Two of the most infamous unsolved murder cases in American history have captivated the public for years. The 1947 killing of aspiring actress Elizabeth Short, famously known as the Black Dahlia, and the Zodiac killings that shook Northern California in the late 1960s. A recent assertion by amateur investigator Alex Baber suggests a potential link connecting both cases to one individual.
Elizabeth Short’s body was found in January 1947 in Los Angeles’ Leimert Park, gruesomely mutilated with a sinister smile carved into her face. The press dubbed her the Black Dahlia due to her dark attire and hair. Despite the brutality of the murder, there was a lack of blood at the scene, leading authorities to believe she was killed elsewhere and her body later disposed of. Short, who had moved to Hollywood to pursue an acting career, was associated with Marvin Skipton Margolis, a former Navy corpsman training to be a surgeon, who Baber believes could be a significant suspect in the case.
The Zodiac killer emerged two decades later, terrorizing Northern California with a series of attacks on young couples in secluded areas, sending cryptic messages to the press. The Zodiac’s first known victims were David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen, followed by several more attacks that left a trail of death and fear in the region. Baber’s investigation focuses on Margolis, later known as Merrill, pointing out his military background, surgical expertise, sharpshooting skills, and alleged involvement in both the Black Dahlia and Zodiac cases.
Despite Margolis passing away in 1993, intriguing evidence supporting Baber’s theory has come to light, including a disturbing drawing found among Merrill’s possessions resembling Short’s injuries and bearing a cryptic message reminiscent of the Zodiac’s style. Baber claims to have cracked the Zodiac’s unsolved cipher using advanced technology and historical records, pinpointing Merrill as the potential perpetrator of both sets of murders.
If Baber’s findings are validated, it would shed new light on the intricate web connecting these notorious crimes and the lengths to which an individual with military training and personal motives can go to conceal a dark history of violence. While Merrill’s youngest son has dismissed Baber’s conclusions as speculative, the possibility of a singular figure behind these chilling events remains a tantalizing prospect for closure in these long-standing mysteries.