Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Netflix, TV and Film
Callum Jones
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
Netflix is dropping a new crime documentary to round out the month featuring one of people's 'favourite cases' from Unsolved Mysteries.
If you've had enough of all the rom-coms on Netflix following Valentine's Day, then American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders is certainly a change of pace.
Danny Casolaro was found dead in his room at the age of 44, with his wrist said to have been slashed 12 times.
However, his death quickly became controversial after notes suggested he was in Martinsburg to meet a source about a story he called 'The Octopus'.
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If you're thinking that sounds a bit like SPECTRE in James Bond, you'd be about right.
Casolaro believed the shadowy body was linked to spyware, money laundering and was headed up by corrupt government officials.
The story was familiar with journalists who worked in and around Washington DC in the 1980s - of which there was a dispute between the Department of Justice and a technology company called INSLAW.
The disagreement appeared to be over the intellectual property rights, but it was quickly realised things were a lot more serious.
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After a lot of research, the writer believed he had uncovered a hidden organisation.
Excerpts purporting to be from the journalist's research said: "These eight men, they're no longer government officials but their tentacles can reach into any part of government in almost any country."
Casolaro thought it all started with a computer program called Promis, which he believed was liked to a string of suspicious deaths.
He eventually became 'obsessed' with the case.
He headed out to a motel in summer 1991 expecting to interview a key source for the story.
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But unfortunately, the journalist was never to make it back.
His death was ultimately ruled as suicide - though many Netflix viewers are questioning if that's the truth as American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders prepares for release.
"It just didn't sit right. In my mind, I'm thinking 'they killed him'," one social media suggested.
Meanwhile, others are looking forward to hearing the full story.
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"Wow this is one of my favourite cases on Unsolved Mysteries," another person said.
American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders releases on Netflix on 28 February.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.