Investigative Consultant Alex Baber Claims He Has Identified Marvin Merrill as the Zodiac Killer and Black Dahlia Murderer in California

For more than half a century, two of California’s most notorious crimes—shrouded in fear, mystery, and media frenzy—remained unsolved.

The Zodiac killer terrorized Northern California with cryptic letters and vicious murders in the late 1960s. Two decades earlier, the Black Dahlia’s brutal murder left Los Angeles in shock.

Now, an independent investigation claims to have finally linked the two, unmasking a single man behind both horrors.

Investigative consultant Alex Baber of Cold Case Consultants of America believes he has solved both cases, revealing that Marvin Margolis—later known as Marvin Merrill—was responsible for both the Zodiac killings and the murder of Elizabeth Short.

The FBI and California police departments are currently reviewing the findings.

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The Zodiac’s Reign of Terror

Between 1968 and 1969, the Zodiac killer struck fear into Northern California.

His confirmed attacks left at least five dead and two injured, while taunting the public and police with letters and complex ciphers.

His cryptic messages challenged even the world’s top codebreakers and inspired decades of fascination and fear.

Baber claims he has cracked the infamous Z13 and Z32 ciphers, revealing the killer’s true identity and a chilling connection to the Black Dahlia case.

According to him, the Zodiac’s signature crosshair symbol, cryptic language, and weapons were all linked to Merrill’s past, including his time in the military.

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The Black Dahlia’s Tragic End

In January 1947, Elizabeth Short, a 22-year-old aspiring actress, was discovered in Leimert Park, Los Angeles, her body mutilated with terrifying precision.

Known as the Black Dahlia due to her dark hair and fashion sense, her murder shocked the nation.

Investigators quickly suspected someone with surgical knowledge—someone like Margolis, who was a pre-med student and trained corpsman in the Navy.

Short had briefly dated Margolis after moving to Los Angeles, but their relationship soured just months before her murder.

Friends recall that she feared for her life, warning that her “insanely jealous” ex-Marine boyfriend had threatened her.

Evidence suggests that Short may have been killed in a hotel bathtub, with her body later meticulously posed for public discovery.

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Marvin Margolis: From Marine to Suspect

Born in Chicago in 1925, Marvin Skipton Margolis served as a Navy corpsman during World War II, gaining medical and combat skills that would later manifest in his crimes.

Battle trauma and a volatile temperament followed him home, along with a Japanese bayonet he brought back from Okinawa—a weapon Baber believes was later used in the Zodiac murders.

After the war, Margolis moved to Los Angeles, enrolled in medical school, and began his ill-fated relationship with Short.

Following her murder, he fled the city, eventually returning to California years later under the name Marvin Merrill—the man Baber now claims was both the Zodiac and the Black Dahlia killer.

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Cracking the Ciphers

The Zodiac’s ciphers were infamous: the Z408 solved quickly, the Z340 only cracked in 2020, and the Z13 and Z32 remained mysteries.

Baber combined AI technology, historical census records, and classic cryptography to finally decode them.

He claims the solutions not only reveal Merrill’s identity but also provide a direct link between the Zodiac murders and the Black Dahlia case.

Experts, including former NSA codebreakers and forensic document examiners, have reviewed Baber’s findings and attest to the strength of the evidence.

Letters, sketches, and handwriting analysis all point toward Merrill.

One chilling deathbed sketch, depicting a woman named “Elizabeth” with a hidden “ZoDiac” reference, is considered a potential confession.

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Skepticism and Family Reactions

Despite the mounting evidence, Merrill’s youngest son remains skeptical.

He has handed over hundreds of items to Baber’s team for forensic analysis but insists, “There’s no way my dad killed kids.”

He maintains that he never witnessed anything suggesting his father’s involvement in these horrific crimes.

Nonetheless, Baber believes that continued forensic work—including DNA testing of Merrill’s Japanese bayonet and handwriting analysis—could confirm the connections, potentially providing long-awaited closure for the victims’ families.

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From Personal Tragedy to Cold Case Crusade

For Baber, solving these cases is deeply personal.

Having been affected by tragedy in his own family, he founded Cold Case Consultants of America to tackle unsolved crimes and deliver justice, no matter how much time has passed.

“I want the victims and their families to finally have answers,” Baber says.

“It’s about giving them the closure they’ve been denied for decades.”

While decades have passed, some victims’ families and surviving witnesses are still seeking the truth.

Bryan Hartnell, the last known living survivor of a confirmed Zodiac attack, continues his life in California, carrying memories of terror but also hope that the mystery may finally end.

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A Story Heading to Screens

Baber’s investigation is also being developed into a premium documentary series by Emmy-winning producers Melanie Capacia Johnson and Jonathan Reynaga through TH Studios, promising to bring the decades-long saga of the Zodiac and Black Dahlia murders to a new audience.

If proven correct, this investigation could finally tie together two of the most infamous and terrifying criminal cases in American history—ending decades of speculation and potentially giving victims and families the answers they’ve been waiting for.

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