Black Dahlia Murder: Former LAPD detective says new evidence links his father to the 1947 murder, report says
(CBS) SOUTH PASADENA, Calif. - A former LAPD homicide detective revealed new evidence on Thursday that he says supports his theory that his father was the man behind the infamous 1947 Black Dahlia murder, according to CBS Los Angeles.
WATCH: 48 Hours' Black Dahlia Confidential
Steve Hodel spoke at a Pasadena library Thursday evening and said his father carved into the victim's hip a unique symbol with a criss cross, according to the station.
Hodel, who is also an author, told the Pasadena Star News that he planned to show a link between the symbol carved into Elizabeth Short's hip and a painting done by his father's friend.
Authorities have long believed that someone with medical knowledge was the person responsible for the gruesome torture and killing of Short, an aspiring actress that mutilated and cut in half when she was 22 years old. Her body was drained of blood and dumped in a park.
Hodel's father, George Hodel, was a doctor. He was booked in 1949 for incest and was also a prime suspect in the Black Dahlia murder.
The younger Hodel also says he has receipts for cement sacks believed to have been found at the crime scene in the never-solved case, according to the station.
Hodel told CBS LA that the handwriting in the letters that the killer sent police matched his father's.
The Black Dahlia is one of the most notorious unsolved murder cases in Los Angeles. Several books and films have been inspired by the case.
