On January 15, 1947, the body of beautiful 22-year-old Elizabeth Short -- dubbed the Black Dahlia because of her black clothing and the flower she wore in her hair -- was discovered on a vacant lot in downtown Los Angeles, her body surgically bisected, horribly mutilated, and posed as if for display. Even the most hardened homicide detectives were shocked and sickened by the sadistic murder. Thus began the largest manhunt in LA history. For weeks the killer taunted the police -- and public -- much as his infamous English counterpart Jack the Ripper had done in London 60 years before, sending tantalizing notes, urging them to "catch me if you can." And for weeks and months the LAPD came up empty. Charges of police ineptitude soon gave way to rumors of corruption and cover-up at the highest levels. Meanwhile, between the Hollywood and downtown areas of Los Angeles, a dozen lone women were brutally murdered, and their cases also remained mysteriously unsolved. Could the Black Dahlia Avenger be, in fact, a serial killer stalking the city streets?

 April 11, 2003

 Black Dahlia Avenger: A Genius for Murder released to the public and author holds a news conference held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

  May 2003

 Author Receives Permission from DA Steve Cooley to review “Hodel File”

 The author was permitted to review hundreds of previously secreted DA documents which verify his father, George Hodel, in February/March, 1950 was the prime-suspect in the Dahlia murder investigation before he fled the country in late March of that year. Documents and a 146-page electronic surveillance transcript connect George Hodel to multiple crimes and include admissions by him as to committing the Black Dahlia murder, and the overdose poisoning of his personal secretary.

 August, 2003

 LAPD Briefing

 At the request of LAPD brass, the author and Head Deputy District Attorney Steve Kay, meet with: an LAPD Assistant Chief, a Deputy Chief, a Commander, several Captains, and four Robbery-Homicide detectives, and provide them with an intelligence briefing and summary of all the linkage of Dr. George Hodel to the 1940s Los Angeles area serial crimes. A written copy of the author’s massive AFTERMATH follow-up investigation, summarizing the DA and new witnesses statements was provided to all officers in attendance.

 June, 2004

 The Aftermath

 Release of Black Dahlia Avenger: A Genius for Murder, HarperCollins trade-paperback. This printing contains over one-hundred pages of new material in the AFTERMATH chapter, which includes all of the author’s investigative follow-up since April, 2003. The AFTERMATH documents and interviews are the “smoking guns” (DA electronic surveillance, new photographs, new witnesses, and documented confirmation of the 1950 LAPD cover-up). Also included is a new Foreword by bestselling L.A. crime novelist, James Ellroy.

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