April 15, 2017
Los Angeles, California

Just two years after the horrific surgical torture murder of Elizabeth “Black Dahlia” Short occurred in Los Angeles mention of the crime was used as a “laugh line” in one of Hollywood’s greatest film noir classic’s-SUNSET BLVD (1950). Incredibly, simultaneous to the actual shooting of the film, LAPD and the DA’s Office detectives were staked out on the actual killer, and secretly electronically obtaining wire recordings of his admissions to the Dahlia and other murders as well as payoffs to Law Enforcement.

See YouTube Video with clips at the link HERE.

The post Black Dahlia Myth Begins As A “Laugh Line” in 1950 Film Noir Classic “Sunset Boulevard” (1950) appeared first on Steve Hodel.

April 30, 2017
Los Angeles, California

Here’s a short four-minute clip from an interview I did a few years back on the responsibilities of being a True Crime writer.

LAPD Det. III Steve Hodel (ret.) on True Crime Writing  Link  HERE.

The post On True Crime Writing and the Black Dahlia Murder: LAPD Homicide Detective III Steve Hodel (ret.) appeared first on Steve Hodel.

May 16, 2017
Los Angeles, California

Below is a link to a recent Black Dahlia interview I did with Dash Finley of Dark Times: Unsolved Horrors and Mysteries, who hosts@supernewslive. The video runs about one hour. Excellent questions and presentation by Dash, and the rest of the crew at @MoviePilot.

The post New Black Dahlia Podcast Video Interview with Dash Finley Dark Times appeared first on Steve Hodel.

June 4, 2017
Los Angeles, California

George Hodel, immediately after his October 6, 1949 arrest for Incest and Child Molestation retained nationally renowned criminal defense attorneys Jerry “Get Me” Giesler and his partner, Robert Neeb to represent him. GHH secured their services by signing over his Sowden House as a $10,000 retainer. ($102,000 in today’s dollars)

Post-trial in 1950, he then prepared his own Sales Brochure “For Sale, SHANGRI-LA in Los Angeles” and put the house on the market asking “$44,500 Liquidation Price.” (Roughly a half million in 2017 dollars)

GHH Deed of Trust to Giesler/Neeb     GHH “Shangri-LA – $44,500 House Sale

“Get out of Dodge”

The DA stakeout and Bugging Tapes occurred in Feb/March 1950 and we know that GHH disappeared in late March just as Lt. Jemison was about to arrest him for the murders of Elizabeth “Black Dahlia” Short and the Jeanne French “Red Lipstick” murder along with the confessed 1945 murder (forced overdose) of his secretary, Ruth Spaulding.

By the fall of 1950 George Hodel has relocated to the Territory of Hawaii and is initially hired as “Resident psychiatrist for the Territorial Hospital.”

Jan 17, 1951 Honolulu Advertiser  

Honolulu Star-Bulletin on August 23, 1952, announces the marriage of Dr. George Hill Hodel to Hortensia Laguda. Married in “Sonora, Mexico” and currently living “at home on Black Point Rd.”       The article goes on to describe GHH as “staff psychiatrist at Kaneohe Territorial Hospital in charge of the rehabilitation program and Chief of the psychiatric clinic at Oahu Prison and lecturing faculty at University of Hawaii.”

(What could be more perfect? GHH as Territorial prison psychiatrist with at least a dozen Los Angeles murders on his CV is now “counseling psychopath to the psychopaths.”)

In a later (1957) article the same newspaper announces that Mrs. Hortensia Hodel is now revisiting Honolulu and informs readers that she is the cousin to former (1953) Philippine Vice President, Fernando Lopez and that her husband “Dr. George Hill Hodel, former staff psychiatrist at Kaneohe Hospital until 1954, now practices in Manila.”

Honolulu Star-Bulletin August 23, 1952        Honolulu Star-Bulletin August 14, 1957

(GHH also married my mother, in Sonora, Mexico, ironically on December 7, 1940, one year to the day before the bombing of Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, which of course marked the U.S. entry into WWII.)

BLACK POINT ESTATES AND SHANGRI-LA – “The Good Life”

               Not being familiar with Honolulu digs, I decided to check out the 1952 articles reference indicating that George and Hortensia were living “at home on Black Point Rd.” Here’s what I discovered.

Ironically, after George Hodel sells his “Shangri-La Los Angeles” home he then moves to Black Point Road, next to the “Shangri-LA” home of the heiress, Doris Duke in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Black Point Road appears to be and likely always was the Beverly Hills of Honolulu.

Doris Duke Shangri-LA Home at Black Point Road Estates built in 1936-1938

(Now a public museum)

Below is 2 bedroom, 2 bath home on Black PointRoad recently priced at 9 million.

After three years in Hawaii, Dr. George Hill Hodel with his wife, Hortensia, will move on to Manila, Philippines, where he will establish his own private practice as a consulting psychiatrist, then quickly move into the newly developing field of Market Research and expand and develop INRA-ASIA (International Research Associates) throughout the Far East, including Hong Kong, Japan, and Australia.

I have not conducted any extensive research of my father’s activities while in Hawaii from 1951-1953.

The obvious question is:   Did George Hodel continue to commit murders in Hawaii?

Hard for me to think he could go three years without killing. I expect there are some cold cases collecting dust at Hawaii 5-0.

Very likely that there were victims in Hawaii, but unfortunately any investigation will have to be put on a back burner for the immediate future.

I currently have my hands full with attempting to ferret out his crimes from, “The Early Years” (the 1920s and 30s) in California.

Any of my readers who feel like searching for any unsolved lone woman murders in the Hawaiian Islands from 1951-1954 have at it and feel free to contact me on any possible findings at   steve@stevehodel.com

To Be Continued…

The post Dr. George Hill Hodel: A New Life and a New Wife in the Territory: Hawaii 1950-1953 appeared first on Steve Hodel.

June 8, 2017
Los Angeles, California

Thoughtprint:  The motive within a thought.  The ridges, loops, and whorls of the mind, which like the “points” found in a fingerprint, contain the potential to link an individual to a specific time, place, crime, or victim.

                                                                       Steve Hodel
(Term originally coined by author in his first book, Black Dahlia Avenger (2003)

Photo was taken in 1966 in front of LAPD Parker Center “The Glass House.”

Officer Steve Hodel        Chief Thad Brown

The above photograph was taken in 1966, in front of what was then known as the LAPD’s, PAB (Police Administration Building). Shortly after this photo was taken, it was renamed Parker Center in honor of Chief William H. Parker. Immediately after Parker’s death in 1966, then Chief of Detectives, Thad Brown was named as Los Angeles’ interim chief of police. (This was standard for a high-ranking officer to be selected and assume temporary command, while other staff officers prepared to compete for the exam, orals and permanent selection.)

In 1966, with only three years on the job, I was a rookie officer working Hollywood Patrol and was sent, along with a dozen other officers from Hollywood Division, to attend Thad Brown’s swearing in ceremony in the police auditorium.

Immediately after the ceremony, a photographer approached me in the lobby as I was walking out the front door and asked, “Officer, Would you like to have your picture taken with the new chief?”  Surprised and honored I readily agreed, and Chief Brown smiled as we walked out in front of the building where this photograph was taken. About three weeks later, I received this copy through the Inter-Department mails. I threw it in a box and forgot about it

The photo had no real meaning or significance to me, other than the obvious honor of being with the chief. However, we now know it had tremendous meaning and import to Thad Brown. He knew then, what I would not discover for another 35-years. Thad Brown KNEW I was the son of the Black Dahlia killer, and he just could not resist the “photo-op.”

It would not be until after the completion of my investigation and the publication of my first book om 2003 that we would learn from an LAPD reserve officer, about the conversation between Thad Brown and actor Jack Webb, his close friend who played, LAPD’s Sgt. Joe Friday. In that confidential conversation, Thad Brown disclosed to Jack Webb, “We know who killed the Black Dahlia. The case was solved. It was a doctor in Hollywood, who lived on Franklin Avenue.”  

Chief Brown’s statement made to his friend and drinking buddy; Jack Webb was his independent and separate confirmation of what we discovered locked away in the secret D.A. DAHLIA/HODEL Files, which identified Dr. George Hill Hodel, living in Hollywood at 5121 Franklin Avenue,  as the killer.

Those files opened in 2003 as a result of my investigation, named Dr. George Hodel as the Black Dahlia killer and contained his tape-recorded confession (146-pages of transcripts) to the murder of Elizabeth “Black Dahlia” Short, as well as the murder of his personal secretary, Ruth Spaulding. (LAPD admitted they had investigated him in 1945 for her suspected murder, as a possible “forced overdose,” but were unable to obtain sufficient evidence for prosecution and the investigation remained listed as a “suicide” by pills.)

The secret tapes also contained Dr. Hodel’s admissions to “payoffs to Law Enforcement” and to performing illegal abortions at his clinic, as well as the real-time recording of a felony assault and or murder of an identified woman in the basement of the Franklin House residence.

In addition to LAPD Chief Thad Brown, three other high-ranking law enforcement officers connected to the original 1947 investigation would independently confirm in private conversations with friends and relatives that the case was “solved.”

Click Link below to PDF to read full definition of “Thoughtprints” which I provided to  Dr. Richard Walton in 2005 for his textbook, “Cold Case Homicides”
Link to PDF for thoughtprints Dr. Walton book

The post LAPD Chief Thad Brown, The Black Dahlia, and “Thoughtprints”- Modus Operandi (M.O.) in the 21st Century appeared first on Steve Hodel.

June 21, 2017
Los Angeles, California

George Hodel 1923 South Pasadena Year Book

Los Angeles Daily Times June 5, 1923

In the early 1920s teenager, George Hodel attained the highest Public School test scores of any student in the State. Based on those results he became part of one of the most famous psychological testings of that day. George was selected to be one of the students included in  Stanford professor, Dr. Lewis Terman’s “Genetic Studies of Genius.” The test students became colloquially known as “Terman’s Termites.”  (Over the past 90 years, five separate books have been written on this study which had the students send in “progress reports” every five years during their lifetimes. GHH was still sending in his at age 85.)

Samples of George Hodel Feigning Illiteracy in Chicago Lipstick, Black Dahlia Avenger, and Zodiac Notes

“Get $2,000 Reddy & waite for word…  Chicago Lipstick Killer (1946)

“To Hearld Express, Los Angels…”  Black Dahlia Avenger (1947)

“…we went to gether …I went to investigaate…” LA Avenger (Gladys Kern, 1948)

“I first pulled themiddli wire…her lips twiched…” Zodiac (Cheri Jo Bates, Riverside, 1966)

” I am mildly cerous as to how much money you have on my head .” Zodiac, SF, 1969)

UPDATE: 6.21.17  9:00 p.m.

From Black Dahlia Avenger, Chapter 13: THE LAPD AND THE PRESS: THE AVENGER MAILINGS

…

January 29, 1947

The Examiner engaged questioned-document expert Clark Sellers, considered by most to be one of the nation’s leading forensic handwriting experts of the day, to review and analyze the hand printing on the postcards it had received from the purported suspect. Sellers had gained public notoriety as one of the chief forensic experts who testified for the prosecution in the Lindbergh baby kidnapping trial, in which he connected handwriting samples from the suspect, Bruno Richard Hauptmann, to the ransom note and helped the state win a conviction.

In his expert analysis, Sellers told the Examiner:

“It was evident the writer took great pains to disguise his or her personality by printing instead of writing the message and by endeavoring to appear illiterate. But the style and formation of the printed letters betrayed the writer as an educated person.”

The Examiner also revealed that Sellers had conducted “microscopic tests” on the Black Dahlia message and made “several important discoveries the nature of which is being withheld.”

A second questioned-document expert, Henry Silver, was also contacted to analyze the original note the killer had sent with the victim’s belongings, as well as some of the later postcards received by the press. Silver said:

The sender is an egomaniac and possibly a musician. The fluctuating base line of the writing reveals the writer to be affected by extreme fluctuations of mood, dropping to melancholy. The writer suffers from mental conflict growing out of resentment or hatred due to frustration of sex urge. Because the last letters of many words are larger, it reveals extreme frankness. The writer is telling the truth. Furthermore, he can’t keep his secret and feeds his ego by telling. There is a fine sense of rhythm present, showing the penman to be either a musician or possibly a dancer. He is calculating and methodical.

            In my 2003 investigation I hired my own independent court-certified Questioned Document Expert, Ms. Hanna McFarland, who conducted her own handwriting analysis and confirmed in her expert opinion that at least four of the handwritten notes were authored by George Hodel. She also examined an original handwritten sample of my father’s writing in my possession and opined:

“…It appears that all three handprinted letters (TEV, in the handwritten word STEVE) were highly connected, this is unheard of, and would indicate the type of exceptionally high intelligence and forethought that might be found in a master chess champion such as a Boris Spassky or a Bobby Fischer.”

GHH handprinted STEVEN showing the TEV connection as described by QDE Hanna McFarland.

Comment from LW re. Zodiac “Red Phantom” Letter mailed to San Francisco Chronicle on July 8, 1974:

Steve: Despite the zany spellings and wackiness of the Zodiac missives, the “Red Phantom” note implies the killer was in fact perfectly literate, possessing an artistic hand, a musical sense of rhythm and cadence, and the easy authority of a physician dashing off a script. The Phantom’s focus on SF Chronicle sex columnist Count Marco, a dandy and faux European aristocrat with links to 1940s Hollywood, offers yet another “clew” as to the Zodiac’s real identity. -LW

Below is a copy of that letter which I do believe was written by GHH and mailed some six years after the first SF Bay Area Zodiac crime was committed in the summer of ’68.  In my sequel BDA II I make the comparison (below) to the unusual letter ‘h’ seen in the 1948 BD Avenger Glady’s Kern Note which appears identical to the “h” letters in the Red Phantom Note some twenty-six years later.

Author Prepared Zodiac Lexicon of Misspelled & Unusual Words
(From 24 Zodiac letters over twenty years  – 1969-1990)

Zodiac Lexicon

The post Former South Pasadena High School Spelling Champion George Hodel Feigns Illiteracy as Part of his Black Dahlia Avenger, Lipstick, Zodiac Crime Signatures appeared first on Steve Hodel.

June 29, 2017
Los Angeles, California

The British Rock band, The xx just released and posted a new music video, “I Dare You” which they describe as their “Love Letter to Los Angeles.” Posted six hours ago on YouTube, it already shows 63,000 views.

 We are so happy to share our new video for ‘I Dare You’. Our love letter to Los Angeles, a city close to our hearts, where we wrote and recorded parts of our album ‘I See You’. This is the third video, our friend, the wonderful Alasdair McLellan has directed for us. He collaborated with a hero of ours, Raf Simons on the creative concept and direction. It was amazing to work with both of them and such a pleasure to meet and work with Millie, Paris, Ashton, Lulu and Ernesto! Thank you to Calvin Klein and everyone involved. We hope you enjoy watching! xx The xx

RAF SIMONS TEAMS WITH THE XX ON NEW MUSIC VIDEO STARRING MILLIE BOBBY BROWN

Excerpt below from Hollywood Reporter article by Sam Reed

…

The video, unveiled Thursday, was directed and shot by McLellan at two of Los Angeles’ most iconic homes: Lloyd Wright’s Sowden House in Los Feliz, famous for its nod to Mayan architecture, and John Lautner’s Rainbow House on Mulholland Drive, which is known for its parabolic roof and stained glass.

The Sowden House, built in 1926 by the son of Frank Lloyd Wright, is an interesting pick for the upbeat tune, considering its “dark” past and reports that it housed the Black Dahlia’s killer. Steve Hodel, whose father, George Hodel, lived in the home in ’40s, alleged that his father tortured the Dahlia (Elizabeth Short) in the basement of the home. Martin Scorsese also filmed parts of his 2004 film, The Aviator, at the Sowden House.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/raf-simons-xx-music-video-1017606

JUNE 30th Followup article in the LAIST.

The post The xx- I Dare You (Official Music Video) Filmed at the Sowden/Hodel 1947 Black Dahlia Crime Scene appeared first on Steve Hodel.

July 12, 2017
Los Angeles

Mike Hodel

( July 12, 1939- May 6, 1986)

Mike Hodel would have been 78 today.

My older brother Michael died of lung cancer in 1986, at the relatively young age of- 46.  (His early death was the catalyst for my decision to retire from LAPD and “move on.”)  Mike had a brilliant mind and was a voracious reader, often reading two books a day throughout his entire life. He wore many hats. He was a writer, radio news reporter, and Sherlock Holmes scholar.  One of brother Mike’s proudest moments was receiving investiture into the Baker Street Irregulars Society. (BSI was founded by Christopher Morley in 1934, and fellow members included: U.S. presidents FDR and Harry Truman, science fiction author, Issac Asimov, and mystery writer,  Rex Stout, creator of P.I. Nero Wolfe.)  In 1980 Mike, along with co-author, Sean Wright, published the novel, Enter The Lion: A Posthumous Memoir of Mycroft Holmes.

Mike’s entire life was dedicated to people and causes. His conduit For The People was through local Los Angeles, listener sponsored  FM radio station–KPFK.  He loved science-fiction, and his show aired on KPFK as—Mike Hodel’s Hour 25, where, over several decades, he interviewed hundreds of guest authors, from the greatest legends to brand new unknowns.. (His show continues to this day on the Internet, and can be found at- http://www.hour25online.com)

Mike was awarded radio’s prestigious, Golden Mike Award, (no relation) for his 1970s radio coverage of WATERGATE.  During his 20 years at KPFK, he was on staff as News Director, Public Affairs Director, and fund-raising administrator. Roy Tuckman, the current host of KPFK’s Something’s Happening, had this to say about his lifelong friend and early mentor:

   Mike was the main ‘voice of KPFK,’ a major fundraiser and a voice of sanity and humanity during the many staff battles. As a teacher and mentor, he helped many people over the years begin their work on radio. In his final years, his main concern was the increasing illiteracy in America. He produced a series of 13    programs on “Illiterate America” which remain in the Pacifica Archives.

Mike had a large and loyal listenership, and following his untimely death in 1986 (melanoma) many regular listeners deeply mourned his passing.I believe the current Internet show, named in his honor, continues to respect his memory with a “Goodnight Mike” even now, some two decades after his passing.

Michael Paul Hodel was a true force for good and defender of the little guy in the Los Angeles community and was much beloved. His two surviving brothers and his many friends miss him dearly. Mike, like his brothers, never knew or suspected that his father was anything other than a rather eccentric genius, a physician, a lady’s man, and a rather poor poker player. (A Hodel poker game was often the highlight of our father’s frequent business trips through L.A. on his way to or from New York, in the 1970s and 80s.)

Mike Hodel reading to our new puppy, “Boots”, circa 1951 at age 11.

Mike circa 1979 – age 40

The post Remembering KPFK’s Mike Hodel – Gone But Not Forgotten appeared first on Steve Hodel.

August 14, 2017
Los Angeles

In the 1925 Los Angeles Evening Herald article, “The Clouded Past of a Poet” written by Ted Le Berthon, we recall that George Hodel did not want the Drama Critic to use his real last name, and provided him with  the pseudonym, “George Morel.”

Earlier, in January of that same year, in the first publication of his magazine, FANTASIA, George, then the young publisher/editor had used the pseudonym, “Vernon Morel” in writing his dark poem, INFERENCE.

Though thinking it a bit curious, I had given the name no further thought, until last week, when I received the below Email from the accomplished novelist, film director, screenwriter, Allison Burnett.

Hi Steve, I just finished reading Most Evil, which I enjoyed immensely. I am sure you know this, but Morel is the surname of the hero of Sons & Lovers by DH Lawrence. I find it fascinating that your dad chose it as a nom de plume. As one who incested his daughter and impregnated a much older woman surely an intensely Oedipal bond with his mother must be suspected. Perhaps even a sexual one. Paul Morel in S&L is crushed by his mother’s smothering adoration. The rage that lives in the heart of an incested or over-loved son could sure fuel homicidal impulses.

Best, Allison Burnett

In fact, unfortunately, my literary knowledge did not extend to a reading of D.H. Lawrence’s, Sons and Daughters. Consequently, I was ignorant of the Morel connection until Allison’s informative communication. (However, I have just now ordered a copy of the classic, which will go to the top of my “To Read” list.

Mr. Burnett has unquestionably nailed it here. Clearly, George Hodel was making the direct association and identification of his poet pseudo-self to Lawrence’s character, Paul Morel.

D.H. Lawrence, age 21.   Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence  published 1913
Originally titled, “Paul Morel” but changed by his editor/publisher.

From Wikipedia:

“The first draft of Lawrence’s novel is now lost and was never completed, which seems to be directly due to his mother’s illness. He did not return to the novel for three months, at which point it was titled ‘Paul Morel.’ The penultimate draft of the novel coincided with a remarkable change in Lawrence’s life, as his health was thrown into turmoil and he resigned his teaching job to spend time in Germany. This plan was never followed, however, as he met and married the German minor aristocrat, Frieda Weekley, who was the wife of a former professor of his at the University of Nottingham. According to Frieda’s account of their first meeting, she and Lawrence talked about Oedipus and the effects of early childhood on later life within twenty minutes of meeting.” [Emphasis mine}

Again, this falls into the “you can’t make this stuff up” category.

Recall that the young George Hodel, obviously (albeit unconsciously) following in the footsteps of D.H. Lawrence, (who was 22 years his senior) attends Caltech University in Pasadena in 1923, at fourteen, has an affair with his professor’s wife, who becomes pregnant and their relationship breaks up her marriage. The woman goes East, has George’s child and he follows and proposes marriage. Her response, (unlike Freida’s to Lawrence) was to laugh in George’s face and totally reject him. “You’re just a child yourself, George. Get out of my life. I never want to see you again.”

I have no doubt that my father’s love-hate relationship with his overly domineering mother, Esther was certainly Oedipal, and odds are better than even that is was incestuous.

That George identified with Lawrence’s character Paul Morel to the extent of using him as the author pseudonym in his INFERENCE poem, and again as himself in the poet with a “Clouded Past” article, is no stretch of the imagination, rather, like all of George’s use of names—it was perfect.

P.S.  In the 1943 L.A. Lone Woman Murder of victim Ora Murray recall that when George met her at the popular dance hall before inviting her out “on the town,” he introduced himself as “Paul,” a businessman down from San Francisco.”

See related earlier blog:

George Hodel’s 1925 Review of Ben Hecht’s Fantazius Mallare Killing: Ben Hecht’s 1947 Review of George Hodel’s Black Dahlia Killing

The post More George Hodel Name Games: The Morel of the Story appeared first on Steve Hodel.

August 25, 2017
Los Angeles, California

            1943                                                              1994

The photo on left was taken on my second birthday in Los Angeles. Photo right was taken with my father in front of my then home in Bellingham, Washington fifty years later. (Note that the photos are bookends. Dad has his right hand on my right shoulder and fifty years later, I have my left hand on his left shoulder.)

The post George and Steve Hodel: Father and Son Fifty Years Later appeared first on Steve Hodel.

September 1, 2017
Los Angeles, California

Once again, place the following in your “YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS STUFF UP” file.

The below letter was written in September 1953 by then Hawaiian Territorial Governor,  Samuel Wilder King.  It is a letter of introduction and recommendation of Hawaiin based psychiatrist, Dr. George Hill Hodel. The “To Whom It May Concern” refers to all Asian and Far East countries, colleges, hospitals, research centers etc.   I will let Governor King speak for himself and his esteemed researcher. (The letter was given to me, by June Hodel, along with other personal effects, just a few days after my father’s death in May 1999.)

Obviously, unbeknownst to the Governor, he has just requested all doors and cooperation be provided to his mental health/crime expert. A man with not only major “book learning” but who brings with him decades of on “hands on experience.” At this stage in his “dual career” George Hodel, working nights and pulling double duty as a serial killer has committed a  minimum sixteen sadistic murders and is well on his way to double that number before completing his “research” at age ninety-one. (This victim count only takes into consideration his crimes from 1943-1950, and omits “The Early Years” and  those that followed in the 1960s.)

The post Governor of Hawaii Provides 1953 Letter of Recommendation Requesting Asian/Far East Countries Assist Psychiatrist/Serial Killer Dr. George Hill Hodel in His Mental Illness Crimes Studies appeared first on Steve Hodel.

CORRECTION/RETRACTION:

Sunday, September 17, 2017,  12 noon

Just returned from a Sunday Brunch meeting with my brother Kelvin and his wife, Angel. 

Kelvin mentioned recalling our mother’s statements, HOWEVER, his recall was that the individual was NOT our father George Hodel, but rather another, separate family member. All else he confirmed as accurate. Just that his memory was that she named another. I have reflected on this for several hours and find that my bro may be correct. Therefore, since there now exists some doubt in my mind, for the sake of accuracy, I am going to retract and remove this blog.

(Note- Since no entries can ever be entirely removed from the Internet, I will post this “Correction/Retraction” for a week, so there will be a permanent record of it, then I will remove the entire blog.) 

My apologies to my readers and thank you, bro, for setting the record straight. The other family member shall remain unnamed since she or he had no part to play in anything other than providing the EEG brain wave graph.   

Los Angeles
September 16, 2017

A Close Match?

“You know (laughing) I was told that your father’s EEGs (brain wave graphs) were compared and very closely matched those of Adolph Hitler.” 

                                                                      Dorothy Huston Hodel 
                                                                      To her three sons circa 1955 and again in the 1970s

My mother made this comment to my brothers Michael and Kelvin and I a number of times during our growing up years.

It was not meant to be derogatory or to imply that father was “evil” or a “bad man.” It was said more in jest and as a simple scientific fact.

No details were ever supplied other than her suggestion that at some time and place some physician or psychologist had seen EEGs of both Hitler and Hodel and had made the comparison and observation.

I gave it no further thought and basically assumed it was nothing more than an old husband’s tale, a family rumor, nothing more.

Yesterday, I was exchanging emails with a friend, Brian M., on an unrelated subject and he mentioned the amazing advancements in recent years in the field of brain scanning research. Brian mentioned that in another ten years the advancements in fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imagery, measures brain activity) may likely replace the outmoded and unreliable polygraph/”lie detector” as a more state of the art “truth teller” and possibly even help determine “false confessions.”

This email discussion reminded me of mother’s Hitler/Hodel EEG comments over the years, which I amusingly passed on to Brian. At the same time, smiling to myself, I Googled  Hitler and EEG, and much to my surprise discovered not only did/do Hitler’s EEGs exist, but they were sold in auction as recently as 2012!

Adolph Hitler’s medical records were seized as well as information obtained from six of his attending physicians at the end of WW II. Included in the medical records were the fact that Hitler was taking Bull Semen Injections, (a red flag in and by itself); several skull Xrays, and several EEG brainwave graphs. Medical reports add that he was also a coke head and full of hot air/gas. (Suffering from severe flatulence.)

See several links below for full auction details and photographs.

AUCTION PHOTOS 2012

Huffington Post Hitler/EEG article

So, bottom line the family rumors are suddenly given real credence considering that Hitler’s EEGs do exist post-1945, now all we need do is figure out which doctor also knew and saw Hodel’s EEGs and made the comparison and observation, “They are very similar.”

To be continued…

Update from Brian M. 9.15.17  2:00 pm

Steve,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroencephalography

The post Serial Killer Dr. George Hill Hodel and Mass Murderer/Genocidist Adolph Hitler Early EEG’s (Electroencephalographs) Brain Wave Recordings A Match? appeared first on Steve Hodel.

April 30, 2017
Los Angeles, California

Here’s a short four-minute clip from an interview I did a few years back on the responsibilities of being a True Crime writer.

LAPD Det. III Steve Hodel (ret.) on True Crime Writing  Link  HERE.

The post On True Crime Writing and the Black Dahlia Murder: LAPD Homicide Detective III Steve Hodel (ret.) appeared first on Steve Hodel.

September 19, 2017
Los Angeles, California

“Finally, I absolutely forbid that my body be opened upon any pretext whatsoever.  I would have it laid to rest, without ceremony of any kind.”
Marquis de Sade

“I do not wish to have funeral services of any kind. There is to be no meeting or speeches or music and no gravestone or tablet. I direct that my physical remains be cremated and that my ashes be scattered over the ocean.”
Dr. George Hill Hodel

Above are the handwritten funeral instructions of  both
Donatien Alphonse Francois, Marquis de Sade (2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814) and George Hill Hodel M.D. (10 October 1907-17 May 1999)

Sade, of course, was the noted French Libertine for whom the term Sadism was coined and his erotic writings on sexual depravity and torture (Justine, Juliette, The 120 Days of Sodom etc.) made him the champion/anti-hero of the later, Surrealist Movement.

Chief among the surrealists was George Hodel’s good friend and our family photographer, Man Ray,  who praised Sade in both word and art as “One of the freest thinkers ever born.” Here are three of Man Ray’s homages to “The Divine Marquis” from the mid-1930s.

George Hodel’s Ashes Scattered at Sea on Sade’s Birthday- 

June 2, 1999

June Hodel holding urn containing father’s ashes being transported out under Golden Gate Bridge to Point Bonita for dispersal.  At his request “no words were spoken, no family attended, no meetings, no speeches, no music, no gravestone, no tablet.”

I took this surreal looking photo in July 1999.  June is standing above the lighthouse at Pt. Bonita. She had me drive her to The Point numerous time in the following months so she could be in the presence of her husband of thirty years.

June was suicidal for a long time after George’s passing and planned to “join him” by taking her own life. I kept in regular close contact for the critical six months after his death and was able to give her encouragement and support to “go on with life.”

I chanced upon the below letter which I had written and faxed to June from my home in Bellingham, Washington on 2 June 1999, the day of my father’s burial at sea.

Obviously, the curtain was yet to rise on the Greek Tragedy that would become the House of Hodel in five acts.

A few family photos

The post George Hodel Funeral Instructions Inspired/Plagiarized from His Hero, the Marquis de Sade: Hodel Ashes Cast at Sea on Sade’s Birthday, 2, June 1999- A Burial Day Letter to June appeared first on Steve Hodel.

September 24, 2017
Los Angeles, California

According to a few inquiries from my readers, I am informed that a new Black Dahlia book reportedly to be published on October 10, 2017 (George Hodel’s Birthday) is claiming “a new solution to the Black Dahlia Murder.”  The U.K. press  has indicated that a British author is  claiming a “coverup” and has named “the real killer as, Leslie Dillion,” the once “prime suspect” of Dr. Paul DeRiver, the discredited and fired LAPD “psychiatrist.” DeRiver after offering his services for free then created and self-appointed himself head and of the Department’s, “Sexual Offense Bureau.”

According to transcribed testimony from the 1949 DA Files and Grand Jury questioning some of Dr. DeRiver’s circumstantial evidence that led him to believe Leslie Dillon was the killer was (according to Dr. DeRiver) based on his own findings as follows:

*  The fact that when Dillion and DeRiver dined together at a restaurant,  Dillion claimed the meat served to him “was too rare and he couldn’t eat it”, which to DeRiver’s mind showed proof of a guilty conscience because it reminded him of the raw carnage of his crime and demonstrated a consciousness of guilt.)

* When DeRiver interrogated Dillon with detectives in his hotel room he asked Dillon to take down his pants and shorts. Dillion complied and DeRiver observed he had “an infantile penis”, more along the size of a teenager rather than a man’s,  which  in DeRiver’s mind would “make him more inclined to be a rapist or sexual deviant.”

*Dillon provided Dr. DeRiver with a hand-drawn sketch of the man he met and believed might be the Dahlia killer, identifying him as “Jeff Conner”, residing in San Francisco.  Dr. DeRiver informed detectives that this individual would not exist as he was nothing more than “Dillon’s alter ego” created as a cover to deflect suspicion away from Dillon.

There are many more examples from the official police files, demonstrating Dr. Deriver’s psycho-babble, but you get the idea. I’ll leave it at that.

I briefly addressed the DeRiver/Dillon Black Dahlia Fiasco in my third book as follows:

Excerpt from Black Dahlia Avenger II Chapter 20, (pages 312-313):

…

LAPD SGT. FINIS A. BROWN—THE LEAD DAHLIA DETECTIVE

If asked what detective originally led the Black Dahlia murder investigation, most cops and reporters would say, it was Sgt. Harry Hansen. Wrong answer. Another myth.

The real lead detective was Sgt. Finis A. Brown, brother of LAPD’s Chief of Detectives Thad Brown.

By all accounts, Brown did most of the legwork and pretty much all of the thinking in the important first three years of the Dahlia investigation.

                         Black Dahlia victim, Elizabeth Short, and lead detective                                                               Finis Brown shared the same birthday–July 29

In December 1949, the grand jury subpoenaed a number of LAPD detectives to testify about the original investigation. Among them was, Finis Brown and Lt. William Burns, the former commander of LAPD’s Gangster Squad who had loaned some of his men to the Dahlia case. Unfortunately, Gangster Squad detectives were mostly untrained in homicide investigations; they tended to be loose cannons who made messes.

At the behest of the LAPD’s “department psychiatrist,” Dr. J. Paul DeRiver, the Gangster Squad was persuaded to pursue the doctor’s red-herring suspect, Leslie Dillon, who (much to his later regret) had originally contacted Dr. DeRiver from Florida with “some thoughts” on the case.

In January 1949, two years after the murder, Dr. DeRiver and a couple of Gangster Squad detectives lured Dillon to California “to meet and discuss his theories.” After holding him “incommunicado” at various hotels for three days, they arrested him as Elizabeth Short’s killer.

It made headlines after the “three-day detainee” dropped a note out of his downtown L.A. hotel window, begging someone to contact famed criminal defense attorney Jerry Giesler to rescue him.

Dillon was released several days after his arrest, although the Gangster Squad and Dr. DeRiver remained convinced that he was the actual Black Dahlia killer. For the rest of 1949, they continued to build a case against him.

In October 1949, at the request of Lt. Jemison, Sgt. Finis Brown went to San Francisco and was able to verify Leslie Dillon’s alibi that he was in that city in the days before and after Elizabeth Short’s murder.

The entire affair was a huge embarrassment to LAPD Homicide. Both Lt. Burns and Dr. DeRiver were called on the carpet. Burns was taken out of the Gangster Squad and Dr. DeRiver left his position as LAPD’s department psychiatrist six months after the Dillon debacle.

______________________________________________

LAPD investigators and Black Dahlia murder suspect Leslie Dillon (wearing overcoat, center) take a break from questioning on January 11, 1949. Flanking the suspect are (left to right) J. Paul de River, Detective Lieutenant William Burns, Chief of Police C. B. Horrall and Captain Francis Kearney.

J. Paul de River (left) and exonerated Black Dahlia suspect Leslie Dillon face reporters outside Highland Park jail on January 12, 1949.  (Above photos from http://johnbrianking.com/The-Sexual-Criminal)

(Left) Two years after the Black Dahlia Murder Leslie  Dillon is arrested for Dahlia murder based on Dr. DeRiver’s “sleuthing.” (It has been speculated that the doctor gave himself the fictitious name “DeRiver” to indicate “one who Derives” ie. a master detective?

(Right)  Within one day of Dillon’s arrest, the real Jeff Connors was located in San Francisco and brought to LA for questioning proving that DeRiver’s theory of an “alter ego” for Dillion was incorrect and Dillion was released from custody. A Later investigation by DA investigators confirmed Dillon’s alibi and established that Dilllon was in fact in San Franciso at the time of the murder of Elizabeth “Black Dahlia” Short (January 15, 1947) and could not have committed the crime. Leslie Dillon would later sue the LAPD and Dr. DeRiver for unlawful detention and false arrest and it is my understanding he won his claim and received monetary damages paid by LA City.

Dr. Paul De River, LAPD S.O.B.
(Sexual Offense Bureau)

SKH Note-Full Disclosure: Let m state out front that I am no fan of Dr. Paul De River (true name, Joseph L. Israel) This is based on seventeen years of research into the history of Los Angeles, and those, including Dr. Paul DeRivers,  involved in its high-profile criminal cases in the Thirties, Forties and Fifties.)

In 1937, offering to work for free, DeRiver approached LAPD informing them “he was a psychiatrist, skilled in criminology” and was accepted (without any background check or questions.) LAPD jumped at the “free service” figuring they had nothing to lose. (Except as later years would prove, their reputation.)

DeRiver declared himself to be the LAPDs self-appointed “sex expert” and he named his assigned office, “The SOB.”  (Sexual Offense Bureau.) He remained in this position for thirteen years until wrongfully accusing one Leslie Dillion of being the Black Dahlia killer. DeRiver did this in secret and in concert with several other Gangster Squad detectives (on loan to homicide to “assist” in the Dahlia investigation.)

Dillon residing in Florida, contacted Dr. DeRiver regarding someone he believed was “a hot suspect” and DeRiver arranged for LAPD to pay for Dillon’s travel from Florida. DeRiver secretly believed that Dillion himself was the killer and lured him to California, ostensibly to help the doctor solve “whodunit. ”  Dr. DeRiver along with a few detectives from the Gangster Squad then unlawfully detained Dillon for more than a week, driving him to various locations throughout Southern California.

In January, 1949, after extensive around the clock interrogations while being held in the downtown LA  Strand Hotel, Dillon secretly dropped a handwritten note out of the hotel window asking for someone “to notify and get him Defense attorney Jerry Giesler, as he was being held unlawfully by the police.” The note was found turned over to LAPD who then promptly booked Dillon for the suspected murder of  Elizabeth “Black Dahlia” Short.

 Leslie Dillon’s handwritten note dropped out Strand Hotel window addressed to Attorney Jerry Geisler. (sic)

 “I am being held in room 219 & 21 Strand Hotel. Phone Fe 3101 in conversation with Black Dahlia murder by Dr. J.P.de River as far as I can tell. I would like legal counsel.”
Mr. Leslie Dillon

In June 1950 Dr. DeRiver’s Tried for Drug Charges, found guilty and Fired from LAPD by Chief Worton and Police Commission in August (Chief William H. Parker took over command of LAPD at this same time.)

THE STRANGE CASE OF DOCTOR DE RIVER by John Brian King

For those interested on a deeper dive background of Dr. Paul De Rivers check out the below link:

http://johnbrianking.com/The-Sexual-Criminal

 As a P.S. sideline to Sgt. Finis Brown’s testimony to the Grand Jury in 1949 we discover additional information on the “Unknown Elizabeth Short Downtown Doctor” suspect, which is consistent with George Hodel’s actions/crime signatures  in his murders in: Chicago, LA, Riverside, and San Francisco Bay Area.

From BDA II:

…

My review of the DA files included Sgt. Finis Brown’s testimony before the 1949 grand jury. The transcript covered various aspects of his then three-year-old investigation; however, what I found most revealing were several questions asked of him by the grand jury foreman, Mr. Harry Lawson. These were made in the presence of Deputy District Attorney Arthur Veitch and Lt. Frank Jemison.

Here is the verbatim excerpt:

Testimony of LAPD Sgt. Finis Brown Date: December 6, 1949

Questioned by: DDA Arthur L. Veitch and GJ

Present: 1949 grand jury members and DA investigator Lt. Frank B. Jemison

(Excerpt from page 30 of 1949 Secret Grand Jury Transcript):

Grand Jury Foreman, Mr. Harry Lawson asks Sgt. Brown

Q: Do you care to express an opinion to this Jury as to who you think killed Elizabeth Short?

Sgt. Finis Brown:

A: I can’t express an opinion. I don’t know. I can this: That there is over 100 pages of names cut out of this address book; also, it is known that she was in care of some doctor. We don’t know who that doctor is yet. We have never been able to find out. We do know this; that on two or three occasions a doctor identifying himself as a doctor, but refusing to give his name called the Hollywood Station and gave some information of where the information—some information might be picked up on her around Hollywood Boulevard.

Los Angeles Times, December, 9, 1949

My review of the DA files included Sgt. Finis Brown’s testimony before the 1949 grand jury. The transcript covered various aspects of his then three-year-old investigation; however, what I found most revealing were several questions asked of him by the grand jury foreman, Mr. Harry Lawson. These were made in the presence of Deputy District Attorney Arthur Veitch and Lt. Frank Jemison.

Here is the verbatim excerpt:

Testimony of LAPD Sgt. Finis Brown Date: December 6, 1949

Questioned by: DDA Arthur L. Veitch and GJ

Present: 1949 grand jury members and DA investigator Lt. Frank B. Jemison

(Excerpt from page 30 of 1949 Secret Grand Jury Transcript):

Grand Jury Foreman, Mr. Harry Lawson asks Sgt. Brown

Q: Do you care to express an opinion to this Jury as to who you think killed Elizabeth Short?

Sgt. Finis Brown:

A: I can’t express an opinion. I don’t know. I can this: That there is over 100 pages of names cut out of this address book; also, it is known that she was in care of some doctor. We don’t know who that doctor is yet. We have never been able to find out. We do know this; that on two or three occasions a doctor identifying himself as a doctor, but refusing to give his name called the Hollywood Station and gave some information of where the information—some information might be picked up on her around Hollywood Boulevard.

The post The Black Dahlia Leslie Dillon/Dr. Paul De River Fiasco– A Week of LAPD Fubar* (Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition) appeared first on Steve Hodel.

September 26, 2017
Redondo Beach, California

Steve Hodel invited as Keynote speaker to open the conference with “Black Dahlia and LA Lone Woman Murders” PowerPoint presentation to international blood pattern experts. Criminalists attended annual IABPA conference in Redondo Beach, California from as far away as Australia, Philippines, and Europe.

In February 2017,  I was contacted by Ms. Cristina Gonzalez and asked if I would be willing to be the keynote speaker at the upcoming IABPA Conference, scheduled in late September.  Ms. Gonzales is a Senior Criminalist for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Crime Lab and the Vice President of the Pacific Region for the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts.

Seen below (left) are IABPA President Jeff Scozzafava and Cristina Gonzalez, IABPA Vice President Region I, Pacific. Photos below (right) author/LAPD homicide detective (ret.) Steve Hodel giving keynote Black Dahlia presentation at Crown Plaza Hotel, in Redondo Beach, California before criminalists and law enforcement officer attendees.

The conference opened yesterday with a welcome by Redondo Chief of Police Keith Kauffman and the posting of the flag by the Redondo PD Color Guards followed by my hour-plus talk and Q&A. The IABPA conference will present experts primarily in the field of blood pattern recognition and DNA over the next four days and will conclude on Friday.

It was an honor to be asked to speak and present my updated investigation before the IABPA members and want to take this opportunity to personally thank them for their many forensic advancements in the field of blood pattern recognition.

Here is an excerpted introduction of me from the IABPA published program.

The post International Assn of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts 5-Day Conference Opens with Keynote Speaker “Black Dahlia 2017” Presentation- LASD, LAPD and San Diego Sheriffs Host Event appeared first on Steve Hodel.

September 30, 2017
Los Angeles, California

Fauna Hodel
August 1, 1951 – September 30, 2017

I just received this posting a few hours ago, announcing the death of my niece, Fauna Hodel, who passed away at her home under hospice care at age 66. Fauna had been fighting cancer for over a year, and it had recently metastasized to other vital organs.

Fauna was the daughter of my half-sister, Tamar who at age fifteen gave birth to Fauna in 1951.  Tamar, an unmarried teenager told the San Francisco hospital staff that the “unnamed father was a negro” and Fauna was subsequently adopted and raised by a Black family in Sparks, Nevada.

Fauna as an adult was able to locate and reconnect with her birth mother, Tamar and reunited with her in Hawaii in the Seventies. Tamar passed away in 2015, almost two years to the day of Fauna’s passing.

My condolences to Rasha and her sister Yvette, and to and to the rest of Tamar’s children,  Deborah (Fauna II) , Peace, Love, and  Joy.

Rest in Peace Fauna.

Love,   Uncle Steve

The post Fauna Hodel Dies at age 66-May She Rest In Peace appeared first on Steve Hodel.

October 9, 2017
Los Angeles, California

“George Hodel only 6 years old, proved one of the favorites of the recital. He is, small, but possessed of phenomenal talent as a pianist.”
                                         Los Angeles Daily Times
March 20, 1914

1320 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles

1912 Drawing of Egan Little Theatre, (renamed the Musart Theatre in 1933) in downtown Los Angeles, where George Hodel, age 6,  performed a piano recital before an audience of 300  in 1914.

DTLA Map shows where Dr. George Hill Hodel practiced Music, Medicine, and Murder

Link to history of downtown Los Angeles theatre Little Theatre/Musart 

The post Child Musical Prodigy George Hodel Performs at LA Egan/Little Theater in 1914 at age 6–DTLA Map Showing Locations He Practiced Music, Medicine and Murder appeared first on Steve Hodel.

October 10, 2017
Los Angeles, California
(Today would have been Dr. George Hill Hodel’s 110th Birthday)

Click to LA WEEKLY article, “Most Haunted House John Sowden House” by Jason McGahan here.

New Owners have removed heavy landscaping and opened up the front street view of the residence

Take a 3D Tour Click Here

Take a 3D Tour of thanks to the new owners.

The post Sowden House Publicity LA Weekly “Most Haunted” Featured Today Coincidentally (?) on George Hodel’s 110th Birthday New Owners Give a 3D Tour appeared first on Steve Hodel.

October 21, 2017
Los Angeles, California

One of my favorite newly discovered words of late has been the term, “High Jingo.”

It was first introduced to me through the writings of one of my favorite mystery authors, Michael Connelley in several of his HARRY BOSCH novels.

My good friend, Robert J. Sadler, also an accomplished mystery writer, and Dallas P.I., knowing how much I liked and have used the term, sent me the following etymology via email yesterday. Very impressive and I wanted to share his summary with you. Enjoy.

Steve:
This evening the word (Jingo) came into my mind. Curiosity sent me to one of my favorite little books: “Word Origins and their Romantic Stories”. Where I found the
treatise on “Jingoism”. Which then let me to the OED, with its rather long and well-researched entries… and… at the end there is Harry Bosch! I hope you find this
interesting.

Click below for PDF on High Jingo.

High Jingo RJS   pd

Robert J. Sadler Author Website

The post The Etymology of the Term “High Jingo” by Author Robert “Dr. Watson” Sadler Retired Dallas PD appeared first on Steve Hodel.