December 8, 2022
Birch Bay, Washington
I recently received a query from a reader, Tom Balderas as follows:
Hi Steve, just out of curiosity do you think the photo of the girl / ES in the photo album was actually photographed horizontally as opposed to a vertical? In the photo, it looks as though she is standing or propped up against a wall but if you turn it on its side ‘horizontal’ direction it is actually a reclining / laid out girl on a cement floor or perhaps carpet. Was the basement concrete flooring? I hope I’m making the question clear. Tom
Excellent question Tom.
Initially, when I originally examined the photograph, I did believe that she was laying in a supine position on the floor on a carpet. However, in studying the photograph I now believe that she is sitting in an upright position with her back and arm braced against what I believe is one of my father’s upholstered chairs in the living room of the Sowden/Franklin House. Here’s my summary as published in Black Dahlia Avenger II (Thoughtprint Press 2014) pages 83-84.
Setting aside speculation about who appears in Photo No. 2, let’s
take a closer look at the actual photo.
Here’s an enlargement of the No.2 photo and the back of one of the two upholstered chairs that were present in the Sowden/Franklin House living room in January 1947.
Clearly, her upper body and left arm could have been posed against this chair which closely matches the background material in Photo No.2.
SKH Note- As published in my later books/investigation we now know that based on results from one of the world’s leading Facial Recognition Analysis Laboratories, comparing known photographs of Elizabeth Short, Photo No. 2 has been identified with “95-97% certainty that it is the victim, Elizabeth Short. (A “positive ID requires 99.7%)
SKH Note II- In regards to the above Photo No.2 several naysayers who saw it claimed, “the family looked at the photo and said it was not Elizabeth Short. The family eliminated the photo.” IN FACT, only one elderly sister was shown the two album photos side by side and said, “It’s not Elizabeth because she never wore a flower in her hair.” Her comment would indicate she was “eliminating” the other photo in the album which I eliminated fifteen years ago. That sister “witness” had not seen Elizabeth in 58 years since she herself was a teen. (In fact, Elizabeth Short did wear flowers in her hair and photos exist to prove it.) Based on the sister’s statement she well could have been eliminating the George Hodel album photo below (rt.)of “Maganda” true name, Marya Marco whom I identified and eliminated on CNN Anderson Cooper back in 2010. Also, regarding ‘the family eliminated her” the fact is that “the family”: Cleo, Phoebe, Virginia, and Elenora, were all deceased before BDA was published. That leaves two remaining sisters: Muriel, (unknown if she was deceased prior to publication or not), but if still living in 2003, it would have been over fifty years since she saw a photo of her sister as she was born in 1929. That would leave Dorothea, unknown if she was still living, but she would have been in her eighties and would not have seen a photo of her sister for also over fifty years. Finally, I am not aware of any individual that has come forward and identified his or herself as the person obtaining a “photo elimination from the family” or even naming the family member they claim made the elimination. Again, part of the MYTH, “Oh, the Hodel photo was eliminated.” If so, When? By Whom?
Actress, Marya Marco was eliminated by Steve Hodel on CNN Adderson Cooper in 2010. This was done by an in-person interview with Marya in Central California. She indicated that George Hodel got her in films in the 1940s and the photo was taken at the Sowden/Franklin House. She further provided statements that tended to confirm Tamar’s allegation of sexual molestation by her father, George Hodel back in 1949. (See Marya Marco’s statements/interview in BDA II (2014) where she stated that in 1949 she was contacted by GHH who asked her to take care of Tamar for a few days as he was “in trouble.” Marco agreed and Tamar sent by taxi stayed with her for several days and told her, “My daddy was bad to me.”)
The post Dr. George Hodel’s Photo No.2 : Elizabeth “Black Dahlia” Short A Post Mortem Posing At the Sowden/Franklin House appeared first on Steve Hodel.