Rapist/Father of Tamar Hodel’s Teen Pregnancy Identified through DNA-Confirms My Earlier Reporting that George Hodel Was Not the Father of Fauna Hodel and SubstantiatesTamar’s Statement about Her 1950 Rape in San Francisco
November 15, 2023
Birch Bay, Washington
Even in death my half-sister, Tamar Hodel’s documented statements of sexual abuse continue not to be believed. And not just by “outsiders,” but by her own family members.
First, there was her own mother, Dorothy Anthony who in 1946 after Tamar (then just age 11) informed her of having oral sex with her father, George Hodel, her mother confronted him about their daughter’s allegation and George responded, “She made the same allegations about you and your mother (Tamar’s grandmother) having had sex with her. She’s a disturbed child.”
Three years later, in 1949, Tamar (age 14) after being picked up as a “runaway”, told the juvenile detectives about having sex with her father and some of his adult friends. George was arrested and an incest trial occurred. During the trial, three of George’s adult friends were both witnesses to and testified to having participated in these sex acts.
In spite of Tamar’s and the participating witnesses’ testimony Tamar was labeled “a pathological liar” by defense attorneys. The defaming characterization of Tamar was supported by her mother, Dorothy Anthony, who claimed on the stand that Tamar “is not to be believed”. Tamar’s half-brother, Duncan, claimed she “made up stories”. This character assassination was continued by her father when George Hodel took the stand in his own defense and testified that Tamar “is a pathological liar and needs mental health”.
Once again Tamar was not believed by the jury who then found her father, Dr. George Hodel not guilty.
Today, even in death, despite Tamar’s decades-old documented revelations of her sexual assaults, she is again, disbelieved, once again- BY HER OWN GRANDCHILDREN.
A little Hodel history:
Tamar in 2001- age 66
Tamar ages 15 and 21
In 2004 Tamar Hodel provided me with both a videotaped interview as well as her own typewritten statements. In recounting the story of the birth of her first child, whom she named Fauna Hodel and whom her mother gave away at birth, Tamar related the following. (Tamar typed and emailed the letter to me on January 12, 2004, nearly twenty years ago.) Pertinent extracts below:
*Author Note- In a separate interview Tamar described the “friend of David that raped me was an Italian American, Male, White Mid-Twenteis.”
2023 Tamar’s granddaughters, Rasha and Yvette, (born to Fauna Hodel by separate fathers) reveal true paternity.
In a two-part interview with producer Zak Levitt, the award-winning creator of Root of Evil: The True Story of the Hodel Family and the Black Dahlia, Tamar’s granddaughters revealed that through DNA linkage they had identified their mother, Fauna’s biological father. Those DNA results contradicted what Rasha, Yvette, and Fauna claimed they had always believed. They said they believed that my father, George Hill Hodel was indeed Fauna’s biological father. Unfortunately, this was also what viewers of the fictional television series, I Am The Night were led to believe.
It should be understood that I made public, in April 2019 the results of DNA testing that proved George HillHodel was not the father of Fauna Hodel.
The DNA evidence was known as early as 2019, but the TNT producers, Patty Jenkins and Sam Sheridan ordered Zak Levitt to not disclose it (as he had planned in his separate podcast, Root of Evil.)
Zak argued against this intentional omission and insisted that the truth should be told. In the end, he complied with the TNT producer’s demands. Sadly, the viewers/listeners were led to believe falsely that George Hodel was likely Fauna’s father. (In the view of TNT producers of I Am The Night, the decision to not disclose Fauna’s true paternity, “made for better theatre.”
What is new? Rasha and Yvette have known for more than a year now that DNA had subsequently identified their mother’s (Fauna) actual biological father which they kept from the public until June of this year.
In Part II of their “Root of Evil Update” June 11, 2023, podcast interview with Zak Levitt, the granddaughters name their biological grandfather and confirm that he lived and had sex with Tamar in San Francisco in 1950.
Further, Tamar’s description of the rapist, as an “Italian in his mid-twenties” was accurate as to age and his last name while sounding Italian is apparently, as the granddaughters describe him, “he is South American/Ecuadorian.”
I won’t reveal the man’s last name here, but it could easily be mistaken for being Italian.
In the Zak Levitt interview Rasha and Yvette go on to discuss how excited they are “to tell the world” that they have discovered and identified their grandfather (the 23-year-old man who raped their then 15-year-old grandmother) and that they “have spoken with his relatives who live in Canada, and report, “how happy they are to discover what a wonderful, kind, and loving man he was.”
But, they don’t stop there. I quote from their interview with Zak.
Rasha and Yvette:
“So, now we know who he is (grandfather/rapist) and we have real closure. We have passports, census, and photos we can share.
We had a video talk with Aunt Judy, their grandfather’s daughter, “Aunt Judy was talking about the Dr. Phil show where she saw that Uncle Steve (I’m thier great half-uncle) was trying to say our dad raped your grandmother. Judy says, “No way.
One of the girls responds with this incredible reply to the public:
“I just want to put out there that this was a one-night encounter. None of us know what really happened. We are sorry about the Dr. Phil.
That’s what she told us. That was the information we had at the time. Now we have new information.”
Tamar, a fifteen-year-old teen had gone to meet a teen friend “David” and waited for his return at an adult male’s residence. This ” adult male Italian in his mid-twenties” gave her fruit drinks, laced with sloe-gin, got her drunk until she passed out, and then forcibly raped her. …and from this one-time encounter, Tamar got pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, Fauna. This is what occurred according to Tamar’s own statements.
(But, according to Tamar’s granddaughters, “None of us know what really happened.” (Inference, she could be lying.)
And so it goes, in death as in life. The stigma of a “lying Tamar”, comes once again from her own family, this time her granddaughters: “Yes, she (Tamar) said she was raped, but none of us know what really happened.”
We can now add two more family members who question Tamar’s being sexually assaulted. (This time no one can deny the sex occurred since a child was conceived, born, and linked by DNA. They can only question consent, which is immaterial since even if she had given consent, in California then and now a fifteen-year-old is legally incapable of giving consent to intercourse. Such an act, forced or voluntary, is statutory rape. One further exacerbation, she was also impaired by alcohol.
Read for yourself this sad excerpt from my half-sister, Tamar’s videotaped interview in 2004, where she relates how she was literally crying out for help to her own mother when just a teen:
“Even when I was eleven and he (father, George Hodel) gave me the erotica, and he attempted to teach me how to give him oral sex. I failed miserably on this adventure. I was embarrassed because I failed HIM. So, I told my mother about it when I went back to visit, and I said what had happened, and she said, “I will have to talk with your father.” I never heard anything from her. …When I was eighteen, I said to her, “Why didn’t you help me? Why didn’t you speak up for me? Why? Why?” She said she had gone to him and said what had happened, what I said, and he told her that I was a pathological liar and that I had said the same thing about her and her mother.” That so turned her off and frightened her that she assumed he was telling the truth.”
In closing, I will make one additional point that has become totally misinterpreted through the decades.
Let me set the record straight. as relates to my half-sister, Tamar Hodel’s testimony at the 1949 incest trial.
For The record:
Tamar never claimed, “Our father was the Black Dahlia Killer and he was insane and was going to kill all of the family members”. That was a claim made and invented by Defense Attorney Robert Neeb during his cross-examination of Tamar…his words not Tamar’s.
In front of the jury, Neeb states:
“Isn’t it true Tamar that you told Joe Barrett that your father was the Black Dahlia killer……..etc.”
Tamar’s response: “No, I never said that.”
Neeb’s words, not hers. (As we now know, it was the LAPD and DA detectives who told Tamar when taking her to court from Juvenile Hall detention, “We believe your father, George Hodel is the Black Dahlia killer and killed other women too.”
Bottom Line- Tamar never testified to or made such a comment to anyone during the court trial in 1949–it only came from the defense attorneys to shock and influence the jury.
Such a sad epitaph for Tamar. May she rest in peace.
She was a victim but let’s not forget she’s also an abuser. She sold her daughter to men and women from when her daughter was only 5-15. Knowing how it feels to be a victim and your mother turn her back on you, this is especially cruel. I have some empathy for her, but not enough to let her rest in peace. I hope there’s a hell for her to be in.
Nedina:
No question about it. Like all abusers, she was responsible for her own criminal acts.
Abused and sexualized at a young age (11-14) is no excuse. Sex, drugs, and abusing her own children followed. I’m sure our father was abused and suffered cruelties as a child. I suspect he was the victim of incest and was totally controlled by his mother, but does that permit him to become one of the world’s most prolific serial killers and a misogynist and sadist of the highest order? Of course not. We are each responsible and must answer for our individual acts despite our childhood history. So too with my sister, Tamar.
People, young and old, like stories with a happy end.. They need it so much they are ready to lie to themselves and resconstruct known facts to the contrary. I think this is the motive of the granddaughters in constructing a ” sane past ” of their family.
Only few ” special persons ” can live with the truth, like the hard truth more than comforting lies.
I am enjoying your newest book, Steve. Working on the second round.
Was there any link between George Hodel and the Lindburg kidnapping ?
Thanks,
Kathy Hsu
Kathy H:
No, not directly other than it “inspired” him to outdo Leopold and Loeb in his own kidnapping/murder of the two young Martin Sisters just three months after their kidnap murder of little Bobby Franks. I’m sure the massive national headlines caused him to prove to himself and the world that he was superior and a true master criminal to both young men.
Steve:
Your mention of the Martin case made me look up some of the original coverage. I found an article in the LA Record about Dr. Elias Morgenstiern. The piece, “Savant of Muscovy,” is by Don Ryan. He was one of the Record’s main bylined journalists at the time — as was Ted Le Berthon, author of the 1925 Merry-Go-Round hit piece on GHH. The Morgenstiern article appeared on 6/27/24, a couple of months before the Martin crime. I get the impression Ryan’s columns sometimes included rewrites of GHH copy or research — see his 8/9 piece on Sadakichi Hartmann, and his version of “Words of Death” on 8/14. Given the Russian exile connection, the “Savant of Muscovy” might be such a case.
Per Ryan’s melodramatic profile, Morgensteirn had escaped from the clutches of the Bolsheviks and had recently set up shop in LA as a “psychographologist” informing parents about the proper vocations for their children based on handwriting analysis. The connection is interesting in light of his later role in the Martin case. It also prompts the question of why GHH eschewed cursive in his adult life. He must have learned it, and you show one example in BDA II where he slips in and out of cursive mid-sentence. I have often wondered if it was a conscious choice to avoid cursive, to avoid revealing himself.
-LW
LW:
Yes, my sense is that Dr. Elias Morgensteirn, “The Ferret of Europe” was part Sherlock Holmes and part “fortune teller” right out of a Ringling Brothers circus. Must have been a real character. I do believe he correctly identified and named George Hodel and likely Fred Sexton as the two young men who committed the Martin sisters’ kidnap/murders. And, I think he correctly identified their motive as a “copycat to the Leopold and Loeb kidnap/murder just three months before their double homicide. As far as GHH and handwriting. He would have been acutely aware of “The Ferret’s” claims to being able to read people by their HW and it could have been a reason for his disguising his own HW in all the crimes to follow it. Both a woman called and threatened Morgensteirn and a note was sent in, which we know was part of GHH’s later MO. Too bad we can’t obtain the Morgensteirn summary of “whodunit” but I’d be willing to bet he did name GHH, the cub reporter for The Record as one of the killers. It is beyond my understanding how GHH could escape arrest on this and then again on the Dr. Leonard Siever murder where I believe he was named again as the prime suspect in ’33.
This story.. your family’s story is… Let me say truth is stranger than fiction. And it can’t get any stranger than this. Keep fighting for you half sister, it’s what she deserves.
Steve!
Oh Steve!
Kristel, Rap’cha and I gather in the Sisterhood of the Sacred WombSpace to unite in sending you a cleansing, centering breath and powerful VIBRATIONS for Ancestral HEALING! Ancestral Healing is a traditional practice that HEALS the wounds of past generations. Ancestral Healing connects us to our forefathers and foreMothers to dispel the negative energy of past generations and replace it with purest LOVE! 💖 The message of Ancestral HEALING never grows old. It never dims! Never!
We pray in the New Year you come back to Whittier!!
Peace to you!
Peace to Brother Kel!
Peace to FaunaElizabeth!
Peace to powerful Dorero of the Sacred WombSpace!
Peace to noble Rima, earthly Guardian of Steve!
Peace always!
Yolie💎
Kristel💎💎
Rap’cha💎💎💎
I agree totally that your dad was the villain mentioned in the newspaper article. It’s a damn miracle or a testament to George’s finesse n gaul that he could be pretty much be named publicly in the dentist murder n not only skate but go on to live a long life of opulence n criminal sophistication. Hell from the article seems most of Pasadena knew it was George.
Were the powers that be in LA that inept or just that easily bought?with my mid Atlantic southern Baptist background It’s hard for me to even imagine that level of vice and open corruption could be real. It must have been like Disneyland for chomo’s,rapeo’s and gangsters. I wonder if anything was off limits as far as buying ones way out of jail? Any crime to awful?
What’s your thoughts on GHH being responsible for the Cleveland torso murders(Kingsbury run)? Has George been linked to Cleveland around that time? I like him for the Chicago lipstick killings also but not sure about opportunity though? Any verified links or proof he was in either Cleveland or Chicago.
Do you think your mom was the one who tried to warn the dentist? I’d say so., it seems your mom knew of your fathers violent side n that knowledge caused her man years of stress n untold anxiety. Knowing your mom as you did she also maintain a level of love? Adoration? Affection towards your father? Or were fear n anger the overriding emotion she carried for George after their separation n his departure from the country.
I didn’t plan on so many questions n if it’s to much my apologies. I’m currently rereading the early years part 2. As with all the books it’s a great read. Congratulations on putting together such an extensive investigations it wont be the same not having a new book to look forward to. Maybe a seperate book about Fred sexton?
I hope you n yours enjoyed a Merry Christmas n have a happy new year! Thanks again for such a great series. ✌️
Frank A:
I agree the article in the newspaper perfectly describes GHH in the Dr. Leonard Siever murder in 1933. And, yes, expect many of his friends knew his name as “the suspect.” Timewise, hard for me to conceive that he committed the Cleveland Torso murders, but too much evidence on the three Chicago Lipstick murders linking him to those crimes. Mom’s links to Dad were mainly from fear and terror of what he might do to her and us three boys after our births in late Thirties/early Forties. She knew he was capable of anything and took his secrets to the grave. Thanks for the kind words. If you haven’t yet, check out Black Dahlia Avenger IV print or the audiobook is totally awesome performance by Malcolm Hillgartner. His read is truly a tour de force. Happy New Year to you and yours.
Steve,
I firmly believe your sister in her allegations of your father and of Fauna’s father. The point you made that whether consenting or not, she was still raped. That man, and I emphasize MAN, had sex with a 15 year old girl. That in itself shows that he was not a good person. He was an adult and she was a child. Throw in the alcohol and it makes it worse. It is despicable that her granddaughters are praising a man that would do that just because their aunt said he was a good person. I have always felt sympathy for your sister because she has always been vilified. Hats off to you for continuing to defend her because she needs to have at least one person in her corner.
V. Murray:
Thanks, your kind words for Tamar are much appreciated.
Steve
I’m so disappointed to hear that Tamar’s granddaughters are so accepting of the man that raped their grandmother, and I find it unacceptable that they gloss over the age difference between the two amongst other details. It’s disheartening to see the granddaughters continue the cycle of invalidating Tamar’s experiences. I can’t imagine being repeatedly sexually abused as a child only to be considered a liar even after death by your own blood. I truly hope Tamar can find her own ‘closure’ in the after life. Thank you for defending her Steve. I am enjoying your books and am currently on BDA II.
Liz:
I totally agree that my grandnieces both are disrespecting my sister’s memory by opening arms to her rapist. Yes, he is their grandfather, but that does not alter the fact that he boozed up a fourteen-year-old and then raped the semi-conscious child. Thank you for your kind thoughts toward Tamar.
U said that u suspected your dad was victim incest
By who?
What do u mean his mom controlled by his mom?