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'Octopus Murders' conspiracy puts spotlight on journalist's mysterious 'suicide'
About three weeks before he was found with 12 slashes between his wrists in a West Virginia hotel room bathtub, journalist Danny Casolaro told his brother that “if an accident happens, it’s not an accident,” according to a new documentary.
Casolaro had spent years entangled in his investigation of an international cabal he called “The Octopus,” a thick web of conspiracies that he told prospective publishers of his book would be “the most explosive investigative story of the 20th Century,” according to the Netflix docuseries “American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders.”
On Aug. 10, 1991, housekeeping staff at the Sheraton Hotel in Martinsburg, West Virginia, found Casolaro in a bloodied bathtub with his wrists slashed. He told friends and family that he had traveled there to interview a crucial source for his upcoming book.
Tommy Casolaro, the journalist’s brother, received word within a day that 44-year-old Casolaro had died, and that police deemed it a suicide.
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Casolaro was facing financial difficulties at the time of his death, writing to his agent that “in September, [he would] be looking into the face of an oncoming train.” Regardless, whether Casolaro took his own life has been hotly debated since his death, according to the Washington Post.
“In my six years as a medic, I’ve never seen anybody ever cut their wrists that many times – the left arm appears to have had eight cuts and the right arm appeared to have had four cuts. It just did not appear that he physically could have done that,” Don Shirley, a firefighter who responded to the scene, told documentarians.
“These were deep cuts… to the point where the tendons had been severed… You cut your tendons, you can’t hold something. Those are simple facts,” Shirley continued.
Casolaro, who covered Watergate in the 1970s and was writing for a tech publication he owned called “Computer Daily” at the time, began the investigation that would consume the rest of his life when he was assigned to research Inslaw.
The tech company that was bankrupted after building a novel software called PROMIS – short for Prosecutor’s Management Information System – for the U.S. Justice Department.
For the first time, the software made case information searchable in a computer database. In 1986, the Justice Department was accused of intentionally driving the software’s parent company into bankruptcy “through trickery, fraud and deceit” by withholding payment, former Attorney General Elliot Richardson said at the time.
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Danny Casolaro, right, was working on a book “about a handful of people who have been able to successfully exploit the secret empires of espionage networks, big oil and organized crime,” he told publishers. He was found dead with slashing wounds to his wrists in a hotel room on Aug. 10, 1991 at 44 years old. (Netflix)
In light of the PROMIS investigation, Richardson said that then-President Reagan’s DOJ was up to something “much dirtier than Watergate.”
Inslaw founder Bill Hamilton, who became a driving source in Casolaro’s research, alleged in court that the DOJ shirked payments for the software to intentionally drive the company under so that Earl Brian, owner of competing computer corporation Hadron and former director of California’s Department of Health Care Services when Reagan was California’s governor, could take control of their assets.
Moreover, Hamilton claimed that Brian had called before the company filed for bankruptcy seeking to purchase Inslaw, saying that he “had a way of making [Hamilton] sell” when he refused.
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“American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders” follows Christian Hansen’s attempts to retrace Danny Casolaro’s investigative steps to finish his book – and, he hopes, give more insight into his mysterious death. (Netflix)
Inslaw would later win a case against the Department of Justice for stealing its software in 1998 over claims that the government intentionally stole its software and distributed it illegally – but the case was overturned on appeal.
A theory, one component of Casolaro’s so-called Octopus, is that the Justice Department sold the software abroad to illegally spy on agencies that purchased it.
From there, Casolaro began uncovering prospective theory after prospective theory from interviews with his many furtive contacts.
With Casolaro’s family publicly questioning the suicide designation, citing the growing number of threatening phone calls Casolaro was receiving and the sensitive nature of his work, newscasters and reporters widely speculated about his death. However, as years passed, the case went cold.
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In his 10 years of researching “The Octopus,” Christian Hansen grows closer in resemblance to the man whose research he is trying to unravel. (Netflix)
However, 10 years ago, begetting the Netflix documentary, journalist Christian Hansen grew fascinated with the case and became determined to finish Casolaro’s book in an effort to learn how he died.
Zachary Treitz, Hansen’s childhood friend and the director of the four-part Netflix series, jumped onto the investigation out of concern for his obsessed buddy, but also to figure out if he was onto something.
In his research, showcased by calls to Casolaro’s often-cryptic sources and pages upon pages of laid out documents, Hansen became reminiscent of Casolaro – to make matters stranger, the dead journalist’s longtime friend Ann Klenk remarked that the men even looked alike.
Casolaro’s expansive theory is held up by a bizarre cast of prominent government officials and their affiliates and their links to a criminal underworld. Among them are suspected serial killer and government operative Philip Arthur Thompson, globe-trotting John Philip Nichols, potential spy Robert Booth Nichols and prominently-featured tech wizard Michael Riconosciuto.
Tommy Casolaro told filmmakers that about three weeks before his brother’s death, he told him that “if an accident happens, it’s not an accident.” (Netflix)
The Iran-Contra affair and the 1991 collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International – a financial institution that Casolaro thought made the web of schemes possible – were linked to the wide-spanning conspiracy.
So is a secret government arms factory at the Cabazon Indian reservation in Indio, California. Tribal official Alfred Alvarez and his friends Patricia Castro and Ralph Boger were allegedly killed by Cabazon casino security lead Jimmy Hughes at the behest of Nichols, the tribe’s non-Indian financial consultant, when he asked too many questions about where the casino’s money was going.
Hughes faced felony charges that were later dropped. Nichols was later jailed in the plot, according to the documentary and local news outlets.
Hansen and Treitz vacillate on how much they buy theories bandied by Casolaro’s informants, like Riconosciuto, who the pair interviewed after he was released from a decadeslong prison sentence for 10 criminal counts related to methamphetamine and methadone.
Riconosciuto was jailed just eight days after providing an affidavit for the House Judiciary Committee supporting Inslaw’s claims, saying he worked under the direction of Brian in connection with the software. He said his arrest was retaliatory despite drug charges earlier in his life.
Director Zachary Treitz, left, with Christian Hansen, joins his friend in connecting with Danny Casolaro’s former sources.
Ultimately, the pair uncovered new details about the case never revealed to the public after police in Martinsburg granted Hansen’s public records request from 2013.
Among the paper documents in a box of evidence were statements from another woman in Casolaro’s hotel, claiming that she saw a dark-haired man enter blonde Casolaro’s room on the evening of his death. This detail was not previously included in news coverage, or even in FBI files on the controversial case.
The filmmakers guess, based on circumstances and a composite sketch, that Joseph Cuellar – a former military intelligence official who spoke with Casolaro about his theories in a diner weeks before his death – may have been the second man in the room.
Treitz told the Mirror he was “haunted” since he and Hansen made the connection – in the documentary, Cuellar’s son said that his father specialized in “psychological warfare” and detailed his abilities.
Michael Riconosciuto, a computer expert claiming to have knowledge of covert government operations, is pictured after documentarians pick him up from prison. He was jailed eight days after providing an affidavit regarding Inslaw’s claims that the Justice Department intentionally bankrupted them and stole their software on drug charges he claims are bogus.
Ultimately, Treitz and Hansen told GQ, neither has decided whether Casolaro was murdered or killed himself. In completing the documentary, the pair learned what Casolaro must have – and what may have caused him to take his own life.
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“You have to make a decision for yourself, which I did – are you going to go back to your normal boring life and enjoy small things like movies or barbecues instead of phone calls from the netherworld?” Cheri Seymour, a California-based writer and investigative reporter whose “The Last Circle” is about Casolaro’s reporting and death, told the filmmakers.
“I made a choice between learning the secret of everything, which I realized I would never do, or being happy and having fun,” Hansen said at the end of his 10 years of research and the documentary puzzling and convoluted enough to reflect its own narrative.
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., briefly sparred with “60 Minutes” host Lesley Stahl over what she claimed was “accusatory” behavior from the journalist.
Greene gave her first sit-down interview with Stahl since announcing her resignation from Congress last month. During the segment, Stahl and Greene spoke about the Georgia lawmaker’s apology for taking part in “toxic politics.”
“I would like to say humbly, I‘m sorry for taking part in the toxic politics,” Greene told CNN in November. “It’s very bad for our country, and it’s been something I’ve thought about a lot, especially since Charlie Kirk was assassinated, is that we, I’m only responsible for myself and my own words and actions, and I am committed, and I’ve been working on this a lot lately to put down the knives in politics.”
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., gave her first sit-down interview with “60 Minutes” since announcing her resignation. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“But you contributed to that,” Stahl asked Greene Sunday. “You. You, you were out there pounding, insulting people.”
Greene pushed back, claiming that Stahl had contributed to toxic politics herself.
“You’re accusatory, just like you did just then,” Greene said.
“I know you’re accusing me, but I’m smiling,” Stahl responded.
“You’re accusing me,” Greene said. “But we don’t have to accuse one another.”
The two continued to go back and forth, with Greene repeatedly insisting that Stahl should also acknowledge her own contribution to toxic politics.
“I don’t insult people,” Stahl said.
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., previously apologized for her role in “toxic” politics. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)
“You just, you do in the way you question,” Greene said. “And you are, you’re accusing me right now.”
Fox News Digital reached out to CBS News for comment.
Greene previously sat down with Stahl in April 2023, when the two had a fiery exchange over the congresswoman’s claim that Democrats are the “party of pedophiles.”
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“They are not pedophiles. Why would you say that?” Stahl exclaimed.
“Democrats support — even Joe Biden, the president himself — supports children being sexualized and having transgender surgeries. Sexualizing children is what pedophiles do to children,” Greene said.
“Wow,” Stahl reacted.
“60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl had a tense exchange with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., over her claim that Democrats were the “party of pedophiles” during an April 2023 interview. (Screenshots/CBS News)
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Greene shocked the political landscape last month when she revealed she would leave Congress Jan. 5. Many believe her abrupt exit was the result of her soured relationship with President Donald Trump.
Fox News’ Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
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FBI’s renewed push in DC pipe bomb case shows how fresh eyes can change a stalled investigation
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Federal agents searching the Virginia home of Brian Cole Jr., accused of planting pipe bombs in Washington on Jan. 5, 2021, carried out a step-by-step operation this week that indicated investigators have re-energized a case that had seen little movement for years.
Cole was arrested in Woodbridge, Virginia, last week after federal investigators identified him as the suspect accused of planting the pipe bombs on Jan. 5, 2021, near the Capitol complex, the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). His arrest marked the first major break in a case that had been largely dormant for years.
Retired FBI Special Agent Jason Pack, who previously helped lead Evidence Response Teams, told Fox News Digital the search followed the standard sequence used in explosive investigations, beginning with hazard clearing before evidence work. He said the careful pace shows investigators treating the case as if it had just happened.
The operation began with the standard safety sweep used in federal explosives investigations.
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Brian J. Cole was arrested by the FBI for alleged involvement in the D.C. pipe bomb incident. (Department of Justice)
“Federal agents are following a deliberate and familiar sequence as the search of the Woodbridge residence continues,” Pack said. “The presence of explosive ordnance disposal technicians, bomb techs and specialized K-9 teams indicates that the first priority is safety.”
He explained that investigators must first clear the property of possible explosive hazards to protect personnel and preserve the scene before they can begin collecting evidence.
One of the clearest indications of the work underway came from the metal paint cans agents carried out of the home.
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The FBI is carrying out “court enforced activity” at a home in Woodbridge, Va., after authorities arrested a suspect who allegedly planted pipe bombs blocks from the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 5, 2021, sources told Fox News on Dec. 4, 2025. (WTTG)
Pack said metal paint cans are a preferred method for collecting and transporting suspected explosive material because they limit contamination and protect volatile samples. The cans also allow forensic laboratories to analyze residues, components and chemical signatures that might connect a device to a specific individual or technique.
Once the scene is declared safe, evidence teams can move inside the home.
FBI Evidence Response Team members, guided by a federal search warrant and its attachments, typically handle the next phase of the search and use those documents to determine what they are authorized to seize.
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The FBI swarmed the home following the suspect’s arrest. (WTTG)
Those categories include explosive components or precursor chemicals; tools or materials used to construct destructive devices; electronic devices such as phones, hard drives and laptops; records, notes or digital communications that could show planning, motive or knowledge; and items that confirm identity, occupancy or control of the residence.
In this investigation, agents are looking for evidence that establishes intent, capability and any links to the explosive devices planted on Jan. 5, 2021.
Once the evidence is collected, it moves into the long analytical phase of the investigation.
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Sketch of Brian Cole Jr.’s first federal court appearance in Washington, D.C. Friday, December 5, 2025. Cole is the lead suspect in the D.C. pipe incident. (Dana Verkouteren)
Any electronics seized will undergo digital forensics to recover communications, searches or location data that may reveal planning or coordination. Laboratories will also examine residues or components to determine whether they match the devices used at the Capitol complex, the RNC or the DNC.
Pack said the search in Woodbridge shows the FBI is treating the investigation as if it had just begun, which he said can “change the entire trajectory” of the case.
“I have been the fresh set of eyes on cold cases, and I worked them as if the crime happened that morning,” he said. “The initial investigators often do excellent work. A new perspective simply asks different questions and sometimes spots the detail that finally brings the guilty to justice.”
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The suspect is seen walking outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters moments before placing one of two pipe bombs discovered near party offices in Washington, D.C. (FBI)
Pack said the U.S. Attorney’s Office is responsible for obtaining the warrants and court orders that move an investigation from suspicion to proof.
“When the immediate danger has passed, older cases often end up folded into the stack of files handled by overworked Assistant United States Attorneys who are already juggling emergencies of their own,” he said. “That can slow down warrants and subpoenas, not because anyone is dragging their feet, but because they are drowning in urgent matters.”
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The same pressures hit FBI agents, Pack said, as new threats emerge each day and older cases get pushed back while “investigators run to the sound of guns.”
“There are only 12,000 FBI agents in the world, and that small group is responsible for handling every threat that comes our way,” Pack said. “When leadership pours fresh resources back into a case, the whole machine turns forward again. Sunlight finds what shadows hide, and a second look often makes all the difference.”
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Cole had his first court appearance Friday after being arrested the day before and charged with transporting an explosive device in interstate commerce and with maliciously attempting to destroy property using explosive materials.
He has been speaking with investigators and reportedly admitted to planting the devices and expressing doubts about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, a source close to the investigation told Fox News.
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Two in three Charlotte, North Carolina, residents say they feel less safe today than they did a year ago, according to a recent survey, as the city reels from two train stabbings.
More than 930 people responded to a survey that the Queen City recently completed before hiring its new police chief, Stella Patterson. Residents overwhelmingly said they want a proactive police force, not a reactive one, with 66% saying they feel less safe.
The results come as Charlotte contends with another stabbing on its light rail system, months after the stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska.
On Friday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) officers responded to a call regarding assault with a deadly weapon. When they arrived, they found the victim, identified as Kenyon Kareem-Shemar Dobie, with a stab wound, according to warrants.
Oscar Solorzano, 33, was arrested in connection to a stabbing on a Charlotte, North Carolina light rail. (Mecklenburg County Jail)
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Oscar Gerardo Solorzano-Garcia, 33, of Honduras, was arrested after the stabbing and charged with attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with serious injury, breaking/entering a motor vehicle, carrying a concealed weapon and intoxicated/disruptive behavior, according to multiple Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sources and arrest warrants obtained by Fox News Digital.
On Monday morning, Solorzano appeared in court, where he was denied bond. The 33-year-old appeared via Zoom in an orange jumpsuit where he was charged. Authorities revealed that Solorzano, prior to the Dec. 5 attack, was banned by Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS).
CMPD noted Dobie was in critical but stable condition when he was taken to a hospital.
The victim told WRAL News that he saw Solorzano yelling at an older woman before Solorzano handed his bike to another passenger and said: “I’m about to show you who I really am.”
“I wasn’t trying to be a macho man,” Dobie said in a TikTok post from his hospital room. “But what I won’t allow is you to attack random people for no reason, especially the elderly.”
Dobie said he jumped up and told Solorzano to leave everyone alone. He said Solarzano then grabbed his hands and stabbed him as he tried to grab him back.
Police in North Carolina have charged a 33-year-old man from Honduras with critically injuring another person in a stabbing on a Charlotte commuter train, just a few months after a Ukrainian refugee was murdered. (WJZY)
According to court documents, reviewed by Fox News Digital, Solorzano broke into a railroad car “with the intent to commit a felony,” while carrying a large fixed-blade knife.
While intoxicated, he challenged Dobie to a fight, cursing and shouting at others using “unintelligible and slurred words,” according to court documents.
He was booted from the country by the Trump administration in March 2018 on a deportation order and reentered illegally during the Biden administration at the Texas border in March 2021, DHS sources said.
WATCH: Migrant who was deported twice accused of Charlotte light rail stabbing
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Solorzano was deported a second time by the Biden administration and reentered illegally as a got-away at an unknown time and location.
Solorzano has a prior conviction for robbery in the U.S. and prior arrests for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest and false ID, DHS sources said.
Court records indicate he had known aliases, including Solorzano-Garcia, Oscar Herardo and Kevin Garcia.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks alongside a photo of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, who was allegedly killed by Decarlos Brown Jr., on a light rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the White House, Sept. 9, 2025. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
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The stabbing attack comes months after Zarutska, 23, was fatally stabbed on a LYNX Blue Line light rail while on her way home from work from a local pizzeria shop.
Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, who is accused of killing Zarutska, was charged with violence against a railroad carrier and mass transportation system resulting in death, a capital offense under federal law.
Brown had a history of violent crime, including assaults and robberies, and had also been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Yet he was still free and walking the streets.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the city of Charlotte and the CMPD for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Alexander Koch and Fox News’ Bill Melugin and Chelsea Torres contributed to this report.
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