Los Angeles News Reporter and LADA Spokesperson Sandi Gibbon-A Remarkable Woman-A Remarkable Career

April 16, 2016
Birch Bay, Washington
Happy Birthday to my son, Matthew!

Robert F. Kennedy’s speech at the Ambassador Hotel, moments before he was fatally shot. Sandi Gibbons is the woman in the white dress at the bottom right of the photo. On June 5, 1968, Sandi Gibbons was working as a news reporter for the City News Service covering Senator Kennedy’s primary win in California.

Click on the link HERE to read KPCC’s Susanne Whatley’s published account, “Veteran reporter, DA spokesperson Sandi Gibbons is retiring.” (Bizarrely published on Jan 15, 2013. (the 66th anniversary of the murder of Elizabeth “Black Dahlia” Short.) Be sure to click on the LISTEN box at that link to hear the 4-minute interview with Sandi about her account at the Ambassador on the assassination of RFK.

I had the pleasure of knowing and meeting Sandi Gibbons, Chief spokesperson for the LA County DA’s Office and am remiss for not acknowledging and thanking her for her many years of service to the citizens of Los Angeles. She had a stellar career and covered many if not all of the high-profile cases that were filed for prosecution. She was the public voice of “Mr. & Ms. DA” for four LA DA’s: Ira Reiner, Gil Garcetti, Steve Cooley and Jackie Lacey.

DA Spokesperson Sandi Gibbons

I have the highest praise for her public service. Sandi was always fully informed and articulate and open when presenting the DA’s office’s position on the latest high-profile arrest and prosecutions. Huge KUDOS Sandi.

In early 2003, just a month or two before the publication of my book, “Black Dahlia Avenger: A Genius for Murder” LA Head DDA Steve Kay met with then DA Steve Cooley to be briefed on his (Kay’s) six-month review of my investigation. Also, in attendance at that briefing were Cooley’s Number 2 man, Head DDA Curt Livesay, and Cooley’s Public Spokesperson, Sandi Gibbons.  Kay briefed Cooley, Livesay, and Gibbons on my overall investigation.

Shortly after that briefing, Los Angeles Times reporter Steve Lopez published two back-to-back articles on my investigation along with his blockbuster finding and partial publication of the “Secret Hodel/DA Black Dahlia Transcripts” which had been secreted in the DA vault for over fifty years and were discovered during his own followup interview with DA Cooley regarding my investigation.

Within a few weeks of Lopez’s publication of his findings and the existence of the Hodel Transcripts, I requested and was granted permission to review and copy these files from the LADA’s office. I was met there by Sandi Gibbons who assisted me and helped facilitate my review and copying of the hundreds of pages from the Hodel Files.

Here is a copy of my original thank you letter and “notes” to Sandi Gibbons dated May 31. 2003 – written some twenty years ago.

Sandi Gibbons Cooley skh Ltr May 2003

And here are the two original LA Times Steve Lopez articles published back to back in April, 2003:

Article 1

Article 2