Trigger warning: The beginning of this show focuses on the debate on whether Daniel Casolaro’s death was from suicide or homicide. There are discussions of cutting, blood and various forms of violence throughout the series that will be mentioned in this article.
On Wednesday, Feb. 28, Netflix released a new documentary series called “American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders,” which follows the life and death of journalist and writer Daniel Casolaro and the legacy of his work.
Photojournalist Christian Hansen became intrigued by Casolaro’s work while he was in college. Over time, the interest turned into an obsession over the mystery of Casolaro’s death and the story he almost uncovered. This passion drove Hansen to team up with Zachary Treitz, the director and narrator of the docu-series.
Before his death, Casolaro was covering a legal case about the Department of Justice driving a technology company called Inslaw out of business and wrongfully obtaining their revolutionary software system called PROMIS. What made this story peculiar is that, at the surface level, it looked like a common legal case. However, after deeper investigation, Casolaro found connections between this legal case, the Reagan administration and various three-letter government agencies.
One of the first people the director interviews is Casolaro’s brother, Anthony. He recounts having known that his brother was working on this growing and messy story. He tells the story of his son’s third birthday and how, in a conversation, Daniel said that if an accident happens, know that it wasn’t really an accident.
Not long after, Daniel Casolaro was found dead in a hotel bathroom tub. There were eight slits on his left wrist and four on his right. When his brother heard the news, he immediately asked whether an autopsy was being done. To his surprise, he was told that his body had already been embalmed because the police did not feel a need to perform an autopsy. As a doctor, Anthony was taken aback.
Anthony told reporters of the warning Daniel gave before his death. The line caused a stir in the media regarding Daniel’s death and, if he was in fact killed, why?
To continue Casolaro’s investigation, Hansen and Treitz used notes written by Casolaro himself to find their leads and guide their research. To put into perspective the amount of information Casolaro had gathered on this case, Hansen said that he made a copy of every single page of Casolaro’s notes. This ended up being a five-day-long process. During filming, the pair also gained access to tape recordings — most of which were made public for the first time via this docu-series.
Hansen and Treitz also show themselves having the unique opportunity to speak with Michael Riconosciuto, a technology expert who contributed to altering the PROMIS software for the Justice Department. In the docu-series, viewers learn that after Riconosciuto spoke out about what he was asked to do, the department threatened him. Shortly after, he was arrested by the Drug Enforcement Administration and faced drug charges which he denied.
This arrest also raised speculation by investigative journalists because of the timeline that tracks his arrest and incarceration.
The end of the second episode shows Hansen and Treitz accompanying Riconosciuto’s cousin while she retrieves him from prison. As soon as they arrive, Riconosciuto appears eager to leave the area, fearing that what happened to Casolaro will happen to him.
Whether your interests align with U.S. history, journalism or even bureaucratic politics, this docu-series will have you glued to the screen. You will feel like you’re uncovering a story alongside Hansen and Treitz. Even if you’ve never heard of Casolaro before reading this article, you’ll feel like you knew him by the end of watching the series.
Rating: 4.5/5cas