Netflix True Crime Murder Conspiracy Series Is Stranger Than Fiction
In recent years, Netflix has become the gold standard for true crime documentaries, second only to long-form podcast series’ which can dedicate years to a single story. One of the best and brightest examples of Netflix’s true crime acumen is American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders, which premiered on the streamer earlier this year. The series will warp your mind as it unfolds over the course of four hour-long episodes, exposing a pattern of corruption and espionage that goes all the way to the top.
Danny Casolaro’s Final Days
If you’re thinking American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders is a lighthearted series about putting a stop to a ring of deep-sea poachers, you’ve got another thing coming. The series centers on the true tale of a writer and freelance journalist named Danny Casolaro, who became widely known for his investigation into corruption after his untimely death.
Casolaro died in 1991 of a supposed suicide, though many of his close friends and family members question the legitimacy of this claim, believing that Danny was murdered by those seeking to undermine his work.
Danny Casolaro’s research began in the 1980s when he first started digging up dirt about the American government following scandals like the Iran-Contra deal, the Inslaw/PROMIS software conspiracy, and the October Surprise theory. After determining that a multi-national conspiracy was underway, Casolaro took to calling the sprawling investigation “the Octopus.” While the writer was never able to fully complete his body of work, American Conspiracy manages to piece together his remaining records to construct a compelling view of what may have unfolded in his final days.
Questionable Cause Of Death
Before American Conspiracy aired on Netflix, all that the public knew was that Danny had passed away in 1991, after he allegedly slashed his own wrists 10-12 times in the bathtub of a West Virginia hotel. According to testimonials given by the writer’s family, Casolaro was in town to meet with a source who was poised to blow the whole story wide open, making him too dangerous to keep on the case.
To add to the unnerving details and paranoia of the story, Danny apparently told his family that he had received harassment and threats over the phone in the days leading up to his trip.
An Inconclusive Investigation
Furthermore, Danny was documented to have a deep fear of blood and would become quite nervous during routine doctor visits that required finger-pricks and blood tests. As a result, his family found it nearly impossible to believe that he would take his own life in such a violent and gruesome manner. While there’s no way to 100 percent prove that the journalist was murdered, American Conspiracy argues that even the responding police officers felt the scene required some additional investigation, before they were stifled by their superiors.
Fishing For Answers
American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders follows a pair of journalist filmmakers named Zachary Treitz and Christian Hansen as they retrace Casolaro’s final few days of research, and dig up as much information as possible surrounding his ultimate demise. Through a number of video testimonials, interviews with Casolaro’s family, and other investigative deep-dives, the duo lay out a compelling argument that something deeply fishy occurred in the Octopus investigation.
Stream American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders
If you’re interested in catching the thrilling conspiracy, you can stream American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders on Netflix today. Just be sure to toss your cell phone in the freezer beforehand, to assure that it won’t transmit any of your viewing data to the cabal of evil politicians in the middle of your binge-session.
