5. Danny Casolaro
Danny Casolaro was a freelance journalist who was 44 years old when he died under suspicious circumstances in 1991. Casolaro was found dead in a West Virginia Sheraton Hotel bathtub by a member of the hotel’s cleaning staff, his wrists having been slashed numerous times. Due to the presence of an alleged suicide note, most were quick to believe Casolaro had died at his own hand. But the mystery was not that simple.
The reports from the scene were somewhat sinister, as there was no trauma to Casolaro’s body that would indicate any sort of struggle. Also present in the bathroom was a corked bottle of red wine, a broken wine glass, an empty can of beer, a paper hotel glass coaster, and two white trash bags. When they lifted the body out, they found a single-edge razor blade at the bottom of the bloody bathwater. It seemed as though Casolaro could have simply been bathing when he was ambushed.
Things got darker when Casolaro’s brother came forward, recalling a conversation the two had shared a few weeks prior, in which Casolaro warned “If anything happens to me, don’t believe it’s an accident.” Other friends and family members confirmed that Casolaro had spoken of threats on his life in the months before his demise. Casolaro’s journalistic interest in his last months centered heavily on what he called the “Octopus,” a network of individuals and institutions that he believed had secretly masterminded a series of scandals. It is believed he was in West Virginia to meet with a member of this cabal when he met his demise.
Nobody has ever been charged with the murder of Casolaro, and the members of “The Octopus” have never been exposed…if the organization exists at all.