Cold case investigator behind explosive Zodiac theory reveals stunning Black Dahlia DNA breakthrough

Remarkable developments are unfolding in the investigation into whether one man was responsible for both the Black Dahlia murder and the Zodiac killings – an explosive theory linking two of the most infamous cold cases in American history. 

Alex Baber, director of Cold Case Consultants of America, stunned the true crime world when he exclusively revealed to the Daily Mail in December that he believed both crimes were committed by the same man: Marvin Margolis, a deceased World War II veteran and father of four.

In the months since, the investigation has taken a dramatic turn.

Appearing at the Daily Mail-sponsored Hamptons Whodunit event in East Hampton, New York, on Friday, Baber revealed for the first time that detectives have actively sought a DNA sample in connection with the Black Dahlia case – a step he said had never previously been taken in the eight decades since Elizabeth Short was found butchered and posed along a Los Angeles roadside.

Baber was speaking on a headline panel alongside Daily Mail Senior Correspondent Kayla Brantley and The Crime Desk US Editor Rachel Sharp, the reporter who broke the world exclusive identifying Margolis.

‘I can only tell you so much… I just got off the phone with them this week,’ Baber said. ‘Detectives sought out a DNA sample in the Black Dahlia case. That’s never happened. It was rejected by the family… but we have some new things going on on the forensic side of these cases as we speak.’

He added: ‘I promise you, the wheels are turning, and we’re coming close to putting an end to this mystery.’

Baber said the investigation has been bolstered by a critical shift within Margolis’s own family, revealing during the panel that some relatives are now cooperating with investigators.

He also disclosed another significant development: newly surfaced video footage showing Margolis alongside his close associate Bill Robinson years after Elizabeth Short’s murder – a direct contradiction of the version of events both men gave to investigators at the time.

According to grand jury records, Robinson – a former member of the Army’s Signal Intelligence Service, the military’s codebreaking unit – was part of Margolis’s inner circle during the period when Baber alleges he was involved with Short.

Both men had insisted they were no longer in contact by the time police began investigating her killing in 1947.

The footage, Baber said, places them together well after her death – raising fresh questions about what they told detectives and whether key elements of the original investigation were built on false premises.

It also underscores Robinson’s potential significance beyond the Dahlia case. As a wartime codebreaker trained in classical cryptographic techniques, Baber suggested, Robinson could have helped lay the groundwork for the cipher-based taunts that would later define the Zodiac killer’s reign of terror two decades later.

Between 1968 and 1969, the Zodiac killer terrorized Northern California, murdering at least five victims while claiming many more. He taunted police and the media with cryptic letters and ciphers – daring anyone to uncover his identity.

The Zodiac’s spree came 21 years after Short’s murder sent shockwaves through California.

Short – later dubbed the Black Dahlia in the press – was found brutally murdered in Los Angeles, her body severed in half and grotesquely posed, a chilling detail that horrified the nation.

Both cases stumped investigators, leading to decades of dead ends and failed theories.

Then, in December 2025, the Daily Mail revealed Baber’s claim that he had finally solved both cases following an exhaustive, years-long investigation.

He says he has also cracked the Zodiac’s infamous Z32 cipher – uncovering a message he believes directly links the killer to the Black Dahlia murder.

Speaking during the panel on Friday, Baber said that solving the cases and unmasking Margolis were personal for him.

Shortly before landing on Margolis as a suspect, Baber spoke with Short’s last surviving sibling, who told him she had long given up hope of ever learning who killed her sister.

‘This is hard for me to talk about,’ he said, his voice cracking with emotion. ‘But she told me, “We gave up hope a long time ago that they would ever identify her murderer… my four sisters have died, and my mother passed in ’92, and I don’t think I’ll ever know.”

‘Before I hung up, I said: “Let me give you my word – I’ll find him for you.” And she died just as I identified him officially, so I missed her by a few months.

‘That was hard to swallow.’

Baber and Sharp’s presentation of the evidence against Margolis appeared to stun many inside East Hampton Library.

During a Q&A at the end of the panel, a former detective in the audience exclaimed, ‘You’re f**king amazing,’ to Baber.

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Hamptons Whodunit CEO and co-founder Carrie Doyle spoke of her excitement about Baber and Sharp’s seminar earlier this week.

‘We are excited to collaborate with The Daily Mail to showcase the incredible true crime and forensic experts, as well as the bestselling mystery and thriller authors that are featured at Hamptons Whodunit,’ she said.

‘Our festival is a unique interactive weekend where our attendees can hear all about crime from those solving real cases, as well as from those who are creating fictional mysteries in their books.

‘Hamptons Whodunit’s partnership with The Daily Mail allows us to bring riveting stories of the quest for justice not just to our local audience, but to the masses.’