BLACK DAHLIA–ZODIAC: SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

April 12, 2026
Birch Bay, Washington

In recent weeks there has been renewed public discussion, including work associated with the Connelly team, suggesting that the Black Dahlia murder and the Zodiac killings may have been committed by the same offender.

That idea is not new—and it is not recent.

It is one I first placed into the published record more than fifteen years ago—at a time when it was widely rejected, particularly within the Zodiac research community.

In 2009, in Most Evil: Avenger, Zodiac, and the Further Serial Murders of Dr. George Hill Hodel (Dutton), I introduced the possibility that the same individual responsible for the Black Dahlia murder may also have been responsible for the later Zodiac crimes.

At that time, I did not claim a definitive identification. Based on the evidence then available, I raised the question and called for DNA testing as the appropriate means to confirm or refute the hypothesis.

In 2015, following additional years of investigation—including further cipher work and the identification of more than thirty consistent crime signatures and M.O. patterns—I published Most Evil II (Rare Bird Books), in which I concluded that the same individual, Dr. George Hill Hodel, was responsible for both crime series.

This was not a conclusion reached at the outset, but one developed over time through the accumulation and analysis of evidence.

In 2003, my investigation into Dr. George Hill Hodel as the individual responsible for the 1947 Black Dahlia murder was formally reviewed by then–Los Angeles County Head Deputy District Attorney Stephen Kay.

Following his review of the case materials, Mr. Kay publicly stated that, based on the evidence presented, and assuming the availability of the witnesses, he would have filed two counts of murder—those of Elizabeth Short and Jeanne French—and was confident he would obtain convictions before a jury.

That assessment was made prior to the additional evidence and analysis developed in the years that followed.

The linkage between these crimes did not begin with theory, but with a shift in the suspect profile.

Eyewitness descriptions and composite sketches in the Zodiac case—most notably the observations of responding officer Donald Fouke—identified a suspect in his mid-forties or older. That description aligned with an individual who had the age, background, and behavioral characteristics consistent with the earlier Los Angeles crimes.

From that point forward, the investigation focused on whether the same offender could be identified through shared patterns—crime signatures, victimology, staging, and communication behavior—across jurisdictions and over time.

The result was the identification of a consistent pattern linking the Black Dahlia murder, the Los Angeles Lone Woman murders, and the Zodiac killings.

In 2022, I was contacted by Alex Baber, identifying himself as President of Cold Case Consultants of America, who expressed interest in my investigation and the potential linkage between the Black Dahlia Avenger and the Zodiac Killer.

In that initial contact and subsequent correspondence, Mr. Baber spoke favorably of my work and indicated that he wished to review the underlying material in detail. He also referenced the use of advanced computer analysis as part of his efforts to further examine the case.

Between 2022 and 2023, this developed into an extended exchange totaling more than one hundred emails. During that time, I provided access to my published works, case files, and supporting documentation, including investigative materials obtained through the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office. These materials were reviewed and discussed in detail over the course of that exchange.

That correspondence forms part of the documented record and reflects the scope of information available prior to the development of subsequent public claims.

I appreciate that members of the Connelly team, including former LAPD cold case detectives Mitzi Roberts and Rick Jackson, have recognized that the Black Dahlia and Zodiac crimes may have been committed by the same individual.

Prior to my 2009 publication, the possibility that these crimes were connected had not been presented in the public record.
That linkage originated with my investigation.

The question now is not simply whether these crimes are connected, but the identity of the individual responsible.

Any proposed solution must account for the full body of evidence across all related cases—eyewitness descriptions, timelines, forensic indicators, and the consistent behavioral patterns reflected in the crimes themselves.

These findings have been part of the published record for more than fifteen years.

They remain subject to the same standard that applies to any criminal investigation: the evidence must lead to the suspect, not the other way around.