In a significant development, the Los Angeles Police Department is investigating a suspect first identified by the Daily Mail in the Black Dahlia and Zodiac murders. Detective Martin Mojarro confirmed the department is testing the fingerprints of Marvin Margolis, also known as Marvin Merrill, against evidence from these infamous cold cases.
Background of the Suspect
In December, the Daily Mail exclusively revealed investigative consultant Alex Baber's conclusion that Margolis, a late military veteran, was responsible for both the Zodiac killings in California's Bay Area in the late 1960s and the 1947 Black Dahlia murder of Elizabeth Short in Los Angeles. Baber reached this conclusion after solving the Zodiac's Z13 cipher, a 13-character code sent to the San Francisco Chronicle in 1970, and assembling circumstantial evidence from personal archives linked to Margolis.
Fingerprint Evidence
Now, Baber has unearthed the suspect's fingerprints and shared them with the LAPD. 'The fingerprints were offered to us. I'm thankful that they've agreed to provide them to us,' said Detective Mojarro, one of two detectives assigned to the unsolved Black Dahlia case. 'The obvious thing would be to use them in comparison to anything that exists within our evidence.' Mojarro would not confirm what evidence the LAPD has from the Black Dahlia case that can now be compared, but Baber told the Daily Mail he knows of 'multiple' prints on record, including at least two found on a package believed to have been sent to the Los Angeles Examiner by Short's killer in the days after her murder.
The Package and Letters
The parcel contained Short's belongings, including photographs, her birth certificate, an address book, and personal papers, with the words 'Here is Black Dahlia's Belongings, Letter To Follow' in letters cut and pasted from newspapers and magazines. Other letters, some signed the 'Black Dahlia Avenger,' also followed.
DNA Testing
Mojarro also expressed openness to testing any DNA that could be recovered from Margolis's archives, though he stopped short of confirming if the LAPD had sought or obtained any relevant to the investigation. 'I cannot discuss whether we do or do not have [DNA],' he said. 'But with advances in recent technology, I wouldn't be opposed to revisiting any analysis that has been done or could be done.' However, he warned that small DNA samples could be destroyed during testing, raising the stakes for the decision to send them to a forensics lab.
Relationship Between Short and Margolis
Mojarro said he had 'no real doubt' that Margolis and 22-year-old Short knew each other. But he remained 'a skeptic' of Baber's claim to have solved both cold cases by cracking the Z13, stating: 'Even with that, I would still need the physical evidence to prove or disprove that this person was the person responsible for the murder.'
Verification Process
While fingerprint analysis can be executed relatively quickly, Mojarro noted that law enforcement would need to verify the authenticity of the prints if a match is found. 'I'm not the expert when it comes to the analysis of comparisons, but I guarantee you that the analyst who would be assigned to make the comparison would probably question the same thing: How do we know the validity of the samples that are being provided?' he said.
Historical Context
Almost 80 years have passed since Short's mutilated body was found dumped in a vacant lot in LA, severed in two at the waist with a smile carved into her cheeks. At the time, Margolis was a prime suspect as a former boyfriend who briefly lived with her and had the medical expertise to bisect a human corpse, but no one was ever charged.
Future Developments
'It's amazing because they have never done this before over the last 79 years,' Baber said of the fingerprint analysis. 'The last time they really compared fingerprints was back in the 1940s. Now they are moving forward and are advancing our investigation.' In February, the Daily Mail reported that the LAPD had contacted Baber's cold case team, including highly-regarded retired LAPD detectives, and was reviewing his findings. In April, Baber revealed that some of Margolis's family members had begun cooperating with law enforcement. 'I think we're reaching the end of the Black Dahlia case,' Baber said. 'And I think the Zodiac case will then follow suit shortly after.'
