Internut Naysayers Make False Claim “Author Never Contacted or Attempted to Contact LAPD Before Publishing “Black Dahlia Avenger”
August 7, 2024
Birch Bay, Washington
Several readers have informed me that my Black Dahlia Internut Naysayers complain that “Hodel conducted his Black Dahlia investigation in secret and never made any attempt to inform or request information from the LAPD or then assigned Black Dahlia Case investigator Brian Carr before publishing Black Dahlia Avenger book.”
As to conducting my investigation “in secret.” YES. All criminal investigations are conducted in secret. None of my more than three hundred homicide investigations were conducted “in public”. All were and always are-sub rosa. As to the second part of the statement, that is totally FALSE
For the record:
Author LAPD Contact No. 1
My first LAPD contact and inquiry occurred two years into my Dahlia investigation and a full year and a half prior to the publication of my Black Dahlia investigation.
As documented in Black Dahlia Avenger (Arcade 2003), I personally contacted the most senior Black Dahlia detective ever assigned the case. In July 2001, I conducted a telephonic interview with retired Detective III Kirk Mellecker. Kirk had been assigned and was the sole investigator in charge of the Black Dahlia investigation for over fifteen years (1975-1990). He alone had the key to the locked files at the downtown Robbery/Homicide Division. As reported in my original publication in that interview, Det. Mellecker confirmed he had familiarized himself with the files and indicated “nowhere in the LAPD was there ever any mention of the name Dr. George Hill Hodel.” “Neither did there exist any reports bearing his name indicating that he had ever been interviewed or mentioned either as a witness or a suspect.” (Subsequent to this 2001 interview, post revelations in 2003 and the discovery of the massive amount of documents and wire recorded transcripts naming George Hodel, found in the District Attorney’s Office Vault, Detective Mellecker confirmed in later interviews that none of these documents were ever known by LAPD or existed in the locked files.)
LAPD Det. Kirk Mellecker
LAPD Black Dahlia Case Investigator 1975-1990
(Longest assigned officer to the case in LAPD history.
Had sole custody of locked cabinets for fifteen years.)
Author LAPD Contact No. 2
Subsequent to my providing Head Deputy District Attorney Stephen Kay with my completed investigation in September 2001 and his five-month review, in July 2002, both Head DA Kay and I requested a formal meeting with LAPD brass and detectives from the Robbery/Homicide Division to present my findings. Crickets. No response.
Author LAPD Contact No. 3
In October 2002, we again renewed our request to meet and brief the LAPD. Again, no response.
Author LAPD Contact No.4
In January 2003, Head DDA Kay and I made our final request, advising LAPD that my book and investigation were set to be published in less than one month, on April 15, 2003. This underscored the fact that we believed “The Department” should have the facts prior to them becoming public. Still, there remained no response from the brass or from the Homicide Division.
Black Dahlia Avenger (Arcade 2003) was published on April 15, 2003, as scheduled and became a New York Times bestseller within weeks.
Due to the public notoriety and urged by his second in command, Deputy Chief Sharon Papa, the newly assigned chief, William Bratton, ordered that his detectives and high command schedule a briefing with me and Head DDA Steve Kay. We presented our findings in September 2003 at Parker Center Police Headquarters. (This meeting took place only on my/our fourth attempt to contact and meet with my former Department prior to the publication of my first book.)
At the conclusion of this September 2003 briefing with the brass and homicide detectives, then LAPD Chief of Detectives James McMurray ordered his homicide detectives in attendance (Det III Lambkin OIC Cold Case Unit and Det. Carr) “to go ahead and clear the Black Dahlia investigation based on Hodel’s and Kay’s presentation unless they could find any major holes in the case.” Further, he ordered Det. Carr to “go to the DA’s Office and obtain the LADA Hodel Secret Black Dahlia Files that were missing and non-existent and had been removed from the LAPD locked files many decades prior.” (The Cold Case Unit ignored Chief McMurray’s orders to clear the case, claiming they were “too busy” and knowing he was retiring in several months. That order remains ignored to this date, some twenty years later.)
Further, Detective Carr and his superior, Detective Lambkin, ignored their Chief’s order to obtain the Hodel DA Files for another six months and did not obtain a copy of the reports or confession transcripts until well into 2004.
The following excerpted pages are from Black Dahlia Avenger (HarperCollins paperback 2004)
L
Thanks for setting the record straight on these issues. It still upsets me greatly that Bratton once again shut the door on reaching the final solution on this gruesome crime and clearing the case as solved. Their are a few items in LAPD’s possession, letters, stamps, etc that could still reveal possible DNA if tested.
Steve, with all the evidence presented by you and the LAPD itself over the years, the George Hodel murders reek of a huge coverup! The same (IMO) as was done in the JFK assassination😱! Both coverups involved very high ranking police department , legal, and U. S. government officials. It has and will be spoken of for many years to come! The one thing that cannot be taken away is the factual truth. Its out there for all to read here, believe or scoff at…… and that makes a lot of people very uncomfortable and angry😡!! That discomfort, and palpable anger may finally burst forth with angered truths that will finally not be disputed! The truth will not be disputed👍! Yes, George Hodel was very bright, very skillful at what he did and too many “gut instincts” were squelched for fear of recrimination, but truth will out itself! As I always told my children, grandchildren……trust your gut instinct……its there to protect and guide you! And what you have written, exposed & documented, Steve, will be there for your children, grandchildren and many future Hodels to read & digest…….not a wasted effort for sure!! Hang in there, Steve…..its not over, nor forgotten…..not by a long shot! You’ve done a helluva good job!💪 Stay well and happy! 😎🌵
Patricia O.
Again thanks for so many kind comments through the years.
Yes, hopefully, we won’t ever see the book burning. So there’s that.
xo steve
I think your investigation outshines the LAPD. Keep it up! You gotta be so tired of defending your work, when there are so many poorly researched books out there
Steve D:
Thanks. I don’t mind correcting misunderstandings but it’s the outright intentional lies that I find so petty. To falsely accuse an innocent man is bad enough, but then to keep knowingly trying to maintain that wrongful accusation out of petty ego is a whole different sin.
Hi Steve,
I could not help but laugh when I read those baseless allegations. What planet do these people live on? And have any of them read even one of your books?
Have a super rest of the day and stay cool.
Ron:
Thanks. Will do. Beautiful weather up here in the NW corner of the U.S.
Best to you and yours.
Steve!
Steve!
Steve!
Kristel, Rap’cha, Onyxx and I gather in the Sisterhood of the Sacred WombSpace to send you a cleansing, centering breath and powerful VIBRATIONS for ancestral HEALING! Ancestral HEALING is the ancient practice that connects us to our forefathers and foreMOTHERS to dispel the negative energies of past generations and replace them with purest LOVE 💖💖💖 Yes, LOVE💖💖💖 Do you feel the serenity of ancestral HEALING? The tranquility of ancestral LOVE💖 So powerful and so pure! Your forefathers and foreMOTHERS LOVE YOU! 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
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!🙏🏻🙏🏼🙏🏽🙏🏾y
We are praying that you will come to Whittier so we can show you the power of ancestral HEALING.
Yolie 💎
Kristel 💎 (Boogers the Rescue cat had a small relapse. Please pray for her).
Rap’cha 💎
Onyxx💎
Steve,
I just finished the book Bombshell by Mike Rothmiller and it was quite an eye opener. Even though I knew LAPD kept ‘secret files’ on the rich and famous, I was not aware of just how pervasive this practice was (and frankly, probably still is, thus the state of our elected officials.)
I’m sure you’re probably familiar with the book and may even know Rothmiller. He did mention that there was a large quantity of evidence files on the Black Dahlia case that were kept in a locked warehouse by the Organized Crime Intelligence Division, along with thousands of other ‘blackmail’ files. Rothmiller really called out former chief Daryl Gates, among others, for what is appalling criminal behavior. Not to mention naming the murderer of Marilyn Monroe which is a ‘bombshell’ in itself.
Any chance you read the book? Were you able to access those secret Dahlia files? I’m curious as to your opinion of the book. As always, I enjoy catching up with what you’ve been up to.
Regards,
Kimberly
Hi Kimberly.
Thanks for the kind words. No, I haven’t read Rothmiller’s book, but will definitely order and read it.
Yes, as I document in BDA and The Early Years Parts I and II lot of corruption in the 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s. As you say, likely still going on hopefully to a much lesser degree.
Best,
STeve
Steve:
That reminds me of something I read recently about a fellow by the name of Clifford Clifton who tried to blow the whistle on police corruption in the 1930s and got bombed by the LAPD in return:
https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/departures/clifford-clinton-the-man-and-his-cafeteria-shaped-food-and-politics-in-l-a
Best regards,
LW
Steve, I hope you let us know if you read Rothmiller’s book and what you think. It really gets into the weeds of LAPD politics and their secrets kept, etc., not to mention the blatant illegal behavior. The craven political maneuvering by the LAPD brass is pretty outrageous, even by today’s standards. He exposed the shocking behavior of the Kennedys with hard evidence, much to his own dismay.
Rothmiller believes there are still some of the files hidden away. Maybe the Dahlia files are still around somewhere, who knows? It’s quite a book.