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An amateur codebreaker may have just solved the Black Dahlia and Zodiac killings
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-12-23/black-dahlia-zodiac-killings-connected-one-killer-theoryarchive link: https://archive.ph/16F0y
What does it mean? It may take time for anything like expert consensus to emerge. But according to two veteran homicide detectives who once served at the LAPD — including the former cold case detective who oversaw the Elizabeth Short investigation — Margolis is probably responsible for both the Short murder and the five murders attributed to the Zodiac.
They say Margolis left a complex lattice of hidden clues connecting both cases. Among the links, they contend, is his eerie 1992 sketch of a woman that carries the name “ELIZABETH” in plain writing and the name “ZODIAC” hidden in the shading, but visible with the aid of filters.
“In my opinion, these are solved cases,” said Rick Jackson, who was a homicide detective for 36 years, both at the LAPD and at the San Mateo County sheriff’s office. “There are too many links with both. There’s overwhelming circumstantial evidence. He’s left breadcrumbs all along.”
In early 2025, Baber presented Jackson with his conclusions. Jackson was skeptical — the era of internet sleuthing has seen a proliferation of screwball solutions to unsolved crimes. But he was also intrigued. He tried hard but could not find obvious flaws in the theory.
They say Margolis left a complex lattice of hidden clues connecting both cases. Among the links, they contend, is his eerie 1992 sketch of a woman that carries the name “ELIZABETH” in plain writing and the name “ZODIAC” hidden in the shading, but visible with the aid of filters.
“In my opinion, these are solved cases,” said Rick Jackson, who was a homicide detective for 36 years, both at the LAPD and at the San Mateo County sheriff’s office. “There are too many links with both. There’s overwhelming circumstantial evidence. He’s left breadcrumbs all along.”
In early 2025, Baber presented Jackson with his conclusions. Jackson was skeptical — the era of internet sleuthing has seen a proliferation of screwball solutions to unsolved crimes. But he was also intrigued. He tried hard but could not find obvious flaws in the theory.
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