Danny Casolaro

Case background and investigation

Joseph Daniel "Danny" Casolaro was a freelance writer from Fairfax, Virginia. He was born on June 16, 1947, and was 44 when he died. At the time, he was researching a story he called "The Octopus," which, according to accounts of his work, tied together the Inslaw software dispute, in which the company alleged that the Justice Department had misappropriated its Promis case-management program, with other political controversies of the 1980s.

On August 10, 1991, a housekeeper found Casolaro dead in the bathtub of Room 517 at the Sheraton hotel in Martinsburg, West Virginia. According to Wikipedia's summary of the case, he had 10 to 12 cuts to his wrists.

The medical examiner ruled the death a suicide caused by blood loss. Wikipedia's entry cites a short note asking for forgiveness that was found in the room, the absence of signs of forced entry or a struggle, and toxicology findings of alcohol, an antidepressant and acetaminophen. A first autopsy was carried out on August 14, 1991. A second examination by the state medical examiner's office in January 1992 again concluded that the death was a suicide.

Casolaro's family has not accepted that conclusion. His brother, Dr. Anthony Casolaro, told the television program Unsolved Mysteries that the body had been embalmed before the family gave permission, and pointed to bruising and damaged fingernails that he said were not explained. According to the accounts reviewed, relatives also said that Casolaro had received threatening telephone calls, that he had told them not to believe any report that he had died accidentally, and that he was notably uncomfortable around blood.

The family and the program also said that research papers Casolaro was believed to have had with him were not recovered. Official investigators did not find evidence of a homicide.

The death drew congressional attention because of the Inslaw connection. The House Judiciary Committee addressed the matter in its September 10, 1992, report on the Inslaw affair, House Report 102-857. Wikipedia's entry states that members of an FBI task force later questioned the suicide conclusion and recommended further inquiry, and that news organizations that examined the case did not find evidence of murder. In 2024 Netflix released a documentary series, "American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders," that revisited his work. The official ruling of suicide remains in place.