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Netflix released a four-part documentary series titled American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders on February 28, 2024. The docuseries explores the mysterious death of journalist Danny Casolaro. The story follows photojournalist Christian Hansen as he gets interested in the unfinished investigative work of another journalist, Danny Casolaro.
Hansen and series director Zachary Treitz take immense personal risks to travel across the country looking at various parts of the story in American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders. As they track down entities involved with the long-dead case of Casolaro, they need to be careful since Casolaro was found dead in a hotel room while attempting to meet a source.
Hansen also tries to take the story of “The Octopus” case forward from where Casolaro left off due to his untimely and curious death. In a documentary style, the story is built up through a series of interviews.
Disclaimer: This article may contain spoilers and suggests the reader’s discretion.
Who was Danny Casolaro in the American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders?
Joseph Daniel Casolaro, known as Danny Casolaro, was an American freelance writer and journalist who died in a Sheraton Hotel room in Martinsburg, West Virginia. He was visiting the place to get information from a source for his controversial story, which he named “The Octopus.”
Danny was looking into the famous Inslaw case of an intellectual property theft accused by Inslaw, a software manufacturing giant of the time, against the Justice Department of the US. As he started researching the case, he was sucked into a maze of multiple leads to what looked like a myriad of international conspiracies.
While each of the stories was shady, they connected to the administration of the time. With so many tentacles leading out of the government office, Danny decided to pursue each of them. Promising to bring all to light, Casolaro met with sources and entities to uncover all possible information.
The Octopus Murders: How did Danny Casolaro die?
As the Netflix documentary, The Octopus Murders, reminds us, Danny Casolaro was found dead in the bathtub of his hotel room with multiple slashes on his wrists. Official investigations termed it a suicide with his death occurring between 8 am and 11 am on August 10, 1991. Forensic reports revealed blood loss as the cause of death.
While none of the guests in the hotel reported having heard anything curious, the evidence found in his room, which included a suicide note-like writing, razor blades, and bottles of alcohol, were said to point at suicide. It is even unknown whether his source met him or not.
However, his family and people close to him refused to believe it. The family pointed out various pieces of evidence, which included Danny’s fear of needles and blood. As such, the scene of the crime was covered in blood. Moreover, before leaving for Martinsburg, Danny had warned his brother of meeting an unnatural death.
As it was known that Danny Casolaro was pursuing potentially serious and delicate stories of international political conspiracies, an unnatural elimination could not be ruled out. While transparency in the investigation of his death is awaited, journalist Christian Hansen and filmmaker Zachary Treitz have tried to uncover the lost case.
More about American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders, the Netflix documentary
The Octopus Murders is co-produced by Stardust Frames Productions, of Wild Wild Country fame, and Duplass Brothers Productions. The documentary shows Hansen stumbling into information about Casolaro and getting interested in his death accidentally.
When Hansen was researching the private prison industry, he found an article on The Wackenhut Corporation which ties up with the American Intelligence Society, written by Casolaro. As Hansen followed Casolaro’s death under mysterious circumstances, he started following up on the leads that Casolaro was tracking.
His research took him to Casolaro’s source, Michael Riconoscuito. He met Riconoscuito when the latter was released from prison and kept in touch to get more insight into the 1980s conspiracy theories.
Hansen along with a few FBI officials, believe that Danny Casolaro was forcibly silenced more than three decades ago. Hansen and Treitz want to expose the conspiracies through the crime docuseries, The Octopus Murders, and bring justice to Danny Casolaro, in the process.
American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders is available for streaming on Netflix.
