An investigator claims he used artificial intelligence to solve one of America’s most puzzling criminal mysteries. Alex Baber, who runs Cold Case Consultants of America, says he cracked the Zodiac Killer’s famous Z13 cipher. The solution led him to a single suspect who he believes is also responsible for the Black Dahlia murder that happened 20 years earlier.
The Investigation and AI Breakthrough
Baber focused on the Z13 cipher, a short code the Zodiac Killer sent to the San Francisco Chronicle in April 1970. The killer wrote “My name is” followed by 13 mysterious symbols. This code had never been solved for more than 50 years.
The investigator developed an AI program that generated 71 million possible 13-letter names. He then cross-checked these results against military records, census data, marriage listings, and witness descriptions of the killer. After nine months of work, he narrowed the list down to a single name: Marvin Merrill.
Marvin Merrill turned out to be an alias. The man’s real name was Marvin Margolis. Records show Margolis had already been listed as a suspect in the 1947 Black Dahlia murder. He was one of 22 people investigated by a Los Angeles grand jury after Elizabeth Short’s death.
Baber’s AI work found something critical. The key to breaking the cipher was the name “Elizabeth” — the first name of the Black Dahlia victim. This discovery connected both cases in a way no one had before.
“It’s irrefutable. It’s just mathematically impossible for it not to be him,” Baber told the LA Times. “With all the connections, either he’s the unluckiest man in the history of the world in the wrong place at the wrong time, every time, or he’s the perpetrator.”
Who Was Marvin Margolis?
Marvin Margolis served as a U.S. Navy medic during World War II. He landed in the first wave of troops at the Battle of Okinawa in April 1945. This experience gave him medical training that investigators believe explains the surgical precision seen in both murders.
After the war, Margolis showed signs of severe mental trauma. Military doctors diagnosed him with PTSD. He had recurring battle dreams, periods of depression, and extreme reactions to sudden noises. One psychiatrist wrote that Margolis was “a resentful individual who shows ample evidence of open aggression.”
His dream to become a surgeon was never fulfilled. This created lasting resentment, according to investigators.
In 1946, Margolis moved to Los Angeles and enrolled as a pre-med student at the University of Southern California. This is when he met Elizabeth Short, the 22-year-old aspiring actress who later became known as the Black Dahlia.
Records show Short lived with Margolis for 12 days in a Hollywood apartment. When police questioned him after her murder, Margolis lied about how well he knew Short. He later admitted he had lived with her just three months before she was killed.
Chilling Connections Between the Two Cases
Baber discovered details that create a strong link between Margolis and both murders.
The Zodiac Motel Connection: According to newspaper accounts, a man was seen frantically driving around Compton motels looking for a room with a bathtub the night before the Black Dahlia murder. One of those motels was called the Zodiac Motel. Baber believes this is where the killer got the name “Zodiac.”
The Sketch as a Confession: Baber tracked down Roark Merrill, Marvin Margolis’s son. The son showed him a sketch his father drew in 1992, just one year before his death from cancer. The drawing showed a naked woman from the waist up with wounds matching Short’s autopsy report. It was titled “Elizabeth.”
When Baber examined the sketch with an HD scanner, he found hidden details. The word “ZoDiac” was concealed in the dark shading of the image. Baber considers this sketch to be the killer’s final confession.
“When you put it under an HD scanner, you can see the mouth was cut and then covered. What the picture depicted matched the wounds that are documented in the autopsy and crime scene photos of Elizabeth Short.”
The Phone Booth Discovery: Baber found that a phone booth the Zodiac Killer used to call police in Vallejo was within eyesight of a house where Elizabeth Short once lived with her father.
Military Connections: Margolis brought back a Japanese bayonet from WWII. This weapon matched one of the possible Zodiac murder weapons, according to the Daily Mail report.
Additional Cipher Breaks: A Swedish researcher named Thomas Hefner used Baber’s methodology to solve another uncracked Zodiac cipher. That solution also revealed the name Marvin Merrill.
Expert Support and Skepticism
Baber’s findings have convinced some very credible experts.
Rick Jackson, a former LAPD homicide detective with over 30 years of experience, strongly supports Baber’s conclusion. Jackson worked with Michael Connelly, the famous crime novelist, and was the real-life inspiration for the character Harry Bosch.
Jackson said: “In my opinion, these are solved cases. There are too many links with both. There’s overwhelming circumstantial evidence. He’s left breadcrumbs all along.”
Ed Giorgio, who served as the chief codebreaker for the National Security Agency (NSA), reviewed Baber’s work. He confirmed the findings and had 80 cryptographers from around the world peer-review them.
Giorgio stated: “The probability that anything else is correct is orders of magnitude smaller. It is the greatest sleuth story ever told.”
Michael Connelly, the bestselling author, became involved after hearing about Baber’s work through Jackson. He produced a podcast called “Killer in the Code” about the investigation. Connelly initially approached the story with great skepticism.
“I’m very skeptical. But Alex was three for three with homicide detectives who have about 75 years experience between them all.”
Connelly added: “The bottom line for me is the totality of the evidence that has been collected so far. It’s overwhelming.”
Mitzi Roberts, who worked on the Black Dahlia cold case for the LAPD for 15 years, also supports the findings. She said Margolis had been among the top suspects but “got pushed to the back” due to mistaken assumptions about Short’s final days.
However, there are critics who question Baber’s methods. Larry Harnish, a former Times copy editor who studied the Black Dahlia case, pointed to an LAPD report that said police interviewed and cleared Margolis in 1947. However, that report did not explain his alibi.
Some also criticize Baber’s personality and approach. Connelly admitted Baber “rub people the wrong way” and has made mistakes in how he handles the media. This has created skepticism among internet citizen sleuths.
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What Happens Next?
The FBI and California police departments are reviewing Baber’s claims. For the first time in history, LAPD detectives approached the family of a suspect to obtain DNA. This is a significant development that could provide physical proof to support Baber’s findings.
A Los Angeles County prosecutor told the team that he has “gotten convictions with less evidence than this.” However, he said nothing can be done because Margolis died in 1993. The legal system only prosecutes living people, and there is no official process for simply “stamping something closed.”
This means even if Margolis was the killer, no arrest or trial will happen. The case may forever remain “solved” in the court of public opinion but not in the legal system.
Baber’s work also potentially connects Margolis to another victim. A piece of the Zodiac code revealed the name “Cheri Jo,” suggesting the killer was also responsible for the murder of Riverside college student Cheri Jo Bates two years before his Bay Area attacks began.
The DNA investigation and further peer review will determine if Baber’s findings become official history. For now, the evidence includes:
- A cracked cipher revealing Marvin Merrill
- The suspect’s presence in both crime timelines
- Military medical training explaining the surgical precision
- A sketch that appears to be a confession
- The Zodiac Motel connection
- Multiple expert confirmations from retired detectives and NSA codebreakers
The story continues to develop as more researchers test Baber’s work and law enforcement completes its review.
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