by Hodel, Steve
Some “theorists” and a few “profilers” have indicated that they suspected there was “a specific reason why the Dahlia killer selected the Liemert Park neighborhood.” Maybe the killer “had some connection to the neighborhood.”
In my sequel, Most Evil, I presented what I believe was the actual reason why he selected that specific location. Again, we will examine the WHY?
It was not because it “connects him to the neighborhood” but rather just the reverse—the placement of the body connects HER, Elizabeth Short, to HIS NEIGHBORHOOD—HIS OTHER CRIMES.
Another one of his diabolical, “Catch me if you can”—CLEWS. Another of the Avenger’s highly egotistical TAUNTS, which in the end—as “signatures”—when pieced together, have become his own undoing, and led us directly to his IDENTITY.
Here is the explanation in brief.
The most direct route and the one I drove on January 16, 2011, and the one I believe was driven by my father, was: South on Normandie Avenue to Santa Barbara [now renamed Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard], right turn on MLK for approximately two miles. He then turned right on a residential street and drove north a few blocks to the vacant lot where he stopped, carefully posed the body parts and was gone in just four minutes.
The name of the street he selected and turned right on? DEGNAN.
The very same name as that of his third Chicago LIPSTICK MURDER VICTIM.
Suzanne Degnan, was the name of the child who, just one year earlier, had been slain and a hemicorpectomy performed on her by a skilled surgeon/killer. Just as he had done with Elizabeth Short, he divided the little Degnan girl’s body between the second and third lumbar vertebrae. The dissected body parts were then posed in a residential neighborhood with a taunting message written in lipstick, which was left near the body, promising, “There will be more.”
I believe that Elizabeth Short had somehow made the connection of George Hodel, her “former suitor” and sometime boyfriend, to the Chicago Lipstick murders, and had gone to Chicago to investigate them while she knew he was away in China. The DA reports informed us that she did just that and was in Chicago investigating the crimes in June and July 1946.
I suspect that at some later time, Elizabeth naively disclosed to George Hodel that she knew or suspected his crimes. This may have caused his unexpected return to Los Angeles. She then fled in fear to San Diego and he pursued her, and, once found, she discovered that by disclosing her suspicions to George, she had in effect signed her own death warrant.
His choosing and posing of her body on the street whose crime she was about to reveal was his own sardonic and macabre “poetry” to go along with the surrealist homage—to add to his theme murder as a fine art.
Norton vs. Degnan
The simple fact is that George Hodel believed he had posed the body on DEGNAN and likely didn’t discover HIS MISTAKE until reading the afternoon “Extra” edition in the newspaper, which informed readers that the location was: “Thirty-Ninth and Norton.”
What happened?
The above photo exhibit gives us the answer. The fact is that the one street has two names—Degnan and Norton. The arrow points to the exact location where the street magically changes its name from Degnan and becomes Norton.
Driving west on Santa Barbara Boulevard [MLK Jr.], George Hodel turned right on DEGNAN, the street he had previously selected. He drove north on Degnan looking for just the right spot. He came to the division and bore left, thinking he was still on Degnan. He simply zigged when he should have zagged. It was a 50-50 coin toss and he lost.
The above photographs show how the streets are currently marked, not how they appeared in 1947. Back then, there was no raised island or “one way sign” just the simple choice. Bear right and remain on Degnan. Bear left and Degnan becomes Norton.
In later years, it had become so confusing that the city had to try and clarify it by adding the “KEEP RIGHT” sign for Degnan and putting in the one-way divider. Even today’s Goggle maps, to try and help lessen the confusion, have the street split marked with an arrow.
Keep in mind that in his youth, George Hodel was a Los Angeles cab driver, and, with his perfect photographic memory, could take you to any street in the city. He knew them all.
I previously described this unique act of George Hodel by connecting his victims to a street name as one of his “criminal signatures.” It was, and this example is just one of many. The additional “signatures” can be found detailed and summarized in the sequel, Most Evil: Avenger, Zodiac, and the Further Serial Murders of Dr. George Hill Hodel. [Dutton, 2009, New York.]
Probable round-trip driving route from George Hodel’s residence.
1-Dr. Hodel’s Franklin house, 5121 Franklin Avenue
2-Vacant lot, 3815 S. Norton (aka Degnan)
3-Elizabeth Short’s purse and shoes left at 1136 S. Crenshaw Boulevard [Halfway between body and Franklin house]
LA Lone Woman Murders—New Touch DNA procedure potentially opens door to solving many of the 1940s and 1960s serial killings
In addition to the Black Dahlia murder, as has been noted in BDA and reviewed again in earlier chapters of this book from 1943-1949, a number of other Lone Woman Murders occurred all in a tight geographical area between Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles.
As discussed in previous chapters, LAPD’s original on-scene detectives were convinced that many of these unsolved murders were committed by the same suspect and released a summary to the press, listing “11 Points of Similarity,” as well as in multiple press releases connected with the additional Lone Woman Murders that occurred in 1948 and 1949.
In six of those crimes, the suspect left a taunting note, just as he had in the Elizabeth Short murder. This act, by and of itself, is so unusual a crime signature so as to raise the suspicion of linkage to the other murders.
With the recent obtaining of Dr. George Hill Hodel’s DNA profile, along with the newly develop technique of “Touch DNA,” which provides a process where the suspect’s skin cells can be collected off a victims clothing, or even from a ligature used to tie or strangle the victim, the prospect of solving many of these additional LAPD and LASD murders becomes a very real possibility.
All that is required is THE ATTEMPT.
It would require minimal investigative manpower, a single two-person team to coordinate and oversee the collection of potential evidence for testing to the known unsolved cold cases for the presence of suspect DNA. Those findings could then be entered into state and federal CODIS [Combined DNA Index System] for inclusion or exclusion to the known George Hodel sample, as well as providing an automatic comparison to all DNA samples already in the data banks. The DNA collected by investigators from the various Lone Woman Murders cold cases could then also be compared not only to potential suspects but to other existent crime scene DNA already in the data banks for linkage to other unsolved crimes.
The names of some of the 1940s cold cases that remain unsolved and were actively investigated and suspected of possibly being connected and could—if tested—potentially yield suspect DNA are:
(Listed chronologically by investigating agency)
LAPD
Miss Elizabeth Short, January 15, 1947
[It is unclear if the victim’s purse, known to be handled by the suspect remains in evidence. Retired detective Brian Carr claimed all the physical evidence, letters, etc., had “disappeared” but did not specifically mention the victim’s purse.]
Mrs. Jeanne French, February 10, 1947
Miss Evelyn Winters, March 11, 1947
Miss Rosenda Mondragon, July 8, 1947
Mrs. Gladys Kern, February 14, 1948
Mrs. Louise Springer, June 13, 1949
LASD
Mrs. Ora Murray, July 27, 1943
Miss Georgette Bauerdorf, October12, 1944
Mrs. Gertrude Evelyn Landon, July 10, 1946
Mrs. Dorothy Montgomery, May 2, 1947
Miss Geneva Ellroy, June 22, 1958
Miss Bobbie Lo
ng, January 22, 1959
Long Beach PD
Laura Trelstad, May 11, 1947
San Diego PD
Miss Marian Newton, July 17, 1947
Based on my investigation of the publicly known facts of these 1940s Lone Woman Murders, it is my belief that the best chance of obtaining positive DNA would most likely come from LAPD’s-LOUISE SPRINGER murder.
However, all of the above listed crimes are excellent potential sources for obtaining “Touch DNA” due to the suspect’s extensive use of ligatures and or the unusually rough ripping and tearing of the victim’s clothing. Several included a man’s handkerchief left at the crime-scene.
Cold cases in the 1940s and 1960s crimes summarized in my sequel, Most Evil that could also potentially yield suspect DNA—if tested—include:
Chicago
Miss Josephine Ross, June 5, 1945
Miss Frances Brown, December 10, 1945
Miss Suzanne Degnan, January 6, 1946
All three of the Chicago “Lipstick Murders” would offer a high probability of yielding “Touch DNA.”
In addition, Chicago PD hand-carried and booked into evidence at the FBI Laboratory, a hair follicle found on Suzanne Degnan’s body, which they insisted “had to belong to her killer.” Additionally, Chicago PD detectives informed the press that victim Josephine Ross “was clutching in her hand some black hair follicles belonging to the suspect which may help us in identifying him.”
Does the hair follicle evidence in both the Ross and Degnan crimes still exist? Can DNA be obtained?
1945 CHICAGO “LIPSTICK KILLER” UPDATE
Attempted rape victim/witness confirmed the Lipstick Killer description as:
“Tall, thin, with black hair used clothesline rope to bind her.”
In a recent review of 1945 newspaper articles related to Chicago’s “Lipstick Killer,” specifically the June 5, 1945 murder of victim, Josephine Alice Ross, I discovered an interesting and hitherto unknown witness/victim account, long buried and forgotten which should have had an important bearing on the later investigation. This is a new discovery, post-publication of Most Evil. Therefore, this was not discussed in that sequel.
This new information revealed that just a few hours prior to the brutal Lipstick Killer murder of Miss Josephine Ross, another victim, Mrs. Eileen Huffman, age thirty-four was accosted in her apartment house basement by a suspect who was armed with a handgun.
Described as “tall and thin with black hair, “he tied the victim’s hands with clothesline and attempted to rape her, but fled when she screamed out.
Shortly after this assault, just a few hours later, and only five blocks away, the first “Lipstick Killer” victim, Josephine Ross was attacked and murdered in her home. [See below diagram for victim locations.]
In the later, December 1945 murder of victim Frances Brown, the same killer would use both a gun and a knife on his victim, stabbing her through the neck and shooting her twice.
Obviously, Chicago detectives made the connection between the Huffman and Ross crimes, and, according to the article, delayed the murder inquest so that they could proceed with their search for a “tall, dark-haired man, wearing a light colored sweater; he was seen leaving the Ross apartment building,” and closely fit the description provided by Mrs. Eileen Huffman.
“Tall, black-haired suspect” committed the Huffman and Ross crimes on June 5, 1945, just two hours and five blocks apart
Can DNA from the FBI Evidence Lab link George Hodel to Chicago Lipstick Murders?
Does the FBI laboratory still have the hair follicle DNA evidence on the 1946 Degnan “Lipstick Murder” investigation?
FBI Receipt No. PC-16339-AO Q21 dated 1/8/46
Additional Potential Sources for Touch DNA
Riverside PD
Miss Cheri Jo Bates, October 30, 1966
[Hair follicles also found in victim’s hand which reportedly have been tested. Do they contain a full DNA profile? Are they available for comparison?]
Manila PD, Manila, Philippines
Miss Lucila Lalu, May 30, 1967
Solano County S.O.
Miss Betty Jensen/Mr. David Faraday, December 20, 1968
Vallejo PD
Mrs. Darlene Ferrin/Michael Mageau, July 4, 1969
Napa County S.O.
Cecelia Shepard/Bryan Hartnell, September 27, 1969
San Francisco PD
Mr. Paul Stine, October 11, 1969
Signature Crime Linkage—
SIGNATURE CRIME: (noun) any of two or more crimes that involve the use of a method, plan, or modus operandi so distinctive that it logically follows that the crimes must have been committed by the same person
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law
M.O. is a very broad term and it is oftentimes mentioned in very general nonspecific terms when it comes to criminal investigations.
The squad-room roll call sergeant, when reading off crimes from the previous week, might say, “The suspect is a hot prowl burglar and his M.O. is to enter upscale private residences during daytime hours.”
That said, there are signature crimes and signature acts within those crimes that are so specific that they become extremely important in attempting to link serial crimes and serial killers.
In my Most Evil investigation, there are many such acts that I believe not only link the suspect from crime to crime, but from city to city. As relates to the potential for “Touch DNA” let’s examine what I consider to be one of George Hodel’s most significant SIGNATURE ACTS—that being:
Bringing with him and use of pre-cut clothesline to either strangle or bind his victims.
Chicago’s “Lipstick Killer,” Los Angeles’s “Black Dahlia Avenger,” Manila’s “Jigsaw Killer,” and San Francisco’s “Zodiac” EACH BROUGHT AND USED PRECUT SECTIONS OF CLOTHESLINE WITH THEM AND USED IT IN CONNECTION WITH ONE OR MORE OF THEIR CRIMES.
“Lipstick Killer,” “Avenger,” “Jigsaw,” and “Zodiac” all used precut clothesline to commit their crimes.
In the 1967 Manila, Philippines surgical bisection murder of victim Lucila Lalu, the suspect used that country’s version of clothesline rope. He bound her with “abaca,” commonly known as Manila hemp. The photo seen above is a depiction and not the actual rope used in the Lalu crime. The other three photos do show the actual clothesline rope used in those murders.
Touch DNA processing could potentially result in obtaining suspect DNA skill cells on any or all of these ligatures.
Do LAPD and Riverside PD Letters contain Zodiac’s full DNA profile?
In 2010, LAPD and DOJ teamed up to connect and solve a series of cold case murders that occurred in Los Angeles over a twenty-two-year period. [1985-2007]
The suspect, Lonnie David Franklin Jr., who the LA press named, “The Grim Sleeper” was arrested on DNA evidence which allegedly connected him to multiple victims. As of 2011, LAPD believes he may be responsible for as many as twenty separate rape-murders over twenty-years in the South Central Los Angeles area.
Based on my now eleven-years of investigation and the new evidence as reported in Most Evil and now in this 2012 follow-up, I would suggest that George Hodel, also resumed his serial killing in California some twenty-years after the commission of his “Black Dahlia Avenger” crimes.
Setting aside for the moment the twenty or more Northern California Zodiac letters and evidence, let’s just focus on the letters he sent to the police and press in the LA area.
There are four letters: Two mailed in Riverside in 1967, one to the LA Times in 1971 and one to the KHJ-Television station in 1978.
Do these four (4) untested Southern California evidence letters contain suspect’s DNA?
[Top] Killer mailed notes to both victim’s father and Riverside PD in 1967
[Lower left] 1971 Zodiac letter mailed to KHJ TV booked into LAPD as evidence
[Lower right] 1978 Zodiac letter mailed to LA Times booked into LAPD as evidence
1971 Zodiac Letter to Los Ange
les Times
“I do have to give them credit for stumbling across my riverside activity, but they are only finding the easy one, there are a hell of a lot more down there.”
ZODIAC
I believe this letter offers the highest probability of yielding actual suspect DNA. It is recognized as being a legitimate letter written by Zodiac. In it, he acknowledged and took credit for the 1966 Cheri Jo Bates murder, and informed the public that he had killed a lot more victims “down there.” [Southern California]
1971 Los Angeles Times Zodiac Letter
1978 Zodiac Letter to KHJ-TV
When I first viewed this letter, I had mixed reactions as to whether this was/is a legitimate Zodiac letter. The handwriting in the body of the letter—though apparently disguised—when compared to other known writings, seems a bit off. However, the handwriting on the envelope is much more consistent with known Zodiac samples. In the past few weeks, while focusing my attention on this letter, I have discovered what I believe to be new information that may well strengthen the case for the letter having actually been written by Zodiac. [My apologies if some of the information has been referenced elsewhere by other researchers/investigators. If it has been, I have not come across it.] Here’s what I’ve discovered:
This letter was received by KHJ-TV in May 1978, and turned over to the LAPD as evidence. It contains death threats against five individuals: LAPD chief of police, Darryl Gates; Ex-LAPD chief, Ed Davis; singer, Pat Boone; Black Activist, Eldridge Cleaver; and Manson Family member, Susan Atkins. Specifically relating to Susan, “Zodiac” writes:
“And Susan Atkins—the Judas of the Manson Family. Shes gona get hers now.”
The Envelope
On the outside of the envelope where the return address should be were written some backward letters and numbers. The top line reads “CIA” with the letter “C” reversed
Original 1978 envelope booked in LAPD custody
Below I have mirror reversed the original printed information which now reads: