American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders: What happened to Danny Casolaro, what was the INSLAW case, what was the October Surprise

Netflix's new true crime series lands on the streaming service soon. Cr.Netflix.

Set to be one of Netflix's most explosive true crime docuseries on the new year, American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders will launch on the streamer later this week.

Directed and produced by the team that brought us one of Netflix's most popular crime documentaries in recent memory, 'Wild, Wild Country, this new series will see us introduced to a number of conspiracy theories that surround political machinations, international espionage and even allegations murder.

Want to know more about the series ahead of its release? Here is everything you need to know about The Octopus Murders. Watch the trailer here.

What is The Octopus Murders about?

Titled 'American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders', the series will look at the circumstances surrounding the mysterious death of investigative journalist Danny Casolaro, who died in 1991.

The series will look deep into the death of Casolaro and the conspiracy theory that still revolves around his passing. It begins when Casolaro takes on the story of an ongoing battle between the American Department of Justice and a tech company known as INSLAW.

What was the INSLAW case

The case was supposed to be a fairly simply one but saw Casolaro begin to write a book after his reporting saw him discover an underbelly of some of the shadiest stories of the decade, from spyware, money laundering and a man named Michael Riconosciuto.

Casolaro's job was originally to dispute between Department of Justice and a technology company called INSLAW. The Washington DC based company had developed a software in the early ‘80s named PROMIS and they alleged it was essentially stolen by the U.S. government. It was claimed the software was used in order to rattle international relations. The software was said to be sold to allies - and enemies - of the US and was said to be a simple management software but some believed it had a 'back door' which gave the United States an ability to monitor them.

While investigating this claim, Casolaro was introduced to Riconosciuto, who claimed he had implemented the back door software on PROMIS. Casolaro research led him to believe the US President Ronald Reagan and his cohorts convinced had Iran to keep hold of their hostages until after the election in 1980 in order to halt Jimmy Carter's potential victory. Something known as the 'October Surprise'.

Due to this both Casolaro and Riconosciuto were convinced that eight (hence the reason for the name the Octopus) leaders were controlling the world through a variety of illegal activities.

Who was Danny Casolaro, what happened to Danny Casolaro

The American was an investigative journalist from Virginia that become known to the public after his death in 1991 and the strange circumstances that surrounded it. Casolaro had written a novel and also looked into cases such as the Castro intelligence network and Chinese communist smuggling of opium into the U.S.

After dropping interest in journalism in the 1970s to take on technology trade publications, he reignited his interest in the 1980s and after learning of the Inslaw case from his IT contacts.

In August 1991, he was found dead in Room 517 of the Sheraton Hotel, Martinsburg, West Virginia while he was investigating the 'Octopus' links. Found by a maid in the hotel, his wrists were slashed 10–12 times and the medical examiner had ruled his death a suicide.

His death had a conspiracy theory around it though for a number of reasons. Prior to his death, it is reported he has told friends that he was already ready to release his wide-ranging conspiracy on the INSLAW case and it is also reported he told friends and colleagues in the weeks before his death not to be believe a suicide, stating he won't kill myself and that is he dies, it's because 'they' killed him. This has led many to believe he death wasn't a suicide.

When is The Octopus Murder released on Netflix UK, how many episodes

The new Netflix true crime docuseries will be available to watch on the streamer from February 28, with the series able to be streamed at 8.01am on the morning of release. It consists of four episodes which last around 45 minutes each.

You must have a Netflix UK subscription to be able to watch. You can purchase one here with prices starting at £4.99 per month.