug. correspondence- had Deirdre asked you to threaten her before? Answer: Yes.
Defense has asked #PeterMadsen to describe how the submarine works & how an accident can occur. There is a sketch on screen. For a sketch & explanation please refer to the tweets from Day 5.
They [ PM and KW ] are in the hull of the submarine. Answer: First, we talked about the submarine and then we did the interview.
#PeterMadsen describes how he tries to get the submarine to the surface again. Please refer to my sketch and explanation from Day 5.
Now I made two fatal mistakes.
First, he forgot to shut the valve that allows the air pipe to drain the water. This means if the engine is on, carbon monoxide can come into the hull.
Then he closed the engine room door. He passed #KimWall and up to the tower, closed the hatch and found out he had locked himself out.
#PeterMadsen heard the motors stop, one after the other. “I thought that she had succeeded in opening the door and had turned off the motors.”
He claims that the compressor’s safety valve adjusted the pressure allowing him to open the hatch again.
#kimwall’s parents are staring straight ahead.
Defense: when you found out #KimWall was dead, what did you think? Answer: It ended right there. It is horrible that a person died because of my experiments.
The defense attorney again: what was your very first thought when you saw that #kimWall was dead? Answer: My world fell apart. I wanted to end it right there.
#petermadsen descibes his text message to his wife 20 minutes after #kimWall’s death because he wanted to say goodbye to her.
#peterMadsen describes his third mistake as not taking his life, because otherwise we wouldn’t be here today. But he said that he wanted to go back to his wife. In earlier testimony, he also mentioned his kittens.
#PeterMadsen explains that he gave different explanations for her death because he didn’t want to describe how she died: “It’s like having a plastic bag on your head.”
Defense asks about the straps. When were you first asked about the straps? Answer: After the 14 Oct. Defense: Did you know what straps they were talking about? Answer: No.
The defense asks about the animations and sex tapes. Some come from his time with Copenhagen Suborbitals, others he could not open. Answer: Yes.
Defense: Do you know how to get into the Dark Net? Answer: No.
Defense: asks about the animation film. Answer: I can’t recall all of them. ... I can’t imagine seeing 5 in a row.
Defense asks about the live films shown yesterday. Answer: They are generally publicly available. They came from a news website on Facebook. I was curious & wanted to find out whether they were real or false.
Prosecutor: Did you talk about snuff films with your Spanish investors? Answer: No.
Prosecutor: Why did you ask to take a short break before #kimwall came? Answer: what are you saying? Prosecutor: You are accused of murder. Answer: That is something you are saying.
The court is finished for the day.
Day 7 summary: 1. #petermadsens agent gave an alternative reason for cancellation of the Bornholm trip & rocket launch. 2. KimWall’s parents asked for nearly US $25,000 in damages for their daughter’s grisly death
Day 7 summary: 3. The courtroom was toxic.This was good for the defense because it meant that the prosecutor had less time to question, but bad because if the accused did commit the crime, he seemed incapable of remorse
(summary 2 is not in the TL)