Chapter 6: A Mind For Murder

Summary

Killer In The Code – Chapter 6: A Mind For Murder

Host: Michael Connelly
Date: January 29, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode delves into the life and identity of Marvin Margolis, aka Marvin Merrill, the man whom Alex Baber and a team of experts believe was responsible for both the Black Dahlia and Zodiac killings. Connelly and his guests examine Margolis’s troubled and elusive life, chart his movement across the country, and explore the psychological traits and patterns linking the two infamous murder cases. The narrative weaves together law enforcement records, family accounts, and Baber's investigative breakthroughs—including the breaking of a long-uncrackable Zodiac cipher—to build the case that Margolis was the killer the authorities could never quite catch.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Profile Parallels: Black Dahlia and Zodiac (01:32–03:02)

• The episode opens by noting the striking similarities in the psychological profiles of the Black Dahlia and Zodiac killers.
  • Quote: “A mania for publicity. That detective certainly got that right.” —Michael Connelly (02:47)
• Despite the apparent differences, Connelly and his collaborators argue both crimes were driven by the perpetrator’s need to gloat and engage the media, suggesting a singular mind at work.

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2. Baber’s Investigation and Cryptology Breakthrough (03:21–04:13)

• Alex Baber, self-taught cryptologist, is credited with breaking the Zodiac’s Z13 code, believed to reveal the killer’s identity.
• The decoded name: Marvin Merrill (an alias of Marvin Margolis), suspected much earlier in the Black Dahlia case.
• Baber’s solution has been independently validated by leading cryptanalysts.

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3. Tracking Margolis: Life of Evasion and Reinvention (04:19–07:00)

• Margolis/Merrill constantly changed names and locations, making tracking him difficult for law enforcement.

• Notable Moment: Margolis’s family nickname, “Skippy,” refers to his habit of disappearing for long periods.

• He switched jobs frequently: artist, mechanic, engineer, salesman, computer programmer.

• Quote: “Many things, but he wasn't good at any of them.” —Family member/expert commentator (05:11)

• Expert Insight:

  • Rick Jackson, Homicide Detective: “When you couple [moving around] with constantly changing names, then it brings it to a higher level of concern about why that's being done.” (05:31)

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4. Family Background and Early Identity Shifting (06:10–08:33)

• Margolis’s father changed their family name, introducing young Marvin to the concept of fluid identity.

• Enrolled at the University of Illinois, dropped out, joined the Navy as a corpsman during WWII, served at Okinawa.

• Returned home diagnosed (now would be PTSD) and treated for mental illness for the rest of his life.

• Family Account:

  • Family relied on a brother in Chicago to track Margolis based on where his prescriptions were filled.
  • “You have a family ... You need to get back to where you belong.” (08:04)

• Detective Mitzi Roberts:

  • “He came back from that war just a damaged man for sure. Mentally just damaged.” (08:41)

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5. Black Dahlia Case and Academic Life (09:27–13:28)

• Margolis attended USC postwar, was reportedly involved in cadaver dissection around the time of Elizabeth Short’s murder.

• He used an alias even in academic settings: Marvin Henry Margolis vs. true middle name Skipton.

• Early police suspicion: interviewed twice, gave a shaky alibi confirmed by his wife.

• The police could neither rule him out nor tie him definitively.

• Grand jury attempts to find him were unsuccessful—Margolis had already fled LA.

  • Quote from Finis Brown, Lead Detective:
    • "[It] was impossible to throw him out as a suspect. It was impossible to tie him in." (12:02)

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6. Repeated Pattern: Fraud, New Cities, and Name Changes (13:16–15:00)

• Margolis appears in Chicago as a crooked used car salesman; avoids jail via fines, then vanishes.
• Emerges as Marvin Merrill, insurance salesman, in Atlanta, starts a youth auto club and seeks publicity.
• Keeps moving—Ohio, Arizona, Kansas—each time adopting a new persona (artist, art dealer).
• Margolis/Merrill blends truth and fiction in self-presentation, claiming to have studied under Salvador Dali (no evidence), and falsely claiming to have been a Flying Tiger (war pilot).

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7. Media Manipulation and Crime Parallels (15:00–16:38)

• Merrill’s newspaper embellishments appear to drop coded hints, making sly allusions to Elizabeth Short’s fate and her fiancé’s service in the Flying Tigers—a possible sign of jealousy or another psychological taunt.

  • Analysis by Expert Commentator:
    • The lie about the Flying Tigers is a “unique and obvious connection ... that he's making to Elizabeth and himself. In my opinion, that's a dirty deed. ... That's obsession.” (17:16)

• Possible artistic inspirations for the crimes: Margolis referenced Dali, whose work sometimes mirrored the violent themes of the Dahlia murder.

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8. The Ray Davis Murder and Zodiac Evolution (19:01–21:45)

• Margolis resurfaces in Oceanside, CA, around the mysterious 1962 murder of taxi driver Raymond Davis.
• The murder bore Zodiac-like hallmarks: advance media taunt, public threat of more killings, obsession with attention.
• The abandoned taxi was just 800 feet from Margolis/Merrill’s residence.
• Later Zodiac murder of Paul Stein in San Francisco is compared—possibly linked by method and psychology.
• Rick Jackson:
  • “It could be part of the game, wondering, okay, are they gonna be able to put this all together, that it's me, the Zodiac, working before I became the Zodiac ...” (21:03)

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9. Lines of Evidence: Margolis at the Scene (22:04–22:29)

• Baber’s investigation places Margolis/Merrill in proximity to several murder sites (Black Dahlia, Ray Davis, Sherry Jo Bates, Zodiac victims).
• In each, the killer craved publicity and left taunting messages.
  • Quote: “He's either the most unluckiest guy on the planet or he's the killer.” —Expert commentator (22:29)

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10. Later Life: Failed Ventures, Family Strife, and Fading Into Obscurity (23:34–26:36)

• Temporary business success with hotel project, fizzles amid lawsuits and financial struggles.
• Family describes Margolis as moody, abusive; frequent financial insecurity.
• Maintained multiple residences, at least one linked to Intel (docs support, but unverifiable).
• In and out of jail/probation for fraud; Zodiac’s communication “goes dark” for the exact duration of his probation.
• After second marriage ends, fades from family, moves north in California, lives hand-to-mouth, using various aliases.

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11. Final Years and Creepy Legacy (26:08–27:34)

• In 1992, facing terminal cancer, Margolis (as “Marty Merrill”) rents an art studio in Santa Barbara.
• There, creates a sketch titled “Elizabeth” featuring a nude woman tagged with the word “Zodiac” hidden in the shading—a deliberate “calling card.”
• Quote: “I think it's his calling card so that someday someone would come along and discover it and put the pieces together. ... He wanted the world to know that he hadn't forgotten Elizabeth.” —Expert commentator (26:42)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Profiling the Killer:
  • “A mania for publicity. That detective certainly got that right.” (02:47, Michael Connelly)
• Law Enforcement Insight:
  • “When you couple that with constantly changing names, then it brings it to a higher level of concern...” (05:31, Rick Jackson)
• Psychological Analysis:
  • “He's either the most unluckiest guy on the planet or he's the killer.” (22:29, Expert commentator)
• Coded Legacy:
  • “I think it's his calling card so that someday someone would come along and discover it...” (26:42, Expert commentator on Margolis's final sketch)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Killer’s Profile Discussion: 01:32–03:02
• Baber’s Breakthrough and Confirmation: 03:21–04:13
• Details of Margolis’s Many Identities: 04:19–07:00
• PTSD and Family Background: 07:00–08:41
• Academic and Black Dahlia Connections: 09:27–13:28
• Chicago Fraud & Repeated Reinvention: 13:16–15:00
• Media/Crime Parallels: 15:00–16:38
• Ray Davis & Zodiac Link: 19:01–21:45
• Evidence of Presence at Crime Scenes: 22:04–22:29
• Later Life and Sketch “Elizabeth”: 26:08–27:34

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Conclusion

Chapter 6 paints a portrait of Marvin Margolis as a chameleon, defined by a zigzagging path through life and a compulsion for reinvention. The evidence presented builds a compelling argument that he was the elusive mind behind both the Black Dahlia and Zodiac killings, forever taunting investigators and the public with a puzzle only partially assembled—until Alex Baber’s work connected the final pieces. His legacy is a chilling mixture of egomania, violence, and coded messages, promising both notoriety and the final curtain on two of America’s most infamous unsolved crimes.

Transcript

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[Michael Connelly]

You're listening to Killer and the Code Solving the Black Dahlia and Zodiac cases. I'm Michael Connolly and this is Chapter six. I want to begin today with a mini profile of the killer.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

This podcast is focused on. This is taken from the official records of the investigation.

[Michael Connelly]

The crime would indicate a person, to my estimation, who had a mania for publicity. They wanted to gloat over the fact.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

That they had been successful in their crime and got a kick out of it.

[Michael Connelly]

Okay, so I think I know what you were thinking.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

That's got to come from the Zodiac case files, right?

[Michael Connelly]

He's the one who wrote all the.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Letters to the newspapers and authored the tantalizing ciphers, et cetera, et cetera.

[Michael Connelly]

Well, yes and no.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

You could call it an early profile of the Zodiac, but it's actually from the sworn testimony of the lead detective on the Black Dahlia case, spoken to a grand jury in 1950, almost 20 years before the Zodiac killings took place and the self proclaimed Zodiac began using publicity to gloat and taunt the public and to hold it in the grip of fear.

[Michael Connelly]

A mania for publicity. That detective certainly got that right. There are people who think these cases.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Are so dramatically different they could never be linked. But on a psychological level, they are much more the same than not.

[Michael Connelly]

And today we are going to reveal.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

As best we can, the man who is behind all these crimes. Marvin Margolis, AKA Marvin Merrill, among many other names. The man who wrote the letters and constructed the ciphers. The man who was a cipher himself.

[Michael Connelly]

A quick recap here. Alex Baber, citizen sleuth. An amateur cryptologist broke the Z13 code. The 13 character cipher said to reveal.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

The name of the Zodiac killer, but.

[Michael Connelly]

Also thought to be unbreakable for more.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Than a half a century.

[Michael Connelly]

The name hidden in the code was.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Marvin Merrill, the primary alias adopted by Marvin Margolis after he was identified more than 20 years earlier as a suspect in the murder of Elizabeth Short, better known as the Black Dahlia.

[Michael Connelly]

Baber's methodology and solution to Z13 has been independently confirmed by some of the.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Top cryptanalysts in the world.

[Michael Connelly]

Other evidence gathered by Baber and a team of veteran cold case detectives has.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Been documented in the previous episodes of this podcast.

[Michael Connelly]

The bottom line is Margolis, who died.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

In 1993, checked all the boxes.

[Michael Connelly]

And now we want to attempt to.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Track his movement across time and geography.

[Michael Connelly]

It's not an easy task.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Margolis, at times is a bit of a ghost.

[Michael Connelly]

He changed names and moved about like.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

A man looking over his shoulder to see who might be on his trail. This is Alex Baber.

[Family Member / Expert Commentator]

His own family would call him Skippy because he would skip out for long periods of time, he'd be unaccounted for. The Skippy nickname was obviously a play on his middle name, Skip Dad.

[Michael Connelly]

He also changed occupations and careers as.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Often as he moved geographically.

[Michael Connelly]

At various times, he was an artist, an auto mechanic, an engineer, an insurance salesman, a car racing promoter, a computer.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Programmer, and an urban planner.

[Michael Connelly]

His son called him a serial entrepreneur.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

With most of his endeavors seeing very little success, it appears that he did.

[Family Member / Expert Commentator]

Many things, but he wasn't good at any of them. Throughout the years and decades, he would often change his expertise or field of employment. Some of his family members told me that, you know, a lot of the stuff that he did, he taught himself and he wouldn't stay long within that field of expertise.

[Michael Connelly]

This is veteran homicide detective Rick Jackson.

[Rick Jackson]

My initial thoughts on his moving around a lot, as well as the changing of names. The first of all, the moving around a lot. There are People that do that, there are people that are lost, they can't find jobs, they go from one place to another. That's one thing. But when you couple that with constantly changing names, then it brings it to a higher level of concern about why that's being done. That's a quick, pat answer, but that's my reaction to what we see with Margolis Merrill.

[Michael Connelly]

In addition to changing names as he moved, Margolis also appropriated the histories of.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Others while embellishing his own.

[Michael Connelly]

The biggest task here was trying to.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Determine what was real about Marvin Margolis and what was not.

[Michael Connelly]

One thing we know for sure is.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

That he was born in Chicago to immigrant parents. In 1925.

[Michael Connelly]

His own father changed his.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Name from Isaac Margolans to Isad Margolis.

[Michael Connelly]

Something that many immigrants do.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

But it early on exposed Marvin Margolis to the idea that identity was malleable.

[Michael Connelly]

Before we go on here, let me say that the timeline and the biographic details we have put together here come from official records, newspaper articles, and interviews.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

With members of Margolis's family.

[Michael Connelly]

We have agreed not to name members.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Of the family in exchange for their cooperation.

[Michael Connelly]

Margolis enrolled at the University of Illinois.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

In 1942, but left after one semester with failing grades.

[Michael Connelly]

At the time, the country was in.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

The middle of a world war, and.

[Michael Connelly]

In 1943, Margolis walked into a Navy.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Recruiting office in Chicago and joined up.

[Michael Connelly]

He was trained as a corpsman and.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Sent overseas to the battle in the Pacific.

[Michael Connelly]

He was attached as a medic to the Marine battalion that made the first.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Landing on the island of Okinawa.

[Michael Connelly]

What ensued was one of the bloodiest.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

And costliest battles of the war. Over 10,000American soldiers died on Okinawa.

[Michael Connelly]

We documented Margolis's time there in chapter one of the podcast, but suffice it to say, his experiences there, including one.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Near death experience in particular, was harrowing.

[Michael Connelly]

Upon returning from the war, he was.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Given a 50% disability from mental neurosis, but would now be diagnosed as Post Traumatic Stress disorder.

[Michael Connelly]

Family members have told us he was.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Treated for this the rest of his.

[Family Member / Expert Commentator]

Life, and he was put on medication. And we discovered through the family members that when he would disappear for these lengthy periods of time, they would reach out to his younger brother Milton, who lived in Chicago, who had a connection at the local va and what he would do, apparently, was contact this connection and. And he would look up where the last prescription was filled. And then Milton would hunt Marvin down and ask him, what are you doing? You have a family of allegations. You need to. Need to get back to where you belong.

[Michael Connelly]

This is Mitzi Roberts, veteran homicide detective.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

And former supervisor of the LAPD Cold Case Unit.

[Mitzi Roberts]

All you have to really do is review the testimony at the grand jury as well as review, you know, any of his documents that came out of his time at the war. To know that, you know, what he saw over in Okinawa was the worst of the worst. And I think they've been mentioned mangled bodies and, you know, he was working in the medical field, so he saw them up. It wasn't just senior buddy, you know, here get, you know, severely injured. He's actually trying to save lives. And from everything I've read, he came back from that war just a damaged man for sure. Mentally just damaged.

[Michael Connelly]

Margolis landed in Los Angeles after the.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

War and in 1946, enrolled at the University of Southern California as a pre med student during a grand jury investigation.

[Michael Connelly]

That would delve into the Black Dahlia case. Four years later, it was revealed by the deputy district attorney who led the.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Probe that Margolis had taken part in a body dissection just months before Elizabeth Short's bisected body was found.

[Michael Connelly]

We could find no independent confirmation of this. While it was unlikely that a pre.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Med student would have a class in.

[Michael Connelly]

Which cadavers were dissected, Margolis wartime experiences.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

May have opened doors at USC for him to take part in what was likely something reserved for more advanced med students.

[Michael Connelly]

As one of his Veterans Administration evaluators.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Reported in giving him the mental disability, he had dealt with many, quote, mangled bodies on Okinawa.

[Michael Connelly]

Either way, Margolis was attending classes at the time.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

He had a relationship with Elizabeth Short.

[Michael Connelly]

And subsequently when she was found murdered.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

On January 15, 1947.

[Michael Connelly]

At some point, Margolis changed his focus.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

And started pursuing a pharmacy degree.

[Michael Connelly]

Records show that in 1948 he was.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Elected as an officer in the pharmacy School Service organization.

[Michael Connelly]

A transcript of his grades from that year show him to have been a good student, getting mostly A's in pre.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Med and pharmacy classes and only one C in biochemistry.

[Michael Connelly]

Curiously, he had registered at the school.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Under the name Marvin Henry Margolis. His actual middle name was Skipton, and.

[Michael Connelly]

This is the earliest point where we.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

See him engaged in identity deception.

[Michael Connelly]

Margolis was in the class of 49.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

But he apparently didn't finish at USC.

[Michael Connelly]

Instead, he left town and picked up.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

A degree in commerce from Roosevelt College in his hometown of Chicago.

[Michael Connelly]

Why did he leave town and change schools? At the time, it had been two and a half years since the murder.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Of Elizabeth Short, and no arrest had been made in the case.

[Michael Connelly]

Early on in that investigation, Margolis had been interviewed twice by the police, and though he initially lied about his relationship with Elizabeth Short, he offered an alibi.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

That his new wife confirmed.

[Michael Connelly]

Finis Brown, the lead detective on the case, would later testify that, quote, it.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Was impossible to throw him out as a suspect. It was impossible to tie him in.

[Michael Connelly]

But 1949 was also when a new.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Police chief took the reins at the Los Angeles police department.

[Michael Connelly]

William wharton was a hard charging former marine who declared in a widely publicized.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Media statement that the black dahlia investigation had been run poorly and been bungled by the original team on it.

[Michael Connelly]

He called for a grand jury investigation.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Of the murder to refocus the case.

[Michael Connelly]

But by the time that grand jury.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Was impaneled that year, Margolis was gone.

[Michael Connelly]

Investigators with the grand jury tried to.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Find him and enlisted the help of the Chicago police department, but to no avail.

[Michael Connelly]

Finis Brown was left to testify that.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Margolis was, quote, possibly a very good suspect.

[Michael Connelly]

How diligently authorities searched for Margolis in.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Chicago is not clear.

[Michael Connelly]

But they missed their chance three years.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Later when he was working in Chicago as a used car salesman and was charged with defrauding customers by tricking them into paying higher prices than agreed to for their car.

[Michael Connelly]

Margolis avoided jail time and the apparent.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Notice of the lapd by paying a.

[Michael Connelly]

Fine and restitution to several customers. But it was at this point that.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

He left town once again, and when.

[Michael Connelly]

He reemerged, he had a new profession.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

And a new name. He was now in Atlanta, and he set up shop as Marvin Merrill, insurance salesman.

[Michael Connelly]

Merrill spent at least three years in Atlanta and even started a side gig.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Which was an auto club for teenagers.

[Michael Connelly]

He courted membership and publicity with the.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Inclusion of a nascar racing champion named Tim Flock as a partner.

[Michael Connelly]

But eventually, Merrill moved on from Georgia.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

And made even shorter stops in Ohio and Arizona before landing in Kansas.

[Michael Connelly]

By this time, his first marriage was over, and he reinvented himself once again, this time as an artist and an art dealer in the small town of.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Wellington, 38 miles south of Wichita.

[Michael Connelly]

He was now known as Skip Merrill, and a profile of the artist that.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Ran in the local newspaper offers some insight into how Merrill blended fact and into a new Persona.

[Michael Connelly]

The newspaper reported that he had studied.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Under Salvador Dali, the master of surrealism, at usc.

[Michael Connelly]

I learned a lot of realism from.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Dali, Murl was quoted as saying.

[Michael Connelly]

He paints a clock. It may be distorted, but it looks like a clock. The baber team found no evidence that.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Dali ever taught painting or lectured at.

[Michael Connelly]

Usc, though the record is clear that.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Dali was in Los Angeles at the time, Merrill, as Margolis, attended usc.

[Michael Connelly]

Perhaps what is most intriguing about the.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Profile in the Wellington Daily News is Merrill's embellishment of his war record.

[Michael Connelly]

Here was a man who could truthfully say he was with the Marines on.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Okinawa, one of the bloodiest and most important battles of World War II.

[Michael Connelly]

He could talk about building a field.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Hospital in a cave on that island, but apparently that wasn't good enough for him.

[Michael Connelly]

Instead, he told the newspaper that he.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Had been a member of the Flying Tigers, the legendary group of pilots who flew missions over China during the war. Why did he lie?

[Michael Connelly]

It almost seems to me as though Merrill used the newspaper profile to leave.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Hints or clues about the Black Dahlia case.

[Michael Connelly]

He told the newspaper that he had been a newspaper correspondent, but the truth was the only correspondence was his courting.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

The media in Atlanta and his letters and phone calls to the Los Angeles newspapers as the Black Dahlia Avenger.

[Michael Connelly]

Then the mentions of the Flying Tigers and Salvador Dali. The reference to the legendary air squadron.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Seemed to be a direct reference to Elizabeth Short and her lost fiance. During the war, she was engaged to pilot Matt Gordon. He flew missions over China and was credited with shooting down five Japanese planes in aerial dogfights.

[Michael Connelly]

Those plans tragically changed when Gordon was.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Killed in a plane crash in 1945.

[Michael Connelly]

Was it jealousy that made Merrill embellish his record, or was he intentionally dropping.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

A clue into the story?

[Family Member / Expert Commentator]

He was indeed a war hero in his own account. Right. He's on the front lines as a Naval corpsman. He. He's out there attempting to rescue people. You know, he's tending to the wounded, and he comes back. And then you have this 14 year gap between the time the murder of Elizabeth Schwartz took place and the time he did this interview in Wellington, Kansas, and instead of just saying, I was a Naval corpsman on the front lines that, you know, held a medical unit and took care of my comrades, you know, under fire, he. He injects this stolen valor, as we call it, where he's a Flying Tiger, which is a very unique unit during World War II. There's no reason for him to claim to be a Flying Tiger, as rare as that, you know, unit was. And for it to be directly connected to Elizabeth Short through her only fiance, Matt Gordon is a very unique and obvious connection that he's making to Elizabeth and himself. In my opinion, that's a dirty deed. That's something you know, that's him being jealous. That's him having some kind of envy towards Matt, you know, and his relationship with Elizabeth long before he knew her. That's obsession.

[Michael Connelly]

And Dolly was a surrealistic painter, while.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Meryl said he was a realistic painter.

[Michael Connelly]

His work was even described as being.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Closer to the impressionist master Vincent Van Gogh than Dali.

[Michael Connelly]

But Dali created several paintings that depicted.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Women in ways similar to the Black Dahlia crime scene.

[Michael Connelly]

Was Merrill hinting that he was influenced.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

By Dali as a killer or a painter? These are questions that obviously can't be answered.

[Michael Connelly]

You can take a look at some.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Of Dali's work on the Killer in the Code website.

[Michael Connelly]

Though. In the newspaper profile, Merrill said he.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Was so inspired by Kansas that he could paint there forever. Things soured for him when a local art association he had created split into two factions and voted in new leadership. Murrell once again packed his bags. This time he headed west, back to California.

[Michael Connelly]

Murrell landed in the town of Oceanside.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

In San Diego county in early 1962.

[Michael Connelly]

On an evening shortly after his arrival, a man called the police department anonymously and said he was about to commit.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

A crime that would baffle the police and never be solved.

[Michael Connelly]

The next night, a taxicab driver named Raymond Davis was shot to death in his cab and his body was dumped.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

In an alley behind the mayor's house.

[Michael Connelly]

The cab was later found abandoned 15 blocks away. The next night, the anonymous man called the police again. He took credit for the murder of Davis and said he was going to.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Shoot a bus driver next.

[Michael Connelly]

This in turn gripped the community in fear, and Marines from a nearby military.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Base were used to ride in buses and taxis for added security.

[Michael Connelly]

The murder of Davis, the dumping of his body behind the mayor's house, and the subsequent threat to kill a bus driver drew massive media attention, seemingly underlying.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

The unknown killer's mania for publicity. To use a phrase from the Black Dahlia killer's profile.

[Michael Connelly]

Eight years after the Davis murder, the killing of San Francisco cab driver Paul Stein by the Zodiac would draw comparisons. But like the Sherry Jo Bates case in Riverside, and that Davis killing was.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Never formally declared a Zodiac case.

[Michael Connelly]

Perhaps it was because authorities did not.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Know what we can now reveal.

[Michael Connelly]

On the night Davis was murdered in Oceanside, his killer abandoned his cab in.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

The 400 block of Pacific street, which.

[Michael Connelly]

Was an 800 foot walk to the.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

House on Elm street where Marvin Merrill was living. Following his recent move from Kansas.

[Family Member / Expert Commentator]

I do believe that Paul Stein was in all likelihood a piece of the puzzle to connect him back to his earlier murder. Of Ray Davis. It does make sense.

[Rick Jackson]

Paul Stein was the first. It was such a brazen attack because it was done right in the middle of a major city in front of people. He walked away. It was a brazen attack. And I think that was done intentionally to shake things up a little bit. And why not shake things up a little bit by doing something that you've done before in 1962 with the cab driver in Oceanside? Why not do the same thing again? It could be part of the game, wondering, okay, are they gonna be able to put this all together, that it's me, the Zodiac, working before I became the Zodiac, and then seven years later, you do the Paul Stein case to bring it right back into your new hunting grounds, if you will.

[Mitzi Roberts]

It just kind of proves that this guy evolves in his M.O. i mean, he doesn't. It doesn't fit quite exactly with, of course, the Black Dahlia and the Zodiac, but it's just an evolution, and it's. The two are the same.

[Michael Connelly]

Baber notes that the investigation has established.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

That Margolis Merrill was in either close or close enough proximity to the murders of Elizabeth Short, Ray Davis, Sherry Jo Bates, and the five Zodiac victims, all of which remain cases officially unsolved, all of which involve the perpetrator who showed a mania for publicity.

[Family Member / Expert Commentator]

He's either the most unluckiest guy on the planet or he's the killer. He's the perpetrator of these crimes.

[Michael Connelly]

Marvin Merrill's professional apex may have come.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Briefly in the middle 60s when he.

[Michael Connelly]

Had left the art world for the business world and was president and chief.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Engineer of Pacific Projects Consultants, a company.

[Michael Connelly]

Planning the construction of a 10 story.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Hotel on the beach in Oceanside.

[Michael Connelly]

Merrill called a press conference to announce.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

His plans and got a good run from it.

[Michael Connelly]

But the project never came to fruition, and Merrill was eventually sued by his.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Investors who wanted their money back.

[Michael Connelly]

According to members of Merrill's family, other real estate ventures and development plans followed.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

But none led to success like the.

[Michael Connelly]

Speculative purchase of land near a projected.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Freeway interchange that never came to be.

[Michael Connelly]

Merrill's son described home life at this time as always being tense with the family living hand to mouth and his.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Father often moody and physically abusive.

[Michael Connelly]

Even though money was short during these times, Merrill kept a second residence in.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

San Jose, where he did work for intel, the microchip company.

[Michael Connelly]

Efforts to confirm this through intel were unsuccessful. But in documents turned over to the.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Baber team by Merrill's son, there are.

[Michael Connelly]

Intel business cards and W2 tax forms.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Issued by the company.

[Michael Connelly]

To Merrill, it's unclear whether this was a side job or another career change. But by the early 70s, Merrill was.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Back in the car business, operating an auto repair and tire shop called Buck Savers. He was also back in trouble with the law.

[Michael Connelly]

Four days before Christmas 1971, Merrill was.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Jailed on multiple charges of defrauding his customers at the shop.

[Michael Connelly]

Two months later, he was found guilty.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

In court and sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years probation. Those three years coincided with three years of silence from the Zodiac. A period of time when no letters and no ciphers were sent to the.

[Family Member / Expert Commentator]

Media during this investigation. From the time it starts to the time he's arrested to the time he's given probation, to the time probation ends, the Zodiac doesn't appear again. There's no letters, no phone calls, no attacks. Soon as Marvin Merrill's probation ends early, all of a sudden, that same month, he reappears. And then we have this first letter in 34 months.

[Michael Connelly]

Merrill's second marriage came to an end in 1978 after what family members told.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Us was a physical altercation with a teenage child.

[Michael Connelly]

After that, the family began to lose track of Merrill. His son told us he had lost.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Touch with his father for nearly a decade after the divorce.

[Michael Connelly]

Records show that Merrill eventually moved north.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Toward the middle of California with addresses in Atascadero and Creston, before finally landing in Santa Barbara.

[Michael Connelly]

Copies of tax returns from these years.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Show him making very little money and alternately listing his occupation as engineer, ex engineer, and shopkeeper.

[Michael Connelly]

During his last decade.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

It appears, at least through banking records, that he used all variations of his aliases and kept separate checking accounts under each name.

[Michael Connelly]

In 1992, while he was facing a terminal cancer diagnosis, Margolis rented an art.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Studio in Santa Barbara for $700 a month.

[Michael Connelly]

He used the name Marty Merrill and.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Signed a five year lease commencing on April 1st. Perhaps that was an April Fool's joke from a man who had little more than a year to live.

[Michael Connelly]

It was likely in that rented studio.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

On Montecito street that Marty Merrill created a sketch titled Elizabeth and depicting the upper half of a nude woman with dark hair and the word Zodiac hidden in the shading.

[Michael Connelly]

It would be the last of the.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Many clues left behind by a human cipher.

[Family Member / Expert Commentator]

I believe that his final days, knowing that his life was coming to an end, and I have to say this for Marvin, having an understanding of him that I believe he may have had some. Some regret for what he did to Elizabeth. And the reason I say that is, is that that sketch in particular isn't one that I think is him bragging. I think it's his calling card so that someday someone would come along and discover it and put the pieces together. Maybe for his own reason. For his own reasons, meaning that he would get he finally have his name and face attached to these crimes officially. So he'd go down, you know, in history as being the Zodiac and the Black Guy Avenger. But I also believe that he wanted, he wanted the world to know that he hadn't forgotten. Elizabeth.

[Michael Connelly]

I'm Michael Conley and you have been listening to Killer in the Code.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Solving the Black Dahlia and Zodiac Cases.

[Michael Connelly]

This chapter was written and produced by Michael Connelly. It was edited by Terrell Lee Langford.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

With sound design, music and post production services by Mark Henry Phillips.

[Michael Connelly]

Go to our website killerinthecode.com for more.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Information on the investigation.

[Michael Connelly]

Send us questions and we will try.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

To answer them in an upcoming roundtable discussion.

[Michael Connelly]

And be sure to subscribe to the.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Podcast so you will know when new chapters are available.

[Michael Connelly]

We'll be back soon with chapter seven.

[Narrator / Interviewer]

Thank you for listening.

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