Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 1-10

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Equal Housing Lender. By Linda Deutsch Associated Press LOS carries it in his pocket as a talisman, a tiny 3-inch book of grainy photos that he touches now and then as if reminding himself that the horror is real. Steve Hodel, a retired LAPD homicide detective, is adjusting to the discovery of evidence, including this little book, that he said proves his late father, a respected Los Angeles doctor, was the torture killer of Elizabeth Short, the so-called Black Dahlia. Hodel believes his father might have killed several other women, as well. If he is correct, Hodel has cracked a 56-year-old murder case that is the oldest and most notorious of Los unsolved It also is one of the most sensational, replete with a beautiful victim, a grotesque murder, an incest trial and characters from the heyday of old Hollywood.

Hodel, 61, has written this gruesome tale in a book, Dahlia is Hannibal Lecter meets in said Hodel, who now lives in Lake Arrowhead, Calif. make up a story like In his book, Hodel paints his father, Dr. George Hodel, as a fiend who tortured and carved up a young woman and perhaps went on to kill others before he abandoned his family and fled the United States. loved my father and respected him. But he said, have come to look at my father as the true Dr.

Jekyll and Mr. Steve journey into his dark life began with the little brown photo album given to him by his widow when the elder Hodel died in 1999 at the age of 91. Its pages contained snapshots of some of George 11children from four marriages, including Steve and his mother, the ex-wife of director John Huston. But what caught his eye were two carefully posed and framed photographs of a mystery wom- an with flowers in her hair. immediate the author recalls.

I thought, do I know this He remembered a movie about the Black Dahlia case and began to conduct research, comparing the photos in the album with those of Elizabeth Short. I was sure there was some other Hodel said. knew a lot of beautiful But as his research continued, his conclusion became inescapable. Dr. George Hodel socialized with Hollywood legends such as Huston and artist-photographer Man Ray.

He is shown in his book as the central figure in a social set that dabbled in orgies and drugs. The 1947 Black Dahlia killing is a Los Angeles legend. The body was severed at the waist, drained of blood, washed, then carefully posed in a vacant lot. Contributing to the enduring fascination were the beauty of the 22-year-old victim, who wore dahlias in her black hair, and the stories of her Hollywood ambitions. become synonymous with unsolved murders of beautiful said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Office.

Sensational details Elizabeth Short had come from Massachusetts in the 1940s in search of a better life. She dated many men and lost her true love in a wartime plane crash. Records show that several witnesses identified Short as a girlfriend of Dr. George Hodel. When District Atty.

Steve Cooley recently released the long- secret files on the case, Steve theory gained sub- stance. His photograph was in the file, along with transcripts of electronic surveillance on his home in 1950. The reports are fragile, typed on onionskin paper that is yellowed and crumbling. But they make clear that George Hodel was one of the prime suspects. He had been tried and acquitted on a charge of committing incest on his 14-year-old daughter in a sensational 1949 trial during which the Black Dahlia was mentioned.

Afterward, police electronically bugged his Hollywood mansion. The transcripts of conversations include a statement in voice saying: I did kill the Black Dahlia. They prove it now. They talk to my secretary anymore because The younger Hodel now thinks his father killed the secretary to keep her from talking. He also links Dr.

Hodel to the lipstick of Jeanne French, a woman found slain within weeks of murder. The author also said he recognizes his handwriting on taunting cards and letters sent to police after the Black Dahlia killing. He said his research indicates his father and an alleged accomplice also might be linked to the murders of seven other women. Getting away with murder? Why the police prosecute father? The book offers a complex theory involving police corruption and Dr. role at the public health department in treating venereal diseases in Los Angeles.

His medical files might have included some famous names. He also notes that as the investigation progressed, Dr. Hodel left the country, spending most of the rest of his life in the Philippines. theoryis not without its skeptics. Over the years, many confessed to being the Black Dahlia killer, but no one was charged.

Hodel has broken with some relatives over his book. But his half-sister, Tamar, the subject of the incest trial, is convinced he is right. always thought my father had killed the Black she said in a telephone interview. said it back Tamar Hodel, now 68 and living in Hawaii, said she was branded a liar in the trial and went into exile with her mother in Mexico after the scandal. everything is falling into a clear she said.

Steve Hodel believes his search was worthwhile. He said he often imagined Elizabeth Short and the other women his father may have killed crying out for justice. investigated 300 he said, never seen anything close to AP photos by Ric Francis Steve Hodel concludes in his new book that his father killed Elizabeth Short in 1947. A woman in a photo album owned by Steve late father turned out to be Short, the victim in the 1947 murder case that has captivated Los Angeles for decades. Ex-cop sees trail of lead to his father Dr.

George Hodel, in a 1952 photo, is depicted in his book as a part of a Hollywood social set steeped in orgies and drugs. Associated Press TYLER, Texas A woman charged with bludgeoning two of her sons to death with rocks and critically injuring a third child may not understand the capital murder and aggravated assault charges against her, her attorney said in court Monday. Two days after Deanna La- June Laney, 38, called 911to report killing two of her sons, the woman appeared in court, nodding responsively when District Judge Cynthia Kent asked her if she understood her rights. However, newly appointed attorney, F.R. Files, questioned understanding of the situation.

not sure if she can truthfully say she understands what is going Files told the judge. Laney is accused of killing Joshua Laney, 8, and Luke Laney, 6, and injuring their 14- month-old brother, Aaron. The toddler remained in critical condition Monday at a Dallas hospital. In a call to emergency workers early Saturday, Laney reported that she had just their heads in with a Sheriff J.B. Smith said.

When they arrived at the home, deputies found Joshua and Luke dead in the yard wearing only their underwear with large rocks on top of their bodies. Aaron was found in his crib with a pillow over his face, alive but bleeding. The sheriff said Laney acted erratically Sunday during interviews with investigators. she is incoherent, sometimes in a fetal position and sobbing. Sometimes singing spiritual hymns or muttering about God and sometimes she has a flat-liner face and not saying a thing during Smith said.

At a news conference after the hearing, District Atty. Jack Skeen said he knew of no evidence to suggest that Laney suffers from mental health problems or was confused about her circumstances. know if the term incoherent would he said. Texas mom in court in slaying of 2 sons.