The Historical Record-My Black Dahlia–Zodiac Research and the Materials Provided to Alex Baber (2022–2023)

 June 26, 2026
Birch Bay, Washington

The June 21, 2026, publication of The Sunday Times article describing Alex Baber’s AI-assisted investigation into the Zodiac Killer has prompted me to document the chronology of my interactions with Mr. Baber and the research materials I provided to him during 2022–2023.

My purpose is to preserve an accurate historical record of the provenance of my published research, investigative findings, and documentary evidence that formed part of the materials I supplied to Mr. Baber, for his subsequent AI analysis.

The historical record begins many years before our first correspondence. Over more than two decades, through a series of published books beginning with Black Dahlia Avenger and continuing through Most Evil (2009) and Most Evil II (2015), I documented my investigation linking Dr. George Hodel to the Black Dahlia murder, the related Los Angeles Lone Woman Murders, the Chicago Lipstick Murders, the Manila murder of Lucila Lalu, and ultimately to the Zodiac crimes.

What follows is a documented chronology of that research, the materials provided at Mr. Baber’s request, and the subsequent correspondence between us.

The Published Research

My investigation into Dr. George Hodel began in the late 1990s and ultimately resulted in nine published books examining the Black Dahlia murder and related serial crimes.

In Most Evil: Avenger, Zodiac and the Further Serial Murders of Dr. George Hill Hodel  (Dutton, 2009), I presented evidence linking Dr. George Hodel not only to the murder of Elizabeth Short, the Black Dahlia, but also to the related Los Angeles Lone Woman Murders, the 1945–46 Chicago Lipstick Murders—expanding upon suspicions originally developed by LAPD investigators—and the 1967 surgical bisection murder of Lucila Lalu in Manila, Philippines, and the posing of her nude body parts on a vacant lot, committed only a short distance (one mile)  from Dr. Hodel’s residence.

I further proposed that the cumulative evidence warranted investigating Dr. George Hodel as a possible Zodiac suspect. At that time, however, I did not claim the Zodiac case had been solved. Instead, I urged law enforcement to obtain a confirmed Zodiac DNA profile and compare it with Dr. Hodel’s DNA, a profile I had previously supplied, so that he could either be included or excluded.

Six years later, after additional documentary discoveries, forensic analysis, and what I believed to be the successful solution of a previously unsolved Zodiac cipher, I published Most Evil II: Zodiac Case Solved  (Rare Bird Books 2015). In that volume I explained why I concluded that the cumulative evidence identified Dr. George Hodel as both the Black Dahlia murderer and the Zodiac Killer.

The investigative framework and documented relationships described above were published and publicly presented between 2009 and 2015—thirteen years before Alex Baber first contacted me. Those publications were commercially available to the public for years before Mr. Baber requested copies directly from me in 2022, along with his requesting copies of my investigative files, and supporting documentation.

Alex Baber’s Initial Contact

In June 2022, Alex Baber contacted me, introducing himself as President of Cold Case Consultants. He explained that he had access to what he described as a “super computer” capable of analyzing large bodies of investigative material. He believed that incorporating my decades of published research and investigative files into his system could assist in advancing my analysis of both the Black Dahlia and Zodiac investigations.

At Mr. Baber’s request, I supplied him with copies of all nine of my published crime investigation books, together with a substantial archive of investigative materials accumulated during more than three decades of research. These materials included Los Angeles Police Department reports, Los Angeles District Attorney files, crime scene reports, witness interviews, photographs, timelines, research papers, and numerous historical documents.

During 2022 and 2023, Mr. Baber and I exchanged well over one hundred emails discussing these investigations, my published findings, and the supporting documentary evidence. Throughout that correspondence he repeatedly expressed respect for my work, requested additional investigative materials, and discussed how his team was incorporating those materials into its ongoing analysis.

Excerpted Email verbatim quotes by Alex Baber:

Contemporaneous Email Excerpt
June 20, 2022 — 7:05 a.m.
Subject: Re: San Diego SO and San Diego PD

“Do you have the interviews of witnesses Hanson, Toth, Martin, Graham, Margolis, Robinson, Vera & Dorothy French, etc., which are referenced in Jemison’s grand jury overview?”

February 28, 2023

“I’ve seen nothing that would lead me to believe the cases you’ve identified during the 20’s & 30’s were not his (George Hodel’s) work.”

The Margolis/Merrill Lead

One aspect of the current public discussion deserves clarification.

Among the official investigative files I supplied to Mr. Baber were approximately twenty individuals investigated during the original Black Dahlia investigation by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office and LAPD. Those files included Marvin Margolis, later known as Marvin Merrill as well as his roommate, Bill Robinson. 

The same investigative records documented that Margolis had been investigated and ultimately eliminated as a viable suspect by authorities around 1950.

Accordingly, the Margolis/Merrill lead was not a newly discovered suspect. His name, together with the official investigative records concerning him, formed part of the historical materials I supplied to Mr. Baber beginning in 2022.

Whether subsequent investigators reach different conclusions after reviewing those same historical records is a matter for their own analysis. My purpose here is to document the provenance of the materials that were provided.

Artificial Intelligence and Historical Evidence

Artificial intelligence has extraordinary potential as an investigative tool. It can recognize patterns across enormous quantities of information far more rapidly than any individual researcher.

However, AI does not originate historical evidence.

Before artificial intelligence can analyze documents, someone must first locate, collect, authenticate, preserve, organize, and interpret those materials. AI analyzes evidence; it does not create the provenance of that evidence.

For that reason, I believe the chronology of this research—and the origin of the materials supplied for AI analysis—should be accurately preserved as part of the historical record.

The research files, supporting documentation, and correspondence referenced in this article remain preserved within my investigative archive. Additional materials may be published in the future as part of the continuing historical record.

Historical records matter. As artificial intelligence becomes an increasingly important investigative tool, I believe it is equally important to preserve an accurate record of the research, publications, and documentary evidence upon which that analysis is based. That is the purpose of this article.

Det. III Steve Hodel
LAPD Homicide Detective (#11394)
Hollywood Homicide Division (Ret.)

Supporting Documentation

To assist researchers, journalists, and interested readers, I have included the following supporting materials with this article:

Appendix A

Timeline of My Published Black Dahlia–Zodiac Research

                                 Fig. 1                                                                               Fig.2

Figure 1. Most Evil: Avenger, Zodiac, and the Further Serial Murders of Dr. George Hill Hodel   (Dutton 2009) first presented the Black Dahlia–Zodiac investigative framework and proposed that George Hodel be investigated as a Zodiac suspect.

Figure 2. Most Evil II: Zodiac Case Solved  (Rare Bird Books 2015) expanded that investigation with additional linkage and presented my conclusion identifying George Hodel as the Zodiac Killer.

2003 — Black Dahlia Avenger: A Genius for Murder
Published by Arcade and HarperCollins. Introduced my investigation identifying Dr. George Hill Hodel as the principal suspect in the 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short, the Black Dahlia and related LA Lone Woman serial crimes from the 1940s.

2009 — Most Evil: Avenger, Zodiac, and the Further Serial Murders of Dr. George Hill Hodel (Dutton)
Expanded the investigation beyond the Black Dahlia murder to include the Los Angeles Lone Woman Murders, the three 1945–46 Chicago Lipstick Murders, and the 1967 surgical bisection murder of Lucila Lalu in Manila, Philippines. Also proposed that Dr. George Hodel should be investigated as a possible Zodiac suspect and urged law enforcement to compare a confirmed Zodiac DNA profile with Dr. Hodel’s DNA, which I had previously supplied.

2015 — Most Evil II: Zodiac Case Solved
Presented additional documentary discoveries, forensic analysis, and the decryption of a previously unsolved Zodiac cipher. Explained why I concluded that the cumulative evidence identified Dr. George Hill Hodel as both the Black Dahlia murderer and the Zodiac Killer.

June 2022 — Alex Baber contacted me seeking access to my published books, investigative files, and research archive for analysis by his AI system.

2022–2023 — Mr. Baber and I exchanged well over one hundred research emails. The correspondence documents requests for additional investigative files, discussions regarding Dr. George Hodel, references to witnesses including Marvin Margolis, and Bill Robinson.

June 2026 — Public media coverage of Mr. Baber’s AI-assisted investigation prompts this article documenting the chronology and provenance of the research materials provided during 2022–2023.

Appendix B: Summary of the books, investigative files, and documentary materials provided to Mr. Baber.

LAPD and District Attorney Files, multiple witness transcripts including Marvin Margolis, crime scene photographs, from all related suspected serial crimes related to California, Chicago, Texas, and Manila, Philippines.

Appendix C: Reference materials relating to the June 21, 2026, media coverage.

PDF file on Sunday Times 6/21/2026, Sunday article by Josie Ensor: “An Ai Sleuth claims to have finally unmasked the Zodiac Murder, one of America’s Most Notorious Serial Killers  

Alex Baber Sunday Times  June 21 2026 by reporter Josie Ensor