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Crimes of the Times

The Dahlia Zodiac Connection: Part Four

Crimes of the Times

L.A. Times Studios

Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles, La Times, Los Angeles Times, True Crime, Chris Goffard, News, Society & Culture

4.642.8K Ratings

🗓️ 28 April 2026

⏱️ 32 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the final episode of this four part series, we’ll talk to historian William J. Mann about his new book on the Dahlia case, which points to the same long-forgotten suspect whose name has been linked to a Zodiac cipher.

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is an LA Times Studios podcast.

0:08.6

He was this gopher.

0:10.4

He was his errand boy picking up dead body parts.

0:13.2

You know, he was allowed to participate as an assistant in some of the surgical procedures.

0:17.1

But, you know, he was never, he was never allowed any, any great responsibility.

0:24.7

This is the writer William Mann. He's talking about the most likely candidate as he sees it as the

0:31.1

murderer of Elizabeth Short, who came to be known as the Black Dahlia. He's describing the military

0:37.2

experience of Marvin Margolis,

0:39.4

one of Short's last boyfriends, who served as a battlefield medic during some of the worst fighting

0:45.2

of World War II. And he was resentful about that. So when this reporter in Kansas

0:52.6

interviews him about his life and asks him about his war service.

0:58.1

He's suddenly an airman with the legendary flying tigers.

1:03.9

They were like, you know, Tom Cruise Maverick types, right?

1:07.5

And one of those flying tigers was Elizabeth's fiance, Matt Gordon.

1:15.3

I find it interesting that Marvin, in rewriting his past, turns himself into Matt Gordon.

1:25.2

He just stole his credentials. He stole his war record.

1:28.2

Exactly.

1:28.8

Made them his own.

1:30.3

Yeah.

1:30.6

And so, you know, he might have done something like that anyways, even if he had nothing

1:35.0

to do with Elizabeth Short's murder.

1:36.5

But the fact that he chose the flying tigers of all things seems very suspicious.

...

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