Black Dahlia Avenger II: Presenting the Follow-Up Investigation and Further Evidence Linking Dr. George Hill Hodel to Los Angeles’s Black Dahlia and other 1940s LONE WOMAN MURDERS

by Hodel, Steve

  On Sunday morning, just six-hours after she left Dr. Back’s car, a passing motorist found Lillian’s body lying just off the highway on the north-side of Palm Springs. The autopsy showed that her skull had been crushed, and she had been bludgeoned to death with the butt of a rifle.

  Lillian’s identity remained unknown for several days until Dr. Back, having read the article and her description in the newspaper, suspected that it was Lillian and contacted several of her friends who in turn contacted the Palm Springs authorities. Three days later, on November 10, Frank Back returned to Palm Springs and made a positive identification of the body.

  Dr. Frank Back and Lillian Lenorak

  Within a week, the mystery of who killed Lillian was solved.

  Her killer was Tord Ove Zeppenfield, age twenty-one. Tord, a troubled young man, lived with his mother who owned and ran a motel a short distance from where Lillian got out of the car. Tord saw Lillian walking down the highway and approached her in his car. When she refused to get in, he abducted her at gunpoint and killed her. Here is his excerpted confession of what happened, as printed in the Los Angeles Times on November 18, 1959, just eleven-days after the murder:

  “He was sitting in his room when he saw Mrs. Lenorak walk past. …He followed her in his mother’s car and offered her a ride, which she refused.

  He threatened her with a sawed-off rifle and she got into the car. Then he drove to the north limits of Palm Springs, hit her once with the gun, dragged her from the car and struck her repeatedly.”

  On March 2, 1960, Tord Zeppenfield plead guilty to killing Lillian Hamilton Lenorak. His guilty plea was entered with the understanding that the prosecution would sentence him to life in prison and not seek the death penalty.

  Los Angeles Times November 18, 1959

  At the time of Lillian’s murder, her son, John, was thirteen years-old and attending Elsinore Military Academy.

  John and Lillian Lenorak circa 1956

  A younger Lillian as a Ruth St. Denis dancer

  Larry Harnisch, a copy-editor for the Los Angeles Times and a self-appointed “Black Dahlia expert” has, for the last fourteen-years, been claiming to be writing his own theory on “whodunit” with his own “surgeon-suspect.” In 2009, using McCarthy-like tactics, Harnisch wrote an article questioning both Lillian’s morality and her mental stability. Choosing to post his article specifically on the fiftieth anniversary of Lillian’s murder, he went so far as to publicly “blame the victim” and advised his readers to be skeptical of Lillian Lenorak, her three-year-old son, John, and Officer Unkefer’s statements as originally reported. Harnisch, appointing himself as a defense witness for Dr. George Hodel and sounding like he belonged right back in the Sexist Fifties, had this to say regarding the DA reports and the murder victim, Lillian Lenorak:

  “Keep in mind as you read these letters that this lady [Lenorak] is not a typical, well-grounded middle-class suburban housewife but a chronic patient of mental hospitals and adjust your skepticism accordingly.”

  How’s that for a sexist slam! Apparently, in his mind, any woman who might dare to consider stepping outside the role of “a typical, well-grounded suburban housewife” can forget about being the victim of a crime. Outrageous!

  Mr. Harnisch’s statement that Lillian was “a chronic patient of mental hospitals” is totally unsubstantiated and has NO BASIS IN FACT.

  Other than the one George Hodel/Franklin house incident, which clearly was “a set-up” to my knowledge, there is no record of Lillian Lenorak ever having been admitted for “mental problems” at any other hospital or psychiatric facility. NONE!

  The fact is that Lillian Lenorak was a bright, fully functioning hard-working mother who loved her son. She was well liked and admired by her coworkers, and, at the time of her murder, was working as a film editor at General Film Laboratories in Hollywood.

  A single mother, she also worked a second job as an actress using her maiden name of Lillian Hamilton. Her filmography credits show that she worked in both films and television, receiving separate bit parts every year from 1949 until her untimely death in 1959.

  Lillian Hamilton Filmography:

  1950-Outrage- Mrs. Walton

  1951-On the Loose-Miss Druten

  1952-Week-End with Father

  1952-Phone Call from a Stranger-Nurse

  1952-The Unexpected (TV series)

  1953-Sweethearts on Parade-Mother

  1954-The Pride of the Family (TV series)

  1956-Storm Center-Mrs. Banning

  1957-The Joseph Cotton Show-On Trial (TV series) Mrs. Bagby

  1957-Sheriff of Cochise (TV series) Mrs. Conley, Bisbee National Bank

  1958-Whirly Birds (TV series) First Nurse

  1960-Men in Space (TV series) Mrs. Bennett (filmed in 1959, but aired after her murder in 1960)

  In 1949-1950 Lillian worked on the then controversial film, Outrage, directed by Ida Lupino, which starred, Mala Powers and Tod Andrews. Outrage was one, if not the first, of the films to attempt to take an honest and sensitive look at the subject of rape and how it and society’s attitudes impact a young rape victim’s life. [Prior to making this film, Mala had just completed sharing equal billing with Jose Ferrer in her role as Roxane in the Hollywood film classic, Cyrano de Bergerac, which was also released in 1950.]

  In Outrage, Lillian Hamilton Lenorak plays the mother of the rape victim, Ann Walton (Mala Powers).

  Lillian Hamilton Lenorak and Mala Powers in a clip from Outrage (1950)

  Postscript:

  On October 16, 2010, I received an e-mail from Rosanna Wilson Farrow informing me that her husband, John, had passed away the previous Saturday. John was in Fort Bragg, California, and died suddenly from an unexpected heart attack. He left behind his wife, Rosanna Wilson, and their two daughters, Kyla and Acacia.

  John passed away at a relatively young age of sixty-four.

  Since starting my Black Dahlia investigation in 1999, I had spoken to John Farrow Jr. only twice. It was obvious that he was living and attempting to deal with a tremendous amount of pain, which I assumed was mostly the result of having experienced so much sadness in his youth.

  Immediately after learning of Rosanna’s loss, I wrote a letter of condolence. She responded, informing me that John, after the major traumas of his childhood, at age nineteen, was called to serve his country in Vietnam. I will let Rosanna’s very touching e-mail to me describe those years.

  Dear Steve,

  Your response about John’s sudden death was very touching to me. I agree with you that it takes incredible strength of character for a human being to overcome a tragic past such as his, and especially still become a kind loving and devoted husband, a tender father and a great and fun-loving friend to many. He worked very hard at having some measure of joy and happiness, however, it was not at all an easy journey for him, just so you know, nor always an easy one for us.

  As if his sad childhood was not enough….You wrote that you felt you knew him but also knew you didn’t, so I want to share this important information about his life that you don’t seem to know about John. (Maybe because he did not tell you, or maybe you didn’t chose to mention it)

  John was a combat veteran in Vietnam, and he was seriously affected with PTSD during his lifetime. He was in receipt of a 100% veterans compensation for severe PTSD, a disability pension that he received 6 years ago, even though he suffered terribly from PTSD most of his adult life starting after his intense service in Vietnam.

  He was in and out of vet centers and veterans’ counseling offices over the years. However, he did not apply for his benefits that were certainly his due for decades. It was with my encouragement and help that he finally allowed himself to get the help he deserved.

  He was drafted in 1965 at age 19, right out of high school. He chose to enlist in the Marine Corps rather than serve in the Army for personal reasons. He was sent to Vietnam right after boot camp, where he experienced a great deal of very hard combat…more than many veteran
s I’ve known, because the Marines in his battalion were deployed in more remote regions towards the DMZ, far from the comfort of military bases. John served honorably between1966-1969. He was slightly injured on the outside and seriously injured where it was hidden. He never put in for his Purple Heart because he lost so many friends….brothers…he even lost his very best friend from high school, Steve. When he was discharged he moved back to Santa Barbara, but his was never the same. He was a sensitive….. His nerves were basically shot.

  I wanted you to know this because even considering the terrible things that happened to him in his childhood, there was more drama yet to come. More acts of personal bravery as well, and this one was personally most endearing….

  After Vietnam John worked at a college bookstore and started to read constantly. He chose political works, biography, commentary, history and black history. He was never college educated prior to the war, though he was a very intelligent man. These readings, the atmosphere of questioning the war on campus, the anger inside him……it all worked on his psyche; after he read the Autobiography of Malcolm X he told me he became convinced that the war in Vietnam was wrong….was evil. He became very politicized and he joined VVAW (Vietnam Veterans Against the War) a very outspoken, progressive Veterans’ group. He marched with fellow veterans who felt betrayed by their own country and politicians, and spoke out against the war he fought in, while still respecting and honoring those brave men and women who served their country.

  There is more to say, but just know that the burdens he endured went beyond his childhood. Oddly enough it was John that made me laugh the most in this crazy life. I don’t know how I will cope with the absurdities now.

  Rosanna Wilson Farrow

  Despite these many psychological hardships, I am informed by Rosanna that John was, “a gentle, loving man, the heart of our family, whom he was so devoted to.”

  It takes great strength of character to overcome the kind of shocks and traumas that we know John suffered, both in childhood and as an adult, and for him to rise out of those ashes and become a loving, nurturing husband and father.

  Our hearts go out to his family in this time of loss and sadness.

  REST IN PEACE JOHN LENORAK FARROW.

  1946-2010

  Photo courtesy of Rosanna Wilson Farrow

  Chapter 5

  “I am confident that the murder [Black Dahlia] occurred in some permanent place of abode, rather than some hotel, rooming house or auto court. It is doubtful that such a crime could be perpetrated in cramped quarters with nearby neighbors.”

  Captain Jack Donahoe, LAPD Homicide Division

  Los Angeles Times, January 23, 1947

  Scene of the Crime

  Sowden/Franklin house, 5121 Franklin Avenue, Hollywood

  The Link

  Sixty-two years after they were written, documents preserved at UCLA’s Special Collections Department, literally establish a “paper trail” connecting Dr. George Hill Hodel to the Elizabeth Short “Black Dahlia” crime-scene, the vacant lot at 3815 S. Norton Avenue.

  Background

  On January 22, 1947, an inquest hearing into the death of Elizabeth Short was held at the downtown Hall of Justice. The purpose of the hearing was to formally establish a “cause of death.” After hearing the testimony of sworn witnesses, as well as the deputy coroner, the jury found that the victim died from “blunt force trauma to the head and face caused by person or persons unknown.” Elizabeth Short had been brutally murdered.

  One of the witnesses who was called to testify at the coroner’s inquest that morning was Lt. Jesse Haskins from LAPD’s University Division. He was one of the first officers to arrive at the crime scene.

  Lt. Haskins testified in general about the condition of the body and informed the jurors that the murder had been committed elsewhere and that the body parts, after being placed on top of a fifty-pound empty paper sack, was then transported by car to the vacant lot. [Apparently, the sack (s) were used to prevent spillage in the car and to then transfer the body parts from the car to the curbside]. These investigative findings, as originally reported and testified to by Lt. Haskins, have never been in doubt and have always remained a part of the factual record, as supported by the original crime scene photographs.

  Elizabeth Short crime scene January 15, 1947

  [Top] LAPD crime photo showing empty paper sacks used by suspect to transfer body parts from his car to curbside. A portion of victim’s upper body is seen posed at bottom of photo. [Bottom] Crime scene enlargement showing blood on paper sack

  Lloyd Wright-George Hodel Letters

  UCLA Special Collections Library

  In October 2008, some five-years after the publication of BDA, I learned that famed architect, Lloyd Wright, had donated many of his personal papers to UCLA’s Special Collections Department. I also discovered that within these papers, there was a Hodel File containing documents and correspondence between Lloyd Wright and my father, Dr. George Hill Hodel, covering the years, 1945-1947.

  Upon learning of their existence, I immediately made an appointment to view and copy the materials. Here is what they established:

  1) From 1945-1947, Lloyd Wright was engaged by George Hodel to oversee construction repairs and renovations at the Sowden/Franklin house. [Originally designed and built by Lloyd Wright in 1926 for John Sowden, and later purchased by Dr. Hodel in 1945.] Most of the repair work was to be done during George Hodel’s temporary assignment as United Nations chief regional medical officer in Hankow, China [February-September, 1946].

  2) In an April 1946 letter from George Hodel to Lloyd Wright, which was sent from China, father advised the architect that he “has made inquiries into the possibility of your being brought to China for city planning work.” Father’s letter went on to provide several names to Wright, suggesting he contact them for potential employment potentials.

  3) Included in these papers were receipts showing that cement work and repair was performed at the Hodel residence, requiring ten (10) fifty-pound bags of cement. The work was completed on January 10, 1947.

  In my opinion, the significance of this document is one of the most important investigative findings to date! It circumstantially links physical evidence connected to Elizabeth Short’s murder directly to George Hodel and the Franklin house, and from there to the vacant lot at 3815 S. Norton Avenue.

  According to LAPD and the DA investigative reports, Elizabeth Short reportedly “disappeared” on January 9, 1947 after meeting a man in front of LA’s downtown Biltmore Hotel, at Fifth and Olive, just three blocks from Dr. Hodel’s medical office.

  Police surmised that the victim was taken to an unknown private residence, held captive, tortured, then bisected by a man “with medical finesse,” who, in their (and the coroner’s) opinion, was most likely a skilled surgeon.

  In a public statement to the press, eight days into the investigation, LAPD Homicide Capt. Jack Donahoe confirmed that the victim had not been slain at the vacant lot, adding:

  “I am confident that the murder occurred in some permanent place of abode, rather than some hotel, rooming house or auto court. It is doubtful that such a crime could be perpetrated in cramped quarters with nearby neighbors.”

  LAPD confirmed that her body parts were placed on top of several fifty-pound empty cement paper sacks and transported by car from the actual murder location to the vacant lot where they were posed, with the cement sacks left nearby the body.

  The Cement Sacks

  The below document is a scanned copy of the original receipt.

  It showed that Lloyd Wright contracted with a Mr. J.A. Konrad and had him perform renovations at Dr. Hodel’s Franklin house in January 1947. The cement work was completed on January 9-10, 1947.

  According to the receipt, the work performed at the Franklin house required a total of ten (10) sacks of cement. Eight (8) were used on January 9, 1947, and two (2) sacks were added on the following day, January 10th.

  “J.A. Konrad to Dr. Hodel J
anuary 9, 1947

  Cement work completed at the above address.” [5121 Franklin Ave]

  Found in UCLA Lloyd Wright–George Hodel File

  In addition to the cement bag linkage, I made a second interesting discovery related to the UCLA Wright-Hodel Letters.

  Below is a scan of the envelope mailed to Lloyd Wright by George Hodel from China in April 1946. The address is typed, however, on the envelope. George Hodel has hand printed the word “Registered,” which I hereby identify as my father’s handwriting.

  Note his unusual letter “D” compared to the letter “D” written in lipstick on the body of LA Lone Woman Murder victim, Jeanne French, who was slain in February 1947, just three-weeks after the Black Dahlia murder and four-months after George Hodel’s return from China.

  The same identical characteristics are clearly visible in both. In the letter “D,” we see the curved, overextended horizontal lines with the vertical line unconnected to either the top or bottom in both samples. These are some of the same characteristics that Questioned Document Expert Hannah McFarland used to positively identify George Hodel’s handwriting in other known samples—as well as in the Jeanne French, “Red Lipstick Murder.”

  George Hodel envelope mailed to Lloyd Wright from China in 1946

  The envelope contained the below letter written to Lloyd Wright. In it, George Hodel mentioned his “promise” to check out architectural design potentials for Wright while in China.

  From this we learned that the two men obviously had some personal discussions prior to George leaving the US for China in February 1946.

  We also learned that as of May 1946, it was Dr. Hodel’s intention to remain in China at least until, “the spring of 1947.” His UN personnel papers in my possession show that just four months later, in September 1946, he suddenly “resigned for personal reasons” and quickly returned to Los Angeles.

  We will likely never know his reason for resigning. We can only guess.

  Was it under duress for conduct unbecoming? Did he commit a crime in post-war China’s Wild, Wild East? Did he receive a letter from Elizabeth Short mentioning or hinting at her suspicions of his possible connections to the 1945 Chicago Lipstick Murders?