What Happened To Danny Casolaro From The Octopus Murders?

Netflix’s American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders revisits the 1991 death of a writer who believed he’d uncovered a wide-ranging government conspiracy. The four-part series is a gripping ride — though it doesn’t provide easy answers to its biggest question. Namely, what happened to Danny Casolaro?

But that’s the objective of The Octopus Murders, which dropped on Feb. 28. It shows how true crime mysteries and conspiracy theories don’t always fall into place as sleuths might hope.

Trigger Warning: This piece contains mentions of suicide.

Picking Up The Trail

The Octopus Murders is told through the lens of Christian Hansen, a photojournalist who’s spent the last decade studying Casolaro’s death and theories about “The Octopus” (not a literal octopus, but Casolaro’s name for the multiple legs of an alleged government conspiracy).

Hansen wanted to continue the book Casolaro was working on when he died in a West Virginia hotel room more than 30 years ago. As the documentary shows, Casolaro’s death was deemed a suicide. But several were suspicious — including Casolaro’s brother, Tony, who recalled in The Octopus Murders that Danny had received threatening calls in the period before his death and warned that “if an accident happens, it’s not an accident.”

Casolaro was a writer for Computer Age when he began investigating Inslaw, a technology company that accused the Department of Justice of stealing its software. This research led him to believe in a “vast, disturbing conspiracy” about the United States’ alleged intelligence operations.

Lingering Mysteries

At first, The Octopus Murders is driven by the theory that Casolaro might have been murdered for knowing too much. But by its final episode, it presents the authorities’ timeline of the writer’s final days, and an investigation into his death upheld the initial finding that he died by suicide. According to the docuseries, Casolaro was reportedly facing mounting debt and wanted to get an advance on his Octopus book — to no avail.

There are still lingering mysteries about Casolaro’s death, including a witness’ daughter, who claimed her mother saw someone who was not Casolaro entering his hotel room the weekend of his death. But instead of trying to provide a conclusive explanation, The Octopus Murders culminates with Hansen’s decision not to go down the same path that Casolaro did. “I made a choice between learning the secret of everything — which, like, I realized I would never do — and being happy and having fun,” he says.

He also expresses skepticism about some of the subjects he met along the way, acknowledging the possibility that “maybe Danny got totally confused and lost” on his quest for answers.

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 to contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which provides free 24/7 support. You can also reach out to the Trans Lifeline at 1-877-565-8860, the Trevor Lifeline at 1-866-488-7386, or to your local suicide crisis center.