"The Baron"

 Baron Ernst von Harringa circa 1940s

                                 (photo courtesy of grandson, Baron von Harringa)                          

 Baron von Harringa (his given name) is the grandson of Ernst von Harringa. Baron is a handsome young man of just 18-years. He too is looking for answers.   

We met for breakfast in mid-January at my favorite deli in Studio City. Both of us were there with the same hope. Baron wanting to learn more about his mysterious grandfather and I wanting to discover additional background on my father's old friend, confidant, and possibly his accessory to murder!

Our talk lasted nearly two-hours, but unfortunately provided little new "hard" information for either of us. Here is what I learned from the grandson:

1.  Von Harringa family rumors have it that his grandfather, Ernst von Harringa, aka Ernst Meyer, may have been related to nobility in Germany, but nothing to support the information and no actual names.

2. Ernst von Harringa apparently returned to the U.S. (possibly from India) in the mid-1950s and supposedly died in Los Angeles circa 1960. (I have yet to find a death certificate or obituary as documentation.) 

3. He (the grandson) met his grandmother Alene Valla Von Harringa) several times before she died in 2001 and he had heard that her family (Valla) had owned large land parcels in Orange County in the early days. (Turn of the century?) 

4. Baron gave me the above photograph of his grandfather, believed taken sometime in the 1940s or possibly early 50s?

Was Baron Ernst Harringa an accessory to murder? The 1950 Franklin House Tapes-

Two days after above taped conversation (2.20.50) DA investigator McGrath locates and interviews Dr. Hodel's residence plumber attempting to determine if a body might have been recently buried in the Hodel basement.  McGrath asks the plumber if he had seen "signs of fresh digging?" Dr. Hodel is placed under physical surveillance and his vehicle is followed by investigators Walter Morgan & James McGrath.

DA Black Dahlia File, March 1950 handwritten notes made by DA Lt. Jemison show he has decided to reinvestigate the 1945 murder of Dr. Hodel's secretary, Ruth Spaulding with plans to reinterview all of the original witnesses.

George Hodel flees Franklin House in March, 1950 relocating to the Territory of Hawaii.

"Take it from me. We are never going to know!"

James Ellroy, Paris, January 2010 on  book-signing tour/promotion for his new novel, Underground USA

Bests.
Stéphane BOULAN
sboulan@gspresse.fr

(SKH Note- For Boulan's French article and sound clip on tape (in English) click to below link:

http://bibliobs.nouvelobs.com/20100123/17232/breve-rencontre-avec-james-ellroy-meme-dieu-fait-des-erreurs

An open letter to Stephane Boulan re. James Ellroy and my book, Black Dahlia Avenger

To:               Stephane Boulan

From:           Steve Hodel

Subj:            James Ellroy quote

Dear Stephane:

Merci!

Thank you for the email regarding your brief Q&A with James Ellroy at a Paris talk/book-signing in January, 2010. I also received your tape-recorded clip containing his response to your questions regarding my book, Black Dahlia Avenger: A Genius for Murder.

As to James observations that "even God makes mistakes" and that his ex-wives were pounding chocolate with mysterious cartels, I'll pass on making any response. Both of those subjects are way beyond my experience/knowledge level.

I can however, provide you with the back-story along with my response to Ellroy's recent personal comment to you as relates to my father, George Hodel and my book.

  Steve Hodel's 2004 Fr. Ed.

            James Ellroy (From the Foreword to Black Dahlia Avenger 2004

A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE- THE BACKSTORY

First, let me clarify the record. 

My book, Black Dahlia Avenger was published in the U.S. in April, 2003 and became a NYT bestseller. A year later, in 2004, James Ellroy then read my newly written "AFTERMATH" chapter. The new chapter included the secret documents and transcripts locked away in the prosecutor's files for fifty-three years which confirmed that George Hodel was the "prime suspect" back in 1949-1950,

After reading George Hodel's admissions and confession statements, James Ellroy approached me and made an unsolicited offer to write the Foreword to my soon to publish, 2004 HarperCollins-paperback edition.

I gave James offer thoughtful consideration and was initially reluctant to agree. Mainly, because Ellroy while being a popular novelist, was one of the primary contributors to the myth-making process that had recreated the real victim, Elizabeth Short into something that she was NOT. In his original novel, Black Dahlia (written in 1987, some sixteen years earlier) he had mixed real names with fictional events which helped create the myth which further obscured the facts and the truth. (Unlike others though, to his credit, Ellroy never claimed his novel was anything other than "pure fiction.")

In the end, I agreed and told him, "Go ahead and write it." He did and the result was a beautiful and poetic tribute first to the real victim, Elizabeth Short, "a post war Mona Lisa" and secondly to my then five-year investigation. I quote from his Foreword to my 2004 edition:

                      ...Steve Hodel convinced me. His knowledge is conclusively  catalogued in this book. I began the book unimpressed and came away converted. ...It's a rich story of late-40's L.A. and an indictment of official negligence and obfuscation. "

That was 2004. In October of that same year, thanks to the excellent translation by my French editor, Robert Pepin, L'Affaire Du Dahlia Noir was published in your country and quickly became a national bestseller.

In that same year I was honored with an invitation to come to Paris which I happily accepted. I was interviewed by Paris print-journalists as well as your television and radio media. I found it to be a truly wonderful experience especially since it was my very first visit to France. I loved that week in Paris.( I was invited back in 2006 to give a PowerPoint slide show and talk at the Pompidou Centre related to my Black Dahlia investigation which focused on the surrealist connections.)

Meanwhile, back in the U.S. my book and new investigative discoveries continued to spark both excitement and controversy. (Three separate investigative documentaries were produced in 2003-4 by the major television networks.  (NBC Dateline, "Black Dahlia", CBS 48-Hours, "Black Dahlia Confidential" and Court TV's, "Who Killed the Black Dahlia?")

The bright klieg lights of publicity were not a welcome sight at LAPD's Robbery-Homicide Division.  With the press pushing for more answers, in 2004, then Black Dahlia gatekeeper LAPD detective Brian Carr (now retired) was forced to issue a statement to the press announcing that "all the original Black Dahlia evidence had disappeared from the locked files." This included all of the original 1950 reports connecting George Hodel as the prime suspect along with the original tape-recordings containing his admissions to being involved in police payoffs, abortions, and committing the Black Dahlia murder as well as the murder of his personal secretary.(In 1945, some eighteen months prior to the Dahlia murder, LAPD suspected and investigated George Hodel in the "apparent suicide" by pills, of his then girlfriend/secretary, Ruth Spaulding, but were unable to prove he killed her.) Detective Carr also informed the press that "George Hodel's fingerprints were also missing from the files and since all the evidence is missing we are unable to proceed with any DNA analysis, and the case is not solvable."

As far as James Ellroy was concerned these events were "good news-bad news." The Good- because of all the renewed interest in my Black Dahlia investigation, the studios had decided to "green-light" his original Black Dahlia novel, which had been under option, but had remained in "Production-Hell" for sixteen-years. The Bad- All of his good friends at LAPD's Robbery Homicide were very unhappy with his personal and very public televised endorsement of my Black Dahlia investigation as- "CASE SOLVED."

Ellroy's CBS 2004 on-air sound byte click below

ellroy SKH SOLVED BD Nov272004.wav 

"I think Steve Hodel is a good and noble guy. I think he solved the Black Dahlia murder case."

James Ellroy, to CBS investigative journalist Erin Moriarty on the hour-documentary, Black Dahlia Confidential, November 2004

Fast forward to 2006.  LAPD detective Brian Carr received increasing pressure from the media to comment on what LAPD was doing and what action they were taking related to my investigation?  In an  A&E Bill Kurtis Black Dahlia Cold Case Files documentary detective Carr was forced to respond:

"I don't have time to prove or disprove Hodel's investigation. I'm too busy with other cases that are solvable." 

Detective Brian Carr retired from LAPD in 2009

Likewise, James found himself in a quandary.  How did he reconcile his bold assertion that I had solved the Black Dahlia murder, with the fact that a major motion picture (Black Dahlia) was about to be released presenting his fictional version? The public was asking him, "Why not present the truth which was far far stranger than even he had original conceived it to be?"

That was the public face of it. Next, James started getting blasted from the rear by the film studio. They had just invested big bucks (75 million+) and wanted him to shut up about claiming that Hodel had "solved the case" fearing it would hurt box-office sales.

So, under pressure from without and within, James made a public statement to the effect:

"As of October, 2006, I will no longer respond to any questions about the Black Dahlia Murder. I no longer wish to discuss it. I'm tired of talking about it. Time to move on to other things."

CUT ELLROY SOME SLACK-JACK

As to James statement to you that he "led with his heart" and no longer believes George Hodel was the killer and that it "can never be proved if Man Ray was or was not indirectly involved." 

My response?

Whatever his current motives or reasons may be for saying that, I say, "Cut the dude some slack-Jack."  I know for a fact that James truly regrets writing the Foreword to my book. However, I suspect that his real regret is coming not so much from the heart, but rather from Ellroy, the businessman. And, believe me James is first and foremost - a businessman. His business is the promoting and marketing of James Ellroy, and he is very good at it.  Nothing wrong with that!

From that standpoint, what looked good to him as a 2004 business opportunity (writing a Foreword to my bestseller, Black Dahlia Avenger) by 2006 had turned around to bite the Demon Dog in the butt.

That original 2004 endorsement of my investigation by 2006 was a huge thorn in his side. By then it had come back to haunt him by upsetting his powerful friends both within the LAPD and in the film industry. Friends that he needed and wanted to keep close. Friends that were (and still are) his bread and butter.

 It was a lot of pressure on him for a long time, so again I say- Let's all cut the dude some slack!  James has a perfect right to change his mind for whatever his reasons and motive might be. More than that, he doesn't need a reason. Who really cares whether it is his head or his heart that is talking now? (Besides, I thought you French had the exclusive on "leading with the heart.")

In conclusion, James is not the final arbitrar of Truth-YOU ARE. YOU and the rest of my readers have always been the sole judge and jury. After careful review, you alone and individually have held the responsibility to weigh the evidence and decide the case. (Not an easy task, since the latest updated French edition now runs 761 pages. Add to that my new sequel, Most Evil: Avenger, Zodiac and the Further Serial Murders of Dr. George Hill Hodel (Dutton 2009) which runs 320 pages, and the combined investigations now surpass the page count of- Tolstoy's, War and Peace.)

Feel free to translate my letter to you into French so your fellow countrymen and women can have a fuller understanding of the back-story to all this. (There is actually more to the Ellroy story, with some very interesting LAPD connections, but will leave it at this for now.)  

Most Respectfully Yours,

Steve Hodel

Los Angeles, California

January 25, 2010

www.stevehodel.com

P.S.

Stay tuned and keep the faith. I predict we will eventually get an answer not from Ellroy's God who "makes mistakes", but from Science, which generally does not. My investigation continues and a massive amount of new evidence linking George Hodel to the Dahlia and other crimes has been added to what we now know. Most of this "new evidence" has come to us since my last updated chapter in the HarperCollins July 2006 edition and can only be found here on my website in both FAQs and blogs. One of the most dramatic links came as recently as 2008 connecting some 50 lb. cement sacks to our Frank Lloyd Wright Jr. "Franklin House" as likely being the same cement sacks left by the killer at the Black Dahlia crime scene.

 I still maintain the hope and expectation that we will eventually get law enforcement to compare a DNA source to known evidence in one of the many connecting cases. Who knows, with Chief Bratton and detective Brian Carr now gone we may see a new LAPD administration, with Chief Beck at the helm, open up their minds and science lab to a new day?

Original 1947 Black Dahlia investigators and "top brass" privately confirmed among themselves and their families that the "BLACK DAHLIA CASE WAS SOLVED."

                  "I have been trying to forget what happened...  I have forgotten all about Rod Alcala and what he did."

Rod Alcala, August 1971 in-custody statement to LAPD DetectiveSteve Hodel regarding his 1968 assault of Tali S., an 8-year-old Hollywood victim, whom he abducted, raped and left for dead.

        Alcala Orange Co. Court 2009            Alcala on "The Dating Game" 1978             

MY 1971 ARREST & EXTRADITION OF RODNEY ALCALA FOR RAPE/ATT-MURDER

In 1971 my three-year search for Rodney Alcala, a brutal child-rapist wanted by Hollywood Division's LAPD for rape and attempted murder finally ended.

In July of that year, I had met with the FBI in their L.A. office. In that meeting a decision was made to join forces in attempting to locate and arrest fugitive Rodney Alcala by placing him on the Bureau's- -"10 MOST WANTED LIST."  We did and it paid off --big-time. A month later Alcala, teaching as a counselor at a teenage girl's school,  was apprehended and in custody in Concord, New Hampshire.

In the summer of '71, I boarded a plane, flew to Boston, then drove north to Concord, where I arrested and extradited Rodney Alcala.  Our Los Angeles warrant charged him with two felony counts- child rape and attempted murder.

That same year, Alcala was prosecuted, tried, convicted and sent to prison. 

Sadly, this would turn out to be JUST THE BEGINNING of this monster's murderous crime spree. Because of multiple failures in "The System" and his release after serving just a little over two years in prison his incarceration would become no more than a stepping stone to bigger and more horrific crimes. 

Journalist and crime reporter, Christine Pelisek presents the full tragic story as a feature article published in today's (1.21.2010) LA WEEKLY. 

Read Christine's incredible summary of Alcala's many crimes:  

 RODNEY ALCALA: The Fine Art of Killing

"Among the anonymous notes sent police in the 'Black Dahlia' case," said Donahoe, "there was one which was obviously prepared in a print shop. At the time we discounted its importance. Now, however, it may take on new significance."

                                                      Captain Jack Donahoe LAPD Homicide                                                                Los Angeles Times, Feb 17, 1947

Black Dahlia Avenger mailed notes to police and newspapers using "proof sheet paper" an unusual stock of paper primarily found in print shops.  

 In 1925, George Hodel, as editor of his own literary magazine, "Fantasia," used his own printing press to reproduce and distribute copies of his magazine. From 1945-1950 this printing press along with reams of "proof sheet paper" was stored in the basement of the Franklin House. In the late 1940s this same printing press along with the proof sheet paper was used to reproduce George Hodel's sales brochure in marketing the sale of the Franklin House. The proof sheet paper was frequently used by my brothers and me to make our childhood drawings. My father kept several of my original drawings (I was then 7-years-old) and after saving them for over 45-years, returned them to me circa 1995, after his permanent relocation to San Francisco. 

In 2001, after two-years of full time investigation I came to realize that these original proof sheet papers could well be important forensic evidence, potentially directly linking the stock proof sheet papers mailed in by the Dahlia killer to these original papers now in my possession. I was confident that a spectrographic comparison of the size, texture and fiber content, could establish and link them as coming from the same unusual stock. (In my 2003 post-publication briefing to LAPD "brass" this was one of the first forensic comparisons I suggested be made. (Both I and the senior staff officers were unaware at that time that "all the Dahlia evidence including all the original Avenger mailings had disappeared from the locked evidence room.")

Below are my child drawings on proof sheet paper from the basement of the Franklin House. All of the hand printing on the drawings, including: "Chinese Chicken and "Little Me" were written by my father, George Hodel and would become an important forensic exhibit in linking his 1949 handwriting to that of the 1947 samples from the, "Black Dahlia Avenger."

1920s hand printing press similar to one in basement of Franklin House

 1950 "SHANGRI-LA sales brochure printed on George Hodel's home printing press using proof sheet paper.

"For Sale: SHANGRI-LA in Los Angeles"

 Black Dahlia, Red Lipstick & other witness/victims attend 1947  Live Show Up

Based on an in-custody murder suspect's physical description (Otto Parzyjegia) and the fact that he had slain and dismembered his employer and was connected to "proof sheet papers" as a linotype operator at a print shop, LAPD Captain Jack Donahoe ordered a live-show-up be conducted on Feb. 19, 1947. Attending this show-up were witnesses from the Elizabeth Short, Black Dahlia murder, the Jeanne French, Red Lipstick Murder, and additional females victim's who had been kidnapped, assaulted and raped by the "Avenger", but had survived. (Several of these witnesses were named in BDA::Sylvia Horan, Ica M'Grew, Christine Studnicka, and Toni Manalatos. All witnesses attending the Otto Parzyjeglia show-up eliminated him as being the man they saw connected to the separate crimes.

LAPD forensic criminalist, Ray Pinker compared samples of the proof sheet paper mailed in by the Black Dahlia Avenger to samples obtained from the printing shop where  Otto Parzyjeglia worked and found they were from different proof sheet stocks.

Excerpt from newspaper account of Otto Parzyjegla arrest in 1947:

Los Angeles Times- Feb 17, 1947

Publisher Slain, Body Mutilated; Police Report Employee Confession

...The alleged killer in the latest of the city's recent gruesome slayings is tall, blond Otto Parzyjegia, linotype operator, 415 W. Jefferson Blvd., who was arrested near the print shop as he returned to dispose of cartons containing Haij's dismembered body.

Other Questioning Due

Capt. Jack Donahoe of the homicide detail said that Parzyjegla will be questioned about the recent mutilation murders of Mrs. Jeanne T. French, former nurse, and Elizabeth Short, the "Black Dahlia."

...

January 15,2010

 It was a real honor to be invited  to present my PowerPoint "Black Dahlia" talk last night at the Los Angeles Police Historical Society Museum in Northeast L.A.

There was a good turnout of both sworn LAPD and civilian friends and family. The event, a fundraiser for LAPHS was co-hosted by the museum's Chairman, Greg Meyer and its Executive Director, Glynn Martin.

My talk lasted about one-hour and provided a partial overview and update of my Black Dahlia investigation from 1999 to the present and included updates and new linkage and evidence connecting George Hodel to the original crimes. Also, included in the slide-show was a brief summary of my prequel/sequel, MOST EVIL: Avenger, Zodiac, and the Further Serial Murders of Dr. George Hill Hodel.

The presentation was followed by a good audience Q&A and a book-signing.

For any of you living in the Los Angeles area or even those of you visiting from out of town, I would highly recommend you stop by and take a look-see at the museum's historical collection. It provides a great peek into our Department's past. The museum is located at, 6045 York Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90042. 

LAPHS Director, Glynn Martin's introductory article below appeared in LAPD's Blue Line Magazine. (January, 2010) Thanks for the kind words Glynn!

SKH Note-  * Correction to the above reference that reads, "...a case was assembled, and his father, Dr. George Hill Hodel, was named as the killer of Elizabeth Short by a retired deputy district attorney."

In point of fact, it was not a retired DA, but rather one of the LADA's most respected prosecutor's, and then active Head Deputy D.A. Stephen Kay. At the time he reviewed my investigation Steve was Head DDA in charge of L.A. County's Compton Office. Kay, after reviewing all of my evidence provided a ten-page written legal opinion indicating that were George Hodel still alive, the facts subtantiated a filing on at least two separate counts of murder. (Black Dahlia and Red Lipstick Murders.) Kay further added that he was confident that based on my investigation he could convince a jury and obtain a conviction on both counts. Kay rendered his legal opinion on my investigation in 2002 some six-months prior to BDA's publication in 2003 and would not "retire" from the DA's Office for another three years. (2005)

I will be presenting a talk (PowerPoint presentation) and book-signing at the Los Angeles Police Department Historical Society Museum to mark the 63rd anniversary of one of LA's most historic crimes - the murder of 22-year-old, Elizabeth Short, known to the world as- The Black Dahlia. Talk will also include an introduction to my new investigative findings as presented in my 2009 publication of: MOST EVIL: Avenger, Zodiac and the Further Serial Murders of Dr. George Hill Hodel.

(SKH Note- This is a fundraiser for the LAPD Historical Society and all proceeds go to benefit that organization. For that reason they ask that books be purchased at the event. VIP RECEPTION at 6 p.m. Pre-event reception tickets $50.00 per person. Contact LAPHS at 323-344.9445.The later talk/book-signing at 7:15 p.m. is FREE TO THE PUBLIC.)  

DATE:           Friday, January 15, 2010 7:15 p.m.

LOCATION: Los Angeles Police Department Historical Society Museum

                          6045 York Blvd, Los Angeles (click for map/directions)

                         ("Old Number 11", formerly LAPD's "Highland Park Division") 

See Link for further details:  http://laphs.com/

 In 2005 a French film crew came to Los Angeles and made a documentary, The Truth about the Black Dahlia. The show originally produced in French aired in Europe, coincidentally, on my birthday, November 6, 2006. (13th Street, NBC International)

That original production has now been dubbed in English and the full 55-minute documentary (without commercial interruption) can be viewed by clicking on the link below.

Java Films  Black Dahlia: The True Story documentary (full version 55 minutes) 

 In the English version no subtitles are provided and three important participants in the making of the documentary need to be named. They are:

Detective Bill Stoner, is now retired and was James Ellroy's "partner" in their attempt to solve the murder of Ellroy's mother, as chronicled in Ellroy's book, My Dark Places.

For more details on Teetor, Kay and Stoner see my FAQ 43.

SKH NOTE UPDATE ON THE DOCUMENTARY:

The documentary makes reference to the two photographs in my father's album as this was filmed BEFORE I made the follow-up investigation, identification and elimination of "Maganda" on CNN News in September 2006. For full details surrounding that investigation see my FAQ 20. (As many of you know, I still believe it is possible that the remaining photograph in my father's album could be Elizabeth Short. However, as Head DA Steve Kay points out in his on camera interview, "the evidence linking George Hodel has now developed way beyond the photographs."  FAQ 20.

Second, is the reference to the handwriting. In this documentary, I make the statement that "no handwriting expert has come forward to say the Black Dahlia Avenger handwriting IS NOT George Hodel's." The producer then informs the viewers that my statement is incorrect and tells listeners that "other experts have discounted the handwriting." That is not true and I stand by my original statement. In the seven years since publication not one certified Questioned Document Expert has ever stated "It is not George Hodel's handwriting." The only public expert to come forward was the expert hired by CBS for their 2006 documentary, Black Dahlia Confidential.  That QDE claimed his examination was "inconclusive" and he could not say whether "it was or was not George Hodel's handwriting." (Highly understandable, based on the fact he only had a few samples to examine and very limited time to do it.) My court certified expert, Hanna McFarland, was provided over thirty-samples and six-months to examine and make the comparisons before rendering her "highly probable" opinion that  George Hodel was the author of  at least four of the Black Dahlia Avenger notes. For a complete explanation and additional samples of critical HW not provided to the CBS expert see FAQ 16. 

P.S.

 I just received an urgent request via  email from B.M (his real initials *s*) asking me if I could "get on" the below case? After commodious reflection-- I've decided "to pass." 

The Black Dahlia Avenger's -  "Soft Sly Voice"

"I believe he is an egomaniac who deliberately planned the murder to prove to himself that he was a superman who could outwit and outthink the whole world... He would be one against the world, the perpetrator of the perfect crime... I am convinced that his mad ego will cause him to commit another crime and in the same manner....Every time I put the receiver to my ear I hope that I will hear that same soft sly voice that I heard that day that I talked with the killer of the Black Dahlia."

                     James Richardson, City Editor, Los Angeles Examiner  

James Richardson speaking with "Black Dahlia Avenger" Jan. 23, 1947

(Photo reenacted for his book cover, For the Life of Me: Memoirs of a City Editor) 

Voice of George Hill Hodel M.D. - "The Black Dahlia Avenger"

Here, presented for the first time publicly, are several samples of my father's voice. Two of them were recorded in Manila, circa 1959, some twelve-years after the murder of Elizabeth Short. George is reading bedtime poems to my four half-brothers and sisters in Manila. (The children's ages then ranged from approximately 3-8 years.)  The piano heard in the background is being played by his then wife, Hortensia, who was an accomplished pianist. 

George Hodel circa 1959 reading:  The Fox & the Grapes 40 sec.mp3

George Hodel circa 1959 reading:" Goodnight"  15 sec .mp3

This third sample below was recorded in San Francisco circa 1997. The "Avenger" is now 89 years-old and living with his wife June in their 39th floor penthouse suite on Bush Street, in the Financial District. IS THIS THE ZODIAC SPEAKING?

George Hodel circa 1997, San Francisco -  GHH SF 1997 mps.mp3

"THE VOICE" - City Editor Richardson's Conversation with the Killer-

From Black Dahlia Avenger, Chapter 12 - The LAPD and the Press: The Joint Investigation 

Page 163:

  On the afternoon of January 23, Los Angeles Examiner city editor James Richardson received a phone call from a man identifying himself as the Black Dahlia killer. In Richardson's autobiography, For the Life of Me: Memoirs of a City Editor; he describes the eerie call and the killer's follow-up. Richardson explained that he never published the story in the paper at the time because he wanted to keep the evidence confidential, even though there was a feeding frenzy among crime reporters for any stray piece of information on the case.

His revelation of the phone call became an important piece of evidence for me, primarily because of his verbatim description of his brief conversation with the killer and his impressions of the suspect. That this call came from the real killer is not in doubt. During their conversation he promised Richardson to send him "a few of her [Elizabeth's] belongings." As Richardson described the conversation:

The story dwindled to a few paragraphs and was about to fade out altogether when one day I answered the phone and heard the voice I'll never forget.

"Is this the city editor?" it asked.

"Yes."

"What is your name, please?"

"Richardson."

"Well, Mr. Richardson, I must congratulate you on what the Examiner has done in the Black Dahlia case."

"Thank you," I said, and there was a slight pause before the voice spoke again.

"You seem to have run out of material," it said.

"That's right."

A soft laugh sounded in the earpiece.

"Maybe I can be of some assistance," the voice said.

There was something in the way he said it that sent a shiver up my spine.

"We need it," I said and there was that soft laugh again.

"I'll tell you what I'll do," the voice said. "I'll send you some of the things she had with her when she, shall we say, disappeared?"

It was difficult for me to control my voice. I began scribbling on a sheet of paper the words: "Trace this call."

"What kind of things?" I asked as I tossed the paper to my assistant on the desk. I could see him read and start jiggling the receiver arm on his phone to get the attention of the switchboard girl.

"Oh say, her address book and her birth certificate and a few other things she had in her handbag."

"When will I get them?" I asked, and I could hear my assistant telling Mae Northern the switchboard girl to trace my call.

"Oh, within the next day or so. See how far you can get with them. And now I must say goodbye. You may be trying to trace this call."

"Wait a minute," I said but I heard the click and the phone was dead. 

Richard concluded his book with some observations and reflections about the caller/killer he had spoken with seven years earlier. He was, Richardson was convinced, an egomaniac who planned the murder to show the world he was a superman, someone who could "outwit and outthink the whole world." He also stated--and again he was right--that the killer had placed the body where it would be quickly found, and mutilated it so horribly to attract the greatest attention on the part of the police and public. "He would be one against the world," he wrote, "the perpetrator of the perfect crime."

            Richardson was also certain the killer would strike again, and in the same manner, but that ultimately he would make a mistake that would result in his capture. Richardson hoped that the Dahlia killer would again pick up the phone, dial the city desk and ask for him. He revealed that his switchboard operators had developed a sixth sense and screened the "nuts and crackpots," but every now and then did put through a call to him, which invariably was important. He said he still believed that one day he would pick up the receiver and "again hear that soft, sly voice."

THREE DAYS LATER-

City Editor Richardson receives Elizabeth Short's personal belongings mailed by killer, "To the Los Angeles Examiner and Other L.A. Papers."  

Q: I'm confused on how the LAPD Chief Thad Brown photograph taken with you as a rookie police officer connects to the Black Dahlia murder. Can you explain it?

                                1966 In front of---Parker Center "The Glass House"

Steve Hodel        Chief Thad Brown

Yes.  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 is common for a high-ranking officer to be selected and assume command, while other staff officers prepare 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, to attend Thad Brown's swearing in ceremony in the police auditorium.

Immediately after the ceremony, a photographer approached me as I was walking out the front door and asked, "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 it is obvious he just could not resist the "photo-op". It would not be until after the completion of my investigation and the publication of my book 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 discloses 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."  This was Chief Brown's independent and separate confirmation of what we discovered from the D.A. DAHLIA/HODEL Files. Those files opened in 2003 as a result of my investigation, revealed Dr. George Hodel to be the prime Black Dahlia suspect as of late-1949.

ZODIAC-  (n) a belt-shaped region in the heavens on either side of the ecliptic; divided into twelve constellations or signs for astrological purposes.

From MOST EVIL Chapter 23- Murder as a Fine Art

Pages 257-259:

In our many talks during the final decade of his life (1990-99), my father dismissed astrology as quackery. In his opinion its only useful purpose was to pick the pockets of the gullible. The field that interested him was astronomy, especially as it related to Zuni and Hopi cultures.

In October 1998, seven months before his death, he diagnosed his own congestive heart disease. Shortly after his ninety-first birthday, knowing that his health was failing and fearing the real possibility of a major stroke that could leave him an invalid, he prepared to take his own life.

Still in possession of a valid medical license, he wrote out several prescriptions in his wife, June's name for sleeping pills (barbiturates). After he'd accumulated enough pills to ensure a lethal dose, he wrote (in his block printing) "June Hodel conference notes," which were to be his final instructions.

But over the next several months, his strength rebounded. So he stashed the notes away in his desk, where they were found by June after his death. 

                                                            23.7

Figure 23.7 is a copy of that note. Several of his cryptic notations are relevant to this investigation. For example, the eighth line from the bottom reads:

LAST ACT OF LV DISP. ALL EFFECTS

Here my father is reminding himself to tell June that as a last act of love he wants her to dispose of all his personal effects. In what can be considered the most fateful ironies of all, she didn't carry this out. June didn't find my father's note until after she had given me his photo album of loved ones that contained the photograph of Elizabeth Short, which was one of the catalysts for my Black Dahlia Avenger investigation. What other "personal effects" did June also find and not show me?

The third line from the bottom reads:

L= CONC. ON EXCRETA

In a previous entry, my father had used "L" as an abbreviation for the word "life." In light of that, the phrase can be translated as, "Life is nothing but a concentration of excreta." Or, to be more profane, "Life is shit."

The most relevant notation is ten lines from the bottom:

RESRVD PL. IN CNST AQUILA

After my father's death, June explained that shortly after deciding to permanently relocate from Hong Kong to San Francisco in 1990, he had purchased a permanent memorial to himself in the heavens located in the 8-degree belt on the ecliptic known as Zodiac. In other words, he had bought a star and had it registered in his name.

The star-- known as Dr. George Hill Hodel-- can be found by pointing a telescope at the Zodiacal constellation Aquila (the eagle) and aligning the sight to RA (right ascension) 19hrs 56mins 53secs at declination 8'16mins. The registration is placed in a vault in Switzerland and "is recorded in a book which will be registered in the copyright office of the United States of America." This practice is not recognized in the scientific community, but is more like buying a plot of land on the moon. Nevertheless, my father must have chuckled to himself at his private, heavenly memorial to his crimes.

It's another manifestation of his enormous ego, an immortal mocking of humanity fixed and registered in the Zodiac's constellation, Aquila.

Even after its namesake's death, star George Hill Hodel shines its sardonic, dark light on us, and will forever.

      Star Dr. George Hill Hodel 

 Constellation Aquila

See related article in Failure Magazine by Jason Zasky,

 "Zodiac killer named a star for himself in Zodiacal Constellation Aquila?"