February 4, 2021
Los Angeles, California
(58-years ago today I entered the LAPD Police Academy)

BREAKING NEWS STORY!

SERIAL KILLER RODNEY ALCALA’S FIRST KNOWN VICTIM, IN HER OWN WORDS

“IN MY OWN WORDS” MORGAN ROWAN’S FIRST PUBLIC DISCLOSURE CHILINGLY DETAILS SERIAL KILLER RODNEY ALCALA’S BRUTAL ASSAULT AND RAPE OF HER WHEN SHE WAS JUST SIXTEEN

Excerpt from Morgan Rowan’s “In My Own Words”

“I share this story today as a wake-up call to listen to your instincts.  I write this here to share with your daughters and granddaughters…not in this graphic detail but paraphrased in your own style about the dangers of ignoring your own instincts, bowing to peer pressure, and not sharing important events with your parents or loved ones. I write this to never forget the lessons learned. But mostly, I write this to remind you that we all carry our scars and our history….be good to each other…”

This revelation from Morgan Rowan came to me several days ago, when the following email landed in my IN BOX:

It read:

Hello Steve. I thought you might be interested in my story. I have kept it secret most of my life because I did not want to cause my parents pain and blamed myself for it. Six weeks before Rodney Alcala attacked Tali Shapiro, he violently raped me in the same house on De Longpre. I would surely be dead, but like her …. I was rescued. My friend broke the window of his house. Rod was not a stranger to me. He was a constant figure in those days, and some incidents happened before this event also. I have the whole story written out if you would like it.
Morgan

My immediate response to Morgan was:

 Hi Morgan:
So sorry for your victimization.
Yes, I would very much appreciate reading it.
Can you send it via email as a scanned file?  Or snail mail or?
How old were you at the time?  Teen? Adult?
Thanks,
Steve Hodel

What followed were email exchanges with Morgan to clarify locations, timing and make sure I correctly understood all the facts as she recalled them.

For those readers who are not familiar with the crimes of  Rodney James Alcala (a convicted rapist/serial killer currently on California’s Death Row) and my direct connection to the case (which dates back to 1969 as a LAPD rookie detective assigned to Hollywood Division), I will provide you with some background.

BACKGROUND

For the past fifty-three years, I and many others have believed my investigation of the September, 1968, Hollywood Rape/Attempt Murder of the then eight year old,  Tali Shapiro was Rodney Alcala’s “first victim.” According to Morgan Rowan’s harrowing story, I was wrong!

For the past 53-years, Tali Shapiro was believed, until now, to be Alcala’s first victim.

Detective Steve Hodel circa 1969

Rodney Alcala on FBI Most Wanted List 1969

Alcala managed to escape, change his identity and and remain free until 1971 when he was apprehended in New Hampshire while working at a girl’s summer camp. I flew back arrested him and extradited him back to California. He was prosecuted and received a sentence of “1 to 99 years”, but was released after serving only two years in prison.  Deemed by the prison psychologist as “all well,” Alcala would then go on to rape and murder numerous other women and children. His crimes, some of the most sadistic torture murders ever committed in the United States, now stand at eight serial murders and counting.

Below is Morgan Rowan’s never before disclosed, heart wrenching first person account of her July, 1968 assault and forcible rape at the hands of RODNEY JAMES ALCALA. 

ALCALA, one of our nation’s most sadistic serial killers, is currently on Death Row, awaiting execution for eight murders that were committed after his attack on sixteen-year-old, Morgan who with her current disclosure, becomes Alcala’s first known and identified crime.

(The heart-wrenching story of Morgan’s victimization at the hands of Rodney James Alcala and how she survived the attack is told in full detail.

IN MY OWN WORDS
by
Morgan Rowan

Click on below link to read or download Morgan Rowan’s shocking full disclosure of what now historically becomes serial killer/rapist Rodney James Alcala’s FIRST IDENTIFIED CRIME. PDF

IN MY OWN WORDS FEB 3Morgan Rowan FNL FEB 4

The post BREAKING NEWS- New Victim Disclosure In Rodney Alcala Investigation: July 1968 Assault of Hollywood Teen Establishes Her As Earliest Known Victim appeared first on Steve Hodel.

February 8, 2021
Los Angeles, California

Here’s a one hour interview I did last year with Mike Di Stasio “The Hollywood Kid” who lives in and interviewed me from victim Elizabeth Short’s home town of Medford, Massachusetts. (Just recently saw it on YouTube. See link below.)

Reel Talk with The Hollywood Kid- Mike Di Stasio

BLACK DAHLIA MURDER SOLVED 

The post Mike Di Stasio “The Hollywood Kid” Interviews Steve Hodel on the Black Dahlia Investigation from Elizabeth Short’s hometown of Medford, MA. appeared first on Steve Hodel.

The Black Dahlia may have visited the Cecil Hotel bar at some point in her life, but there’s no evidence to support the theory that she was there on the night of her disappearance. The rumor derives from a police report by LAPD officer Myril McBride, who noted that she encountered a young woman who left a bar on Main Street in downtown Los Angeles and claimed that someone had threatened to kill her. When McBride saw photos of Short, she reportedly didn’t identify her as the woman she spoke with on the evening in question. It’s also worth noting that McBride didn’t specifically reference the Cecil Hotel bar in her report — still, the legend has become that Short did indeed visit the infamous location before disappearing. The woman that McBride spoke with also stated the she planned to meet with her parents that evening, which contrasts with the fact that The Black Dahlia had been estranged from her family.

As for the Lam case, there are indeed similarities to the final days of The Black Dahlia. Both women visited San Diego in the days before their deaths, and both women spent time in a seedy Los Angeles neighborhood. In addition, both corpses were naked when they were discovered. Beyond that, there’s no physical evidence that connects Lam and Short, aside from a specific geographic location in Southern California. Of course, they’ll be forever linked by Cecil Hotel mythology, though, certainly after the release of Crime Scene.

Here are my comments on journalist Q.V. Hough’s article which I posted to the SCREENRANT website.

Well, glad to see the corrections made which are for the most part accurate. Good on you!

A couple of minor points and corrections to your piece.

You are correct that LAPD officer Meryl McBride was the last person to see the victim, Elizabeth Short on her beat in DTLA. I conducted an in-person interview of officer Meryl McBride (long retired from LAPD) at her home in 2002, a year prior to the publication of my book, Black Dahlia Avenger: A Genius for Murder (Arcade 2003).

Officer McBride saw her TWICE in the afternoon hours of Jan 14, 1947. The first time was when the victim came running from an unnamed bar near 5th and Main St.

She ran up to McBride told her “a man, a former suitor has threatened to kill me, he’s in the bar.”

Both victim Elizabeth Short and the officer returned to the unnamed bar and the man was gone, but McBride informed me that she recovered Short’s purse for her and they separated.

Officer McBride went on to inform me she saw Elizabeth Short a few hours later coming out of a second bar near 5th and Main with “two men and a woman”. *

McBride stopped her and asked, “Are you OK?” Elizabeth Short replied, “Yes, I’m going to meet my dad at the Greyhound Bus Station up the street.”

The officer continued on her foot beat.

McBride informed me that “there was NO DOUBT that the young woman she spoke to was in fact Elizabeth “Black Dahlia” Short.

She added, “The Brass on LAPD had me change my story to ‘I think it was her, or it looked like her’ because they didn’t want the public to think that LAPD was responsible in part for her death as she was found on the following morning in the vacant lot.”

The Cecil Hotel was at 6th and Main, but McBride never indicated that was the location and there were numerous bars on 5th Street back in 1947.

Elizabeth Short was tortured and slain just six or seven hours after speaking with Officer McBride.

The location of Short’s murder has been established as being at the Sowden House, 5121 Franklin Ave, Hollywood, my father’s then private residence. (Cement bags from the residence found and used to transport the bisected body parts to the crime scene along with other evidence establish this fact.) Her body posed at 4800 Block South Norton Ave on a vacant lot at about 6AM, just thirteen hours after her conversation with officer McBride when she was accompanied by “two men and a woman.”

• We have documented police reports that indicated that Elizabeth Short stayed several nights at the Figueroa Hotel on Sept 20-21, 1946 which is located at 9^th and Figueroa St. (Approx. nine city blocks from 5^th and Main St.)

Det. III Steve Hodel, LAPD Hollywood Homicide (ret.)

Additional Investigation:  

In addition to thirteen other witness identifications of Short’s movements during her supposed “Missing Week” there is additional  documentation that Elizabeth Short was seen at two South Main Street bars during her fictional “Missing Week.”

Elizabeth “Black Dahlia” Short was seen in two separate Main Street bars two days prior to her contact with Officer McBride on January 14th. (These could likely be the same bars that McBride saw her at two days later.)

They were:

1. The Dugout Bar, 634 S. Main St. on Jan 12, 1947 at 3pm, seen by the bartender, C.G. Williams, who knew her well on sight.

2. The Gay Way bar, 514 S. Main St. on Jan 12, 1947 seen by, Miss Betty Blake, a dancer at the bar, knew her and had seen her in at bar in the afternoon hours.Fifteenth Witness to “No Missing Week” Dancer, Betty Blake.

The post Los Angeles Cecil Hotel Four-Part Miniseries Mix and Serve Cocktail Adds More Myth and Lore To Black Dahlia Legend appeared first on Steve Hodel.

February 16. 2021
Los Angeles, California

Our friends “across the pond” will be presenting an interview I did with host Alexandria Tan as a follow-up to their November 2020 production of “Sherlock Holmes in The Black Dahlia.” It will be streaming on all platforms on 20TH FEB 2021. I will present a link when it goes live on that date.

Hosted by Alexandria Tan

The post British Writer/Director Scott McQuaid’s Pop Up Theatre Presents “BEHIND THE DAHLIA” an Interview with Steve Hodel appeared first on Steve Hodel.

February 20, 2021
Los Angeles, California

Here is the eighteen minute interview review BEHIND THE BLACK DAHLIA I did with Pop Up Theatre host, Alexandria Tan.
CLICK HERE

  
Steve and George Hodel       Host Alexandria Tan

The post BEHIND THE BLACK DAHLIA: Host Alexandria Tan Interviews LAPD Detective III Steve Hodel (ret.) on Crime Investigation appeared first on Steve Hodel.

February 21, 2021
Los Angeles, California

A recent query was made asking about LADA Investigator Walter Morgan’s role in the Black Dahlia investigation. Below is a PDF Post I did way back in September, 2007 “DA Investigator Walter Morgan, The Black Dahlia’s Last Coyote dies at 92.”

I was fortunate enough to be able to locate and interview Walter during my original investigation and his information played a critical role in help solving the case. Below photo shows him being interviewed by Erin Moriarty in 2004 in a Producer David Browning 48 HOURS production, “Black Dahlia Confidential.”

Read his extensive bio and role in the below attached PDF, a tribute to his life and passing on Sept 8, 2007.

CLICK BELOW LINK

Walter Morgan BIO and Role in Black Dahlia Investigation

WALTER MORGAN
1915-2007

“48 Hours” clip with Head DDA Steve Kay and Walter Morgan (5 min)

The post LA District Attorney Investigator Walter Morgan Redux: His Role in the 1947 Black Dahlia Investigation appeared first on Steve Hodel.

February 27, 2021
Los Angeles, California

Madison Wade ABC News Anchor Sacramento

Black Dahlia and Zodiac Same Person? (4 min video)
Click Below to Play

Madison Wade’s Facebook with further video commentary:

Click Below for Madison’s Facebook

Madison Wade Facebook commentary on Zodiac

Artist Neal Adams 1974 composite drawing of Zodiac for cover of “Great Crimes of San Francisco” based on actual police and witness descriptions.

SFPD, Barros and Adams “Zodiac” three separate composites all based on witness descriptions

The post ABC News 10 Sacramento “Is The Black Dahlia Murderer and Zodiac Killer the Same Person?” appeared first on Steve Hodel.

February 28, 2021
Los Angeles, California

“Jack Smith writes like your father would write
if he could, like your brother would write if he
could, like your neighbor would write if he
could. He is wise, he is witty, he is heartwarming.
We need him, because he is us.”
-Ray Bradbury

Let’s set the record straight in another of the dozens of  myths and false statements surrounding the investigation of one of LA’s most infamous murders; that of Elizabeth Short, known to the world as “The Black Dahlia.”

Legend has it that newspaper reporter, Bevo Means discovered the name. FALSE.

In truth, it was a young Jack Smith, in 1947, then, a rewrite reporter for the MIRROR newspaper, one of LA’s four major newspapers. Smith would in 1953 join the Los Angeles Times, and in the following decades, become much beloved and our city’s leading humorist/journalist/ with a daily column that reported on all things LA.

But, let’s let Jack tell it in his own words as he wrote it in his book, Jack Smith’s L.A.,  Chapter 15, The Black Dahlia, published back in 1980.

Jack Smith’s L.A. (McGraw-Hill 1980)

The Truth on the naming of the “Black Dahlia”
excerpted as told by Jack Smith in his book
“JACK SMITH’S L.A.” (McGraw-Hill 1980)

And below is the full three page Chapter for your enjoyment:

The post LA Columnist Jack Smith and Myth Busting The False Claim that Reporter Bevo Means was The First to Name Victim Elizabeth Short, “THE BLACK DAHLIA.” appeared first on Steve Hodel.

July 11, 2021
Los Angeles

William Heirens: His Day In Court, (Bonus Books 1991), written by Dolores Kennedy is the seminal book presenting a great deal of exculpatory  evidence and proofs supporting the actual innocence and  wrongful imprisonment   of William Heirens, (arrested in 1946 at age 17, and known to the public as  “The Chicago Lipstick Killer.”)

Based on Dolores’s investigation and her decades of work to prove Heiren’s innocent, in 2004 I began my own separate investigation which ultimately led to my own additional discoveries of new evidence which I believe connected and identified the real killer as my father, Dr. George Hill Hodel.  (See updated reportage in Black Dahlia Avenger and the three Chicago Lipstick Murders chapters in Most Evil I.)

It was not until July 2021, (just a few weeks past) that I became aware of another book written on the Bill Heirens arrest, which supported both my and Dolores claims that Bill Heirens was in fact innocent of all three “Lipstick Murders.”

The book, CONFESS OR DIE, (Minerva Press London, 1999)  was written by author Lauri E. Kallio and much to my amazement had remained unknown to me for the past seventeen years. The book published some eight-years after Dolores Kennedy’s.

How did author Kallio come to write about the Heirens investigation? Here is an excerpt from the Foreward of the book:

…
“When I initially met with Dolores Kennedy to outline the work I had done on the confessions and to get benefit of her more extensive knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the three murders, she told me that she was putting together a team to investigate whether or not Bill Heirens could actually have done the three murders to which he confessed. She asked me if I would be willing to be the confession analyst on the team and I agreed.”

In the foreword author, Kallio goes on to name the additional Heirens Defense Team members and the role each played in attempting to get to the truth of Heirens guilt or innocence. Those individuals were:

Jeb Stone, Chicago attorney who led the Heirens Defense Team.
Dolores Kennedy, journalist and Heirens victim advocate
Patricia Vader-Former director of the Illinois Coalition Against the Death Penalty.
Elizabeth Biestek, Handwriting expert.
Art O’Donnell, attorney, legal expert.
Steven R. Schachte, Fingerprint Identification Expert
Ed McManus, a former journalist with  The Chicago Tribune, media relations.

Laurie Kallio’s CONFESS OR DIE presents the defense team’s forensic and factual findings all of which point to the exoneration of teenager William Heirens as the “Chicago Lipstick Killer.”

I will not attempt to present all of the evidence in this blog and would recommend my readers obtain a copy of the book, if available? It appears to be out-of-print and may be difficult to locate.

The book’s focus is mainly on the many inconsistencies in Heiren’s “confession” showing that his statements were vague and in most instances completely contradicted the actual known facts. He simply did not know the answers and it becomes apparent that the questioners had to “fill in the blanks” and have him respond to “yes” or “no” questions. Despite the aid from detectives, much of what Heirens “confessed” to totally contradicted the known facts of the three separate murders.

Of particular interest to me was the author’s reporting of the Lipstick Killer in the other two murders (Ross and Brown) as described by eye-witnesses who saw him leaving the crime scenes.

In both of those separate 1945 murders, the suspect is described similarly as, “A Male 35-40, dark complexion, well dressed.”  (Heirens, age seventeen, could not be mistaken for a man twice his age.)

In 1945 George Hodel fit the description perfectly and was:  Male 37 years, dark complexion always well dressed.

Below are a few diagrams and original press articles from author Lauri Kallio’s excellent book:

 (Chicago Coroner later confirmed had to have been skilled surgeon)

The daughter of victim Josephine Ross does not believe Heiren’s murdered her mother. 

The post Author Lauri Kallio’s book, “Confess or Die” Provides Additional Evidence That Alleged “Chicago Lipstick Killer” Teenager William Heirens Who Served 66 Years and Died In Prison Was Innocent and Wrongfully Convicted appeared first on Steve Hodel.

July 24, 2021
Los Angeles

Finally, some good news this morning.

One of the world’s most monstrous serial killers died in a hospital near Corcoran State  Prison this morning.

Rodney Alcala, known as “The Dating Game Killer” was awaiting execution for multiple serial murders across the nation.

Just knowing he is no longer breathing brings a huge sigh of relief to me.

As many of my readers know, I arrested Alcala some fifty years ago in 1971 for the kidnap/attempted murder/rape of little 8-year-old, Tali Shapiro.

The California Courts had an  “indeterminate sentencing” back then and though he was sentenced to 1-99 years, incredibly, he served just two years and change, and the prison psychiatrist deemed him “all well now” and he was released.

Alcala went on to rape and murder at least a dozen more women and children and was ultimately convicted and sent to prison in the late Seventies and after numerous retrials, he finally received the Death Penalty.

Below related photos are from my arrest back in 1971:

My Hollywood kidnap/att.murder victim Tali Shapiro circa 1968      Tali testifying in court at trial

Rodney James Alcala then and now

I was able to get Alcala on the FBI “Most Wanted” in 1971 and after his arrest at a girl’s camp in New Hampshire, I flew back and extradited him to California on our Hollywood child kidnap/att. murder warrant.

Steve Hodel Hollywood patrol and as a rookie detective late Sixties/Early Seventies

CBS Video Interview on my Hollywood Crime (4 minutes)

Some of his murder victims:

Below is a Rolling Stones article out today announcing his death this morning at the prison hospital

Rodney Alcala, ‘The Dating Game Killer,’ Dead at 77

The post Justice Slow In Coming: Fifty-Years After My Arrest of Rodney James Alcala “The Dating Game Killer” Dies In Prison at Age 77 appeared first on Steve Hodel.

July 28, 2021
Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip

I am just back from an evening as the guest speaker on An Evening of Noir-The Black Dahlia at the very impressive and brand new Britely Social Club on the Sunset Strip. (The new building was erected on the grounds of the old “House of Blues” property, 8430 Sunset Blvd.)

Rising phoenix-like out of the ashes of HofB comes                                                                             PENDRY West Hollywood and its Britely Social Club.

I met with members in the club’s stylish music venue where I presented a sixty-minute PowerPoint on my investigation and the solving of the 1947 Black Dahlia and related Lone Woman Murders. My talk was followed by a half-hour of stimulating Q&A from club members. (As always, my favorite part of the presentations.)

Annalise Ghiz, Britely Social Club Program Director

The evening of noir was coordinated and hosted by the beautiful and highly efficient-Annalise Ghiz, the club’s, Director of Programming.

 
                                            Britely Social Club members and Steve

Following the talk the Britely Social Club invited me and my guest, David Browning, a long-time friend and recently retired journalist and writer/Senior Producer at CBS’ Sixty Minutes, to dine at the club’s spectacular rooftop restaurant, food courtesy of Wolfgang Puck.  Wonderful view and great food.

 
I had the curried lobster (left)  David had the octopus (right)

All in all a very enjoyable evening and I was very impressed with the brand new Britely Social Club and wish it and all its members a bon voyage as Los Angeles’ newest private members club.

The post Back from a Night of Noir as the Invited “Black Dahlia” Speaker at the Sunset Strip’s New Britely Social Club appeared first on Steve Hodel.

July 29, 2020
Los Angeles

Today would have been Elizabeth Short’s 97th birthday.
May she and all the “Lone Woman Murder Victims” REST IN PEACE.

                                           
Elizabeth Short age 19 Santa Barbara, California
(1943 Santa Barbara booking photo for minor possession)

The post Today Would Have Been Elizabeth “Black Dahlia” Short’s 97th Birthday appeared first on Steve Hodel.

January 29, 2021
Los Angeles, California
(Elizabeth “Black Dahlia” Shorts Birthday)

 
Reporter Tori Richards

EXCLUSIVE: New victim of serial killer Rodney Alcala surfaces, teenager was beaten and raped

by Tori Richards, Investigative Reporter, July 29, 2021   5:08 PM

Click Here for Richard’s full article from today in the Washington Examiner. 

Back in February 2021, I published teenager  Morgan Rowan’s horrific assault/rape by Rodney Alcala which established her as the first known/identified victim. Her crime preceded that of Tali Shapiro by just a few weeks and occurred at the same location, his Hollywood residence apartment on DeLongpre Ave.

CLICK HERE for Morgan’s full telling of that crime as presented back in February 2021.

Thanks to reporter Richard’s for assisting in making public yet another Alcala victim. While Morgan is now the “first known” my detective’s nose tells me there were in fact earlier crimes. Perhaps some victims that never lived to tell their stories.  May all of Alcala’s victims Rest in Peace while he hopefully Slow Rots in Hell.

Below is a link to my original article

BREAKING NEWS- New Victim Disclosure In Rodney Alcala Investigation: July 1968 Assault of Hollywood Teen Establishes Her As Earliest Known Victim

The post Washington Examiner Investigative Reporter Tori Richards Reports on New Alcala Teen Rape Victim appeared first on Steve Hodel.

August 4, 2021
Los Angeles

The Rainbow Man – A Zuni Guardian Spirit

The Rainbow Man

Excerpts from a post by Claudia at Southwestersilvergallery.com on Nov. 19th, 2015:

The Rainbow Man, also sometimes referred to as the Rainbow Dancer, is a sacred Zuni Indian guardian spirit identified with the life-giving summer rains and the colors of the rainbow after the summer’s rain.

Although the Rainbow figure is not a Kachina, he is very important in Zuni traditions, culture, and society. The Rainbow Man is a symbol of protection often seen on the Zuni’s war shields and is a symbol of the rainbow which represents the life-sustaining rains for their agricultural importance in the arid American Southwest.

The Rainbow Man was one of the first figures used in traditional Zuni mosaic inlay jewelry. Various Zuni Indian artists started creating mosaic inlay jewelry featuring the Rainbow Man in the 1920s to the 1940s and becoming popular by the 1950s. It is believed that the first creator of the Rainbow Man in Zuni inlay jewelry to be Alonozo Hustito (1903-1987).

A Mother/Son Eighty-Year-Old Synchronicity

My parents were married in Sonoyta, Mexico on December 7, 1940. (Just a six-hour drive from their home in Los Angeles.)

My mother’s wedding ring was unique. It was a large Zuni Rainbow Man which she wore until her death at age 77 in 1983.

Dorothy can be seen wearing the ring in the below Man Ray photographs circa 1944. (As a boy growing up, I loved to look at her beautiful and very unique ring and I cannot recall a time when she was ever not wearing it up and until her death in 1983.)

Our father had given it to her as a wedding present. He purchased it during his several years of doctoring to the Hopi, Navajo, and Zuni reservations in AZ and New Mexico.

As young boys, brothers Mike and Kelvin and I loved to hear mother’s stories about the wonderful times she and father had together attending the secret Native American ceremonies and dances during the late Thirties. (Our father was a close friend with Tom Dodge, son of Navajo chief Henry Chee Dodge, and mother spoke of their racing father’s 12cyl touring car up and down the Arizona highways after heaving drinking parties.)

Above are some Man Ray photos of my mother, Dorothy Huston Hodel, showing her wearing the Zuni Rainbow Man ring circa 1944. Despite their formal divorce in 1944, mother never removed this ring during the next forty years. I cannot recall a time that I ever saw it off her finger.

At her death in 1983, I  do not know what became of her wedding ring? Lost? Stolen?

The Synchronicity:

I have always had a fondness for the Native American culture and, even as a small boy, felt “connected.”

Fast forward to a few days ago.
I was browsing online looking at jewelry and chanced upon the below Bolo tie advertised for sale.

Much to my amazement, the Bolo Rainbow Man is an exact replication of my mother’s ring! Identical in every respect. Size, Color, and even the standing position bent at the arms, curved as a rainbow is seen,  is exactly how I remember the figure in mother’s ring.

I knew I had to have it, so I bought it on the spot and now I plan to wear it to remind me of what a beautiful soul she was and how she protected her three sons and took her tragic dark secrets to her grave.

Did the Zuni Rainbow Man ring protect Dorothy?

Well, despite her horrific life, which connected her to nearly thirty-years in close association with one of the world’s worst serial killers, SHE SURVIVED and saw to it that her three sons did also.
So, I’d say YES!
The mojo worked for her, and I plan to keep it going with my new birthday present to myself.
Three months early, but what the hell.

You have to strike when the synchronicity is HOT!

August 4, 2021, Arrived in the mail today- LOVE IT!

***A note on purchasing Native American items with an emphasis on jewelry.
I did a little research prior to discovering “The Rainbow God” and discovered one must be very careful as a lot of ripoff artworks are offered on eBay and online. My recommendation would be to check out the seller and perhaps do as I did and go with a reputable establishment. You may pay a little more, but you will have a reasonable guarantee that the item is authentic.  In my case, I found it at VICKI TURBEVILLE SOUTHWESTERN JEWELRY in Redondo Beach.

https://vickiturbeville.com/pages/our-story

The post Zuni Rainbow Man- Some Mojo and A Mother/Son Eighty-One-Year-Old Synchronicity appeared first on Steve Hodel.

August 8, 2021
Los Angeles, California

Here’s an hour interview I recently did with Jim Sulanowski for his podcast, MURDER MOST FOUL. The interview with Jim ran a little long and thanks to his editing skills he got it down to a “Just The Facts” talk. Great job of editing Jim! Enjoyed our time together.

Jim Sulanowski’s MURDER MOST FOUL podcast on “Solving the Black Dahlia Murder.”  (1 hour)
(Click Here)

From Jim’s website:

My name is James Sulanowski and I am your host for MURDER MOST FOUL.

I am a transplant to Rhode Island from Upstate New York. Podcasting is a new endeavor for me which I have been forced into pursuing by my wife unless I’d like to strip the wallpaper in the bedroom, which I do not.

In the weeks to come, join me as I explore some of the better-known murder cases, and some not so known. I promise they are all fascinating.

The post Jim Sulanowski’s “MURDER MOST FOUL-Solving the Black Dahlia Murder” appeared first on Steve Hodel.

August 12, 2021
Los Angeles, California

Dynamic Duo Team of Daniel and Anne Vasquez Present In-Depth Interview Examining New Evidence in L.A.’s 1947 Black Dahlia Murder Investigation.

(Below 7500-word article was originally published in The South Pasadenan Newspaper on Oct. 29, 2018.)

Journalist Daniel Vasquez                                                                                                 Journalist Anne Vasquez

Have had several requests to see this nearly three-year-old lengthy article (Oct. 2018) related to new evidence linking Dr. George Hill Hodel to the Black Dahlia Murder. Written by above-pictured journalists Daniel and Anne Vasquez. One of the most thorough articles ever written. The husband and wife team took a deep dive into the story and they presented it in the highest traditions of the Fourth Estate. Kudos to both of them.

The complete original article can be read at the below link.

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE:         

The post Husband-and-Wife Team of Daniel and Anne Vasquez Present In-Depth Examination of New Evidence in L.A.’s Black Dahlia Murder appeared first on Steve Hodel.

August 15, 2021
Los Angeles, California

In a cryptic and rather startling Press Release, the Riverside Police Department Cold  Case Unit has just announced they no longer consider the 1966 stabbing murder of a teenager, Cheri Jo Bates as “Zodiac related.”

Riverside Police Press Release (In full)

On October 31, 1966, 0545 hours, Joseph Bates called Riverside Police to report his daughter Cheri Jo Bates missing. She left a note for her father stating she was going to the RCC library. On October 31, 1966, 0632 hours, a civilian reported that he found a body in the alleyway of Terracina near Fairfax on the RCC college campus. Officers responded and determined the death to be a homicide. The female was identified as, 18-year-old, Cheri Jo Bates.

In 1967, Riverside Police Department received a handwritten letter in the mail. This letter initially led investigators to believe the murder of Cheri Jo Bates may be associated with the murderer known as the “Zodiac Killer.” The letter and the interpretation of the signature on the letter generated much attention to the investigation and fueled many theories and much speculation regarding the case. In addition, sensitive information was released to the media which added to the curiosity and conjecture.

In April 2016, investigators received an anonymous letter postmarked from San Bernardino, California. This letter was typed and appeared to have been generated from a computer. The author of the anonymous letter admitted to writing the handwritten letters. The author apologized for sending the letters and said it was a sick joke. The author admitted that he was not the Zodiac killer or the killer of Cheri Jo Bates and was just looking for attention.

In 2020, the Homicide Cold Case Unit and the FBI Los Angeles Investigative Genealogy Team, submitted the stamp from the letter for additional DNA analysis and subsequent interviews were conducted. The individual linked to the DNA evidence on the stamp admitted to writing the letter and sending it to Riverside Police Department. The author was a young teenager at the time and had a troubled youth. He said he wrote the letter seeking attention and was remorseful for his actions. (Emphasis SKH)

Investigators confirmed the person was not involved in the murder of Cheri Jo Bates or involved in the murders associated with the “Zodiac Killer.” Additional information was developed regarding a separate set of letters sent to Northern California police agencies. The author claimed to be the “Zodiac Killer,” but the author ultimately admitted to sending the letters to keep the investigation going.

Early in the investigation, a potential suspect was identified in the killing of Cheri Jo Bates. Based on the evidence, this person of interest has remained the primary suspect over the years and continues to be the focus of the investigation. It is believed, acquaintances of the suspect have additional information which could potentially lead to the successful prosecution of the suspect. The FBI Los Angeles Investigative Genealogy Team and various additional law enforcement agencies continue to work the “Zodiac Killer’ murders. Information regarding the “Zodiac Killer” can be emailed to https://tips.fbi.gov

Based on the developments in the case, Riverside Police Department will not be directly involved in the “Zodiac Killer” investigation and will focus its attention on who killed Cheri Jo. Riverside Police Department investigators will continue to cooperate with the handling agencies as needed.

In 2021, Riverside Police Homicide Cold Case Investigators were contacted by a private citizen wishing to offer a $50,000.00 reward for information leading to the arrest and the conviction of the person(s) responsible for the murder of Cheri Jo Bates. The private party has requested to remain anonymous to the public. The reward offer is valid until January 31, 2022.

Anyone with information specifically about the Cheri Jo Bates murder can contact investigators at the following dedicated email: cjb@riversideca.gov

END OF PRESS RELEASE __________________________________________

Anonymous Donor Offers $50,000 Reward For Info Leading To Arrest And Conviction of Cheri Jo Bates Killer

SKH Comments on Riverside PD Press Release:

To summarize in a few bullet points as I understand it, RPD is saying:

• In 2016 an anonymous letter writer claimed he was the one who actually mailed in three separate “There Will Be More” letters and signed them “Z”.

• RPD conducted further DNA analysis on this 2016 letter and identified the writer and under questioning, he claimed to have written and mailed the 1967 notes. Police described him as a “young troubled teen.” (Unusual to qualify a teen as “young” raises the question, how young was he in 1967?  Age 12? Age 13?)

• Based on the boy’s singular “confession” claiming he wrote the 55-year-old notes, RPD has decided to no longer investigate their Cheri Jo Bates murder as “Zodiac related” and will pursue their own “prime suspect” in an effort to connect him to the Bates murder. RPD advises anyone with Zodiac-related info should not contact them, but rather, contact the FBI.
  SKH  Re. Cheri Jo Bates Letters and Linkage to Zodiac:
  
  Personally, I find the 2016 claim (made 54-years after the fact) by a man now in his mid-to-late Sixties that he wrote the three notes as “a troubled young teenager” difficult to believe. Does Riverside PD have any corroboration? Yes, the letter sent five years ago traces back to him through DNA, but that’s it? As presented in my own investigation, there is much evidence that potentially links Zodiac to the Bates murder. I will not here attempt to restate all of it. (I will also be presenting additional linkage of Zodiac to the Bates murder in my upcoming book, “The Early Years: The Further Crimes of Dr. George Hill Hodel.” (Anticipated to publish in 2022.)

  Below are the three letters written and mailed back in 1967 addressed to the RPD, the Press-Enterprise newspaper, and the victim’s father at his home address. (Each letter contained over-postage. ) Note each was signed “Z” before Zodiac ever signed his name “Z” in Northern California which first crime was in 1968. Did the “young teen” just make a lucky guess into the future? I think not.
  
  
  

  In addition, we have RPD seemingly completely ignoring “The Confession Letter” and the Riverside Library Poem corroborating the linkage to Zodiac. The typed letter cannot be ignored with its references to “The Mikado” and its promise to spread body parts throughout the city. (This, just one month before George Hodel commits his “Jigsaw Murder” in Manila and spreads her body parts throughout the city.)

  I will be presenting much more in the near future, but for now, I find it most curious that Riverside PD has publicly acknowledged their belief that “there is no connection of their victim, Cheri Jo Bates to the Zodiac.” And further, “they will be pursuing their own long-standing prime suspect (previously cleared by DNA?) and hope to present a prosecutable case on him in the near future.”

  Maybe even in time for their Department to get the $50,000 reward which offer expires in January 2022. (Though I’m not sure, as paid public servants,  they would qualify to receive it in this day and age?) On the 1946 Suzanne Degnan Chicago Lipstick Murder, the two Chicago Police officers split the $25,000 reward, which would be equivalent to $350,000 in 2021 dollars.)

  In closing, here is a reproduction of the Bates “Confession Letter” and the Riverside Library Desk Poem both of which are not addressed by Riverside PD in their Press Release discontinuing their investigation of a possible Zodiac link to the Bates crime.

Zodiac usage  in Bates “Confession Letter” of Mikado terms:

George Hodel notes/letters in crimes promising “There Will Be More”:

Zodiac “Z” letter identical in Bates and Paul Avery letters:

The post Riverside Police Department Breaks from Forty-Year-Old Northern Calif Task Force Zodiac Investigation: Believes Cheri Jo Bates “Not Connected”: appeared first on Steve Hodel.

August 28, 2021
Los Angeles, California

“I do have to give them credit for stumbling across my riverside activity, but they are only finding the easy ones. There were a lot more down there.
ZODIAC
(1970 letter to L.A. Times)

Kristi S. Hawthorne, President of the Oceanside Historical Society (seen below) is the first to make a possible link of a coldblooded 1962 cab driver execution to the later 1968-9, San Francisco and Bay Area serial murders committed by the suspect identifying himself as “ZODIAC.” (For full details see her blog site HERE: 

MO/Crime Signature:

The suspect calls the police and threatens to commit an unsolvable murder.  A day later, he then shoots the cab driver, Ray Davis, age 29, from the rear seat; then pulls the body from the cab and leaves it in an alley adjacent to the former mayor’s residence. The suspect then steals and abandons the victim’s taxi less than two miles away in DT Oceanside.  The suspect then calls police after the murder and threatens to commit a new crime and this time promises “he will shoot a bus driver.”  The exact phone quote from Oceanside Police Department reads:

“Do you remember me calling you last week and telling you that I was going to pull a real baffling crime? I killed the cab driver and I am going to get me a bus driver next.” 

Ray Davis’ Oceanside Cab showing a bullet hole in the window

Oceanside Map showing distance from where victim Davis shot and placed in the alley to where killer abandoned his stolen cab just 1.6 miles away. (Map as shown on Kristi Hawthorne’s blog site.)

Does Oceanside Murder Weapon ballistics match to Northern California  Zodiac Faraday/Jensen Murders?

Ray Davis was slain with a .22 caliber weapon identical to San Francisco Bay Area “Zodiac” murder victims David Faraday (age 17) and Betty Lou Jensen (age 16) who were accosted and shot on 12/20/68 in Solano County. (Vallejo)

Bottom Line– Has Kristi Hawthorne found a new Zodiac victim overlooked by law enforcement and Zodiacologists for over fifty years?

In my professional opinion, I’d say YES!

Based on what is already KNOWN of Zodiac’s crime signatures coupled with evidence and information yet to be revealed by me in, The Early Years: The Further Serial Crimes of Dr. George Hill Hodel (Anticipated publish date-2022) I believe a strong and compelling case will be made that in truth, cabdriver Ray Davis was killed by Zodiac in Oceanside in 1962.

See below links for further details:

https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/crime/police-looking-into-claims-by-historian-that-zodiac-killer-may-be-responsible-for-1962-oceanside-murder/509-06453d97-3244-478f-9160-3cd499ce2ec0https://

www.courttv.com/title/2-11-21-the-unsolved-casefile-who-killed-ray-davis/?

The post The 1962 SoCal Execution Murder of Cabdriver Ray Davis: Has Oceanside Historian Kristi Hawthorne Discovered A New “Zodiac” Victim? appeared first on Steve Hodel.

September 7, 2021
Los Angeles, California

Directed by Fritz Lang U.S. release 1933

Over the years, in my series of books documenting my father’s crimes, I have frequently referenced the fact that he was “inspired by” and included as part of his real-life M.O. crime signatures taken from classic films.

George Hodel was a true cinephile, with a  perfect photographic memory.  He would cut and paste actual scenes from these many films and include them in his real-life murders as part of his modus operandi or taunting clews to the police and press.

To name a few that I have referenced in the past:

“M” (1931) Germany by Director Fritz Lang

Fritz Lang’s “M” was released in Germany in 1931 and two years later, in March 1933, appeared in theatres in the U.S.

An instant classic it tells the story of one “Hans Beckert”  (Peter Lorre) who commits serial kidnap/murders of children and terrorizes a German city. (The film was inspired by a real-life killer, Peter Kurten, known as “The Vampire of Dusseldorf” who in 1929, was arrested and convicted of killing at least a dozen victims. Kurten after his killings would drink his victim’s blood, hence the “vampire” pseudonym.

The link to the above photos and the full article can be found HERE.

Here is an early review (June 1932) from The London Standard of “M” before its release in the U.S.

I have no doubt that my father, George Hodel would have seen the U.S. showing of “M” in 1933. (At that time he would have been attending medical school at UCSF in San Francisco.)
A few clips from the original film:

During the child killers’ “trial by his peers” (criminals all), Hans Beckert pleads in his defense that he cannot control himself because he has this monster inside him.

Twelve years later in 1945 in one of his “Chicago Lipstick Murders” Dr. George Hodel writes on the victim’s living room wall just before kidnapping and butchering little six-year-old Suzanne Degnan. He writes:

Again, in a later “Zodiac” killing  George Hodel makes a written plea to attorney Melvin Belli to “help me”, informing Belli he “cannot control the monster within him.”  (True or not, it’s dialogue right out of the screenplay, “M”.)

Letter to the Press

Here we see “M’s” child serial killer Hans Beckert writing a letter to the German police and press which is subsequently “analyzed” by forensic  “handwriting experts.”

Child Killer Hans Beckert’s handwritten letter mailed to the Press in “M”

George Hodel, in his later serial murders (Black Dahlia Avenger and Lone Woman Murders,  Chicago Lipstick Murders, and Zodiac) does the same, both taunting and terrorizing those cites.

SKH Note:

The GHH linkage will become even stronger with the publication of “The Early Years” which further document his crimes pre-Dahlia.  (Expected to publish in 2022.)

The post Examining Fritz Lang’s Classic 1931 “Police Procedural” “M” and It’s Direct Links to Dr. George Hill Hodel As His Inspiration For His Later Serial Crimes as Chicago’s “Lipstick Killer,” “Black Dahlia Avenger,” and “Zodiac” appeared first on Steve Hodel.

September 18, 2021
Los Angeles, California

Here’s my latest blog and sadly and horrifically, it is the reason WHY victim Elizabeth “Black Dahlia” Short became one. of if not, THE most infamous whodunit in LA history. (Caution contains adult content and detailed crime scene descriptions.)

Let’s do a review of the “timeline” of the final hours immediately preceding the horrific torture-murder of Elizabeth “Black Dahlia” Short up through the discovery of her body, posed in the Leimert Park vacant lot on January 15, 1947, at approximately 10:00 A.M.

We begin with the last confirmed sighting of Elizabeth Short some eighteen hours before her body was found.

    A TIMELINE OF HORROR

Jan 14, 1947- 2 pm (approx) – 5th and Main Streets, downtown Los Angeles, sidewalk.

Elizabeth Short exits a bar and runs up to LAPD uniformed officer Meryl McBride and hysterically yells to her, “A man in the bar, just threatened to kill me.”  Officer McBride accompanied by Elizabeth enter the bar and the man is gone, however, Elizabeth recovers her purse. Both exit and after thanking the officer both go their separate ways and McBride resumes her foot beat in the area. 

Jan 14, 1947- 4 pm (approx) – 6th and Main Streets, downtown Los Angeles, sidewalk.

Officer McBride still on her footbeat one block south of prior contact with Elizabeth Short sees her exit a bar near 6th and Main Streets in DTLA with “two males and a female.” McBride, concerned for Elizabeth’s welfare, stops and  questions her, “Are you OK?”  Elizabeth responds, “Yes, I’m fine. Going to the Greyhound Bus Depot to meet my father.” (The bus depot is just one city block away.)  Officer McBride leaves her with adults and continues on her foot beat.

Jan 14, 1947- 5121 Franklin Ave, Hollywood 4:30 pm –   Jan 15, 1947 -6:00 AM

Elizabeth Short was taken by same “two males and one female” adult suspects (believed to be Dr. George Hodel, Fred Sexton, and unknown female) and driven to Hodel’s private residence, 5121 Franklin Ave, where she was likely drugged, beaten, tortured and sexually assaulted (sodomized) during the late-night and into the early morning hours. Based on the trauma to the body LE experts and doctors estimate the extended torture could have taken as long as 3-4 hours. (Drugged, posed, photographed, rounded scalpel cuts to mouth (almost ear-to-ear) believed to represent surrealist artist Man Ray’s 1936 painting The Lovers.  The victim’s right breast was completely excised and removed. (Breast never found and may have been buried at Hodel residence?) Cuttings to pubic region and a large section of flesh bearing a Rose Tattoo cut from left thigh and inserted in victim’s vagina. Multiple crisscross cutting patterns, to the victim’s right thigh, is believed to be in imitation of Man Ray’s 1943 painting L’Equivoque.   The victim, while still alive, was force-fed feces (likely Bandini Fertilite Steer Manure).  Multiple blows (blunt force trauma) were inflicted to the victim’s forehead which according to the Coroner would have caused a loss of consciousness and were contributory to the “Cause of Death.”

The victim’s body was then surgically bisected and a “hemicorporectomy” was performed. (A procedure taught in medical schools in the 1930s that could only be performed by a trained, skilled surgeon. Experts estimate this procedure could have taken several hours to perform, “likely in a bathtub.” The two sections of the body were then washed, scrubbed clean using a nylon brush, and towel dried.)
Investigation indicated that the two separate body parts (upper and lower torso) were then carried from the inner courtyard of the residence through the backdoor that led directly to the rear garage. Multiple fifty-pound empty paper sacks (Bandini Fertilite Manure and four separate sacks previously containing powdered cement) were used to cover the bench seat or trunk of the vehicle and the body parts. 

Jan 15, 1947 -6:00 AM

The below graphic (courtesy of Author/retired Dallas PD police officer Robert Sadler) depicts the suspected route and actions of Dr. George Hill Hodel in the early morning hours of January 15, 1947. Author’s Note- I personally reenacted and drove the suspected route on January 16 (to ensure identical lighting conditions) and following the suspected route below (in red) arrived at the vacant lot while it was still dark outside. Daylight was just beginning to break and after waiting four minutes at the scene (as described by the witness who saw the suspect and his dark sedan), I then followed the below route home (in red) back to the Hodel residence. I made one brief stop on the return route to where the victim’s shoes and purse were known to be placed by the suspect atop the trashcan at 1136 S. Crenshaw Blvd.

Jan 15, 1947 6:20 AM (approx)

The suspect makes a right turn at Degnan Blvd. drives northbound and bears left at the Y (believing he is still on Degnan and stops on the west side of the street at 3825 S. Norton Avenue.  He removes the body parts from the vehicle using the empty manure/cement sacks and carefully poses the separate parts just west of the west curb line;  leaving the four or five fifty-pound empty paper sacks (cement and steer manure) near the body. (LAPD will later confirm these sacks were used to transport the body parts from an unknown murder location to the vacant lot.)  The eyewitness confirms the suspect, and his black sedan, was at the scene “approximately four minutes and he then drove northbound out of sight.”

Jan 15, 1947, 6:35 AM (approx)

The suspect drives north to Coliseum Blvd left one block to Crenshaw Blvd then northbound to 1136 South Crenshaw where he places the victim’s purse and shoes atop a trashcan next to a restaurant. 

Jan 15, 1947, 6:50 AM (approx)

The suspect drives north on Normandie Ave to the rear alley behind his home makes a left turn drives 150′ and parks his car inside his residence garage and is literally “home free.”

The post A Timeline of Horror: The Reconstruction of the Abduction and Murder of Elizabeth “Black Dahlia” Short on January 14-15, 1947 appeared first on Steve Hodel.