Reminder: Boxie and I will be doing a live Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case Tuesday, September 1, 2026, at 10 a.m. Pacific time on YouTube. The next Black Dahlia Book Club is Tuesday, September 15, 2026, at 10 a.m. Pacific time on YouTube.

In this session, I described an upcoming news article in a major East Coast paper about Michael Connelly’s Killer in the Code podcast.

I also posed hypothetical questions for the Killer in the Code panel, appearing Friday in a fundraiser for Cal State L.A.’s forensics program:

Have police in the relevant jurisdictions commented publicly on Killer in the Code’s claims?

Why does Killer in the Code insist on using an image of Marvin Margolis altered to look more like the Zodiac police sketches?

Is Alex Baber’s only evidence linking Elizabeth Short to the Zodiac Motel a weathered canvas bag found, according to news reports, half a mile away?

How do you know the “Elizabeth” sketch, the so-called “death bed confession,” is authentic? Isn’t it possible someone took a random drawing and wrote “Elizabeth” and “Marty Merrill” across the bottom? Put it in a frame and say “dad did it.”

Is the panel aware of Mr. Alex Baber’s claims that the Black Dahlia and Zodiac cases are related to other unsolved murders spanning decades? Has the panel reviewed Mr. Baber’s other claims? Does it support them?

Detectives Jackson and Roberts are closely affiliated with MIchael Connelly. How can we be sure they weighed the submitted evidence impartially rather what would make a good story for Michael Connelly, who is, after all, a novelist who deals in fiction?

I’ll also announced the charity auction for an inscribed first edition of Michael Connelly’s “The Narrows” with the money going to a charity of the winner’s choice — to be made in memory of Elizabeth Short. The auction will begin September 1 with the Black Dahlia Ask Me Anything and conclude at the end of the Black Dahlia Book Club on September 15. Bidders can submit their bids in the comment section or via email and I will post a running total.

IMPORTANT: The winning bidder will donate the amount to a charity of one’s choice (make it appropriate, please) in memory of Elizabeth Short, send me proof of the donation and their shipping address. And the book will be on its way. I will not be handling any money.

Can’t make the live session? Email me your questions and I’ll answer them!