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The documentary Into the Deep is staggeringly strange, even by true crime standards. The premise, involving a wealthy amateur inventor covering up the murder of a journalist in a submarine, is enough to justify a deep dive. But the Netflix film’s story takes even more twists and turns from there.
The subject, Peter Madsen, takes director Emma Sullivan on a winding, psychologically frustrating ride before the murder occurs. Then, even after his arrest, the twists and turns kept coming, including his escape from prison.
‘Into the Deep’ is one of the strangest true crime documentaries in recent years
Into the Deep wasn’t supposed to be in the true crime genre. Sullivan was filming for a different kind of documentary, covering Madsen’s quirky, expensive hobby as an amateur inventor. The filming ended abruptly when a journalist went missing after a trip on Madsen’s submarine — and she had likely been murdered.
Madsen, a wealthy science and engineering dilettante, had achieved minor fame by starting a crowdfunding campaign to build a submarine. To the shock even of some of his backers, he completed the submersible and began inviting media and fans on board. Sullivan began long-term documentary filming, hoping to capture the odd duck inventor’s progress toward building a promised spacecraft.
But Madsen would never achieve his goal of becoming the first amateur astronaut. Yahoo! Entertainment reports that journalist Kim Wall took a trip underwater with the mercurial inventor about 11 months into filming Into the Deep. She never returned, and Madsen was quickly implicated in her disappearance.
Peter Madsen’s eccentric behavior only intensified after the murder
Wall’s murder was confirmed when her dismembered body parts were found not far from where the submarine deployed. Her condition instantly proved Madsen’s alibi false, and he was charged with her murder. Then things get even stranger.
The quirky inventor’s personality quickly faded. Police discovered a large collection of violent pornography and gore imagery. They also find evidence that he planned to murder the next woman he could lure into the submarine. Madsen began openly leaning into his ghoulish persona, officially turning Into the Deep into a true crime documentary.
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He was easily convicted of the murder in 2020. Denmark has life imprisonment, which the jury did not hesitate to apply in this case. But two years into his sentence, Madsen managed to escape.
BBC News reports that the convicted murderer constructed a fake gun and an explosives belt. He threatened a prison employee, convinced by the fabricated armaments, and allowed him to escape. The escapade didn’t last long, though, as he fled on foot and other guards were able to confirm that he did not have functional weapons.
Madsen continues to make headlines as a prisoner
Madsen, seemingly starved for attention, continues to find ways to generate headlines about himself. According to the Telegraph, he married Russian opposition activist Jenny Curpen. She came to know him in the process of putting together an art project called This Is Not the Peter We Knew, and insisted that their marriage was not a part of the performance art piece.
The two quietly divorced in 2022. But she may not be the last. The high-profile murderer is noted for attracting groupies, including several who made regular appearances during his trial.
He’ll have to settle for long-distance relationships with little actual contact for the foreseeable future. Madsen is still serving a life sentence. And if he does manage to have his sentence commuted, he still faces a 21-year additional sentence thanks to his attempted escape.
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