Zodiac Killer may be tied to Black Dahlia case after ‘code cracked,’ new suspect emerges

The Zodiac Killer's cryptic messages weren't conscionable taunts to constabulary — they were a twisted throwback to his archetypal victim, according to an autarkic researcher who says he's cracked the codification and uncovered caller grounds suggesting the infamous serial slayer began his vocation 23 years earlier with the California execution of Elizabeth Short, besides known arsenic the Black Dahlia.

Alex Baber, co-founder of Cold Case Consultants of America, said that aft 9 months of work, helium cracked a double-layered encryption that progressive transposition and substitution successful a 2 by 7 grid.

"Currently, for the archetypal clip successful history, LAPD detectives approached the household of a fishy to get DNA," helium told Fox News Digital successful an interrogation connected the sidelines of the Hamptons Whodunit lawsuit successful East Hampton implicit the weekend. "That's ne'er happened for the Black Dahlia case... we got a beauteous bully feeling that we're sitting successful the close seat."

The Los Angeles Police Department did not instantly respond to a petition for comment. An FBI spokesperson declined to measurement in.

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Alex Baber, acold right, explains his findings successful the Black Dahlia and Zodiac murders astatine the Hamptons Whodunit lawsuit successful East Hampton, New York, connected Friday, April 17, 2026. Baber said helium believes the cases are linked. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)

Baber's finding, that the Zodiac's "Z13" cipher depicts the sanction of a premier fishy successful the 1947 Black Dahlia murder, was archetypal revealed successful the Daily Mail, and helium presented them publically Saturday astatine the East Hampton Library.

With assistance from a proprietary artificial quality bundle and self-taught cognition of cryptography, helium said the 13-character connection is decoded to work "Marvin Merrill." After further digging into societal information records, helium said helium discovered that's an alias for Marvin Margolis, who helium said dated Short successful the 1940s and had been connected the LAPD's fishy database aft her execution and dismemberment. His AI bundle flagged the transportation betwixt the 2 cases, helium added.

San Francisco constabulary circulated composite sketches of the Zodiac slayer based connected witnesser descriptions pursuing the slaying of a cab operator successful San Francisco. The fishy is linked to 4 different slayings successful Napa and Vallejo, California. (Getty Images)

Once he'd developed Margolis arsenic a imaginable suspect, helium said helium went to sojourn his surviving son, who showed him a handwriting sample, which Baber said helium suspected was a lucifer to Zodiac some successful presumption of the handwriting and linguistically.

When Baber revealed his findings to the son, helium recounted the pursuing reaction:

"He instantly turned white, his hands started shaking and helium reached crossed the array — erstwhile helium grabbed my hand," Baber said. "First clip I've ever had an interrogation wherever they've initiated carnal interaction with me, and astatine that point, helium says, 'We're gonna beryllium OK.'"

An representation of Marvin Merrill successful 1969. (Courtesy of Alex Baber)

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The lad provided penning samples showing some Zodiac and Margolis made the aforesaid phonetic spelling errors, Baber said.

"I said, 'I hatred to stroke your mind, but he's besides fishy connected grounds not from my bureau but from the expansive assemblage inquest with the archetypal files for LAPD successful 1947 of Elizabeth Short's homicide,'" Baber recalled.

"He said, 'Elizabeth? Well, fto maine amusement you something,'" Baber continued.

After flipping done his phone, helium produced a haunting sketch, labeled "Elizabeth" crossed the bottom.

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"The archetypal happening I said is, 'Holy s---,'" Baber said.

He provided images of a sketch Margolis drew 46 years aft Short's death, which helium says showed further item erstwhile viewed successful idiosyncratic — indentations connected the leafage from a pencil extremity utilized to adhd texture to the inked drawing. The alarming portion astir those features is that they coincide with injuries sustained by Short, helium said, and that an content of the connection "Zodiac" is hidden wrong a achromatic inheritance connected the bottommost close of the image.

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Alex Baber of Cold Case Consultants of America poses for a photograph successful the courtyard of the East Hampton Library during the Hamptons Whodunit lawsuit connected Saturday, April 18. Baber presented grounds helium says shows the Black Dahlia execution and Zodiac serial slayings were linked. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)

After Baber cracked the code, helium said helium shared it with the FBI and had it peer-reviewed by different experts, including 1 helium described arsenic a erstwhile National Security Agency codebreaker.

That one, helium said, reverse engineered his decryption and realized that the cardinal to the cipher was acold simpler: the Black Dahlia victim's archetypal name, Elizabeth.

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"Elizabeth was the cardinal to solving the Z13," helium said. He said her sanction generates a numerical series utilized to rearrange the cipher.

Another notable transportation Baber said helium recovered was betwixt Margolis and a adjacent person who specialized successful encryption during World War II.

Baber said helium believes this representation shows Black Dahlia unfortunate Elizabeth Short and was drawn by Marvin Margolis, who whitethorn person utilized the aliases Marvin Merrill and Marty Merrill. Margolis was an aboriginal fishy successful Short's 1947 murder. He was ne'er charged and has since died. According to Baber, determination are indentations from a pencil disposable successful idiosyncratic that adhd texture and caller clues to the image, including wounds that are accordant with those recovered connected Short and, much explosively, the connection "Zodiac" successful the little right. (Alex Baber)

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"His roommate Bill Robinson, who lived with him erstwhile helium lived with Elizabeth Short, was really 1 of the hand-picked cryptographers successful World War II by General MacArthur," helium said.

Margolis lived with Robinson successful Los Angeles astatine the clip of Short's murder, according to constabulary records from the probe Baber obtained and shared with his findings. The records besides amusement Margolis was 1 of 22 persons of involvement backmost successful 1951.

John Kelly, a transgression profiler and psychoanalyst who has been pursuing the lawsuit for years, told Fox News Digital helium reviewed Baber's materials and recovered his findings "have legs."

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"This idiosyncratic of involvement has had galore careers and failed astatine all," Kelly told Fox News Digital.

But 1 that stood retired was his work arsenic a medic successful the Pacific during World War II.

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"The vocation tract that produces the astir serial killers is the aesculapian field," helium said, pointing toward Dr. Harold Shipman, who killed much than 200 of his ain patients, and caregiver Charles Cullen, who killed dozens of his own.

Five of the 22 aboriginal suspects successful Short's execution were besides doctors, the records show.

"In my opinion, this feline fits similar a glove," Kelly said.