Accordingly, if my father fits any part of this psychological profile, there should be ample evidence of a series of crimes he committed, probably upon the same type of victims and probably within a circumscribed geographical area and timeframe. In other words, thirty years before Ted Bundy, the Hillside Stranglers, the Son of Sam, and even the Green River Killer, my father, most likely some of the time with Fred Sexton, was a long-term, serial sexual killer of defenseless women in the areas of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and downtown Los Angeles.
Amazingly, these serial murders not only remain unsolved today, but the LAPD does not even acknowledge the possibility that the killings were connected or related to each other. As the evidence will soon reveal, however, the relationships among the killings are so strong they cry out for resolution even within their dust-covered LAPD murder books shelved into cold storage a half century ago.
* 'The actual protocol (coroner's formal report) to my knowledge has never been published, therefore I am unable to confirm the validity of some of the findings alleged in the 'hand copied' versions. However, most of what is here reported is consistent with photographs that were released in the 1980s showing trauma to the body.
*
18
Elizabeth Short's 'Missing Week'
IN THE OFFICIAL STATEMENTS the police released to the public regarding the activities of Elizabeth Short in the period leading up to her death, detectives said the last time any witness saw her was the night of January 9, 1947, when she left the Biltmore Hotel through the Olive Street entrance. The Dahlia's 'missing week,' originally established and promoted by detectives Finis Brown and Harry Hansen, has become legendary, and remains with today's LAPD as unquestioned fact. As we will see, this was crucial to the 1947 cover-up.
My own investigation and research reveal quite a different story. In reviewing the newspaper accounts of the day to see what other witnesses turned up to give statements to the police, I discovered a number who positively identified Elizabeth Short during the LAPD's 'missing week.' My review of what those witnesses told police shows that Elizabeth Short spent a very active week in Hollywood, the San Fernando Valley, and downtown between January 9 and January 14 and was seen not only by strangers who later identified her, but by numerous acquaintances and a policewoman to whom she complained that she was in fear for her life. In truth, LAPD knew there never was a 'missing week.'
Iris Menuay, an acquaintance of Elizabeth Short at the Chancellor Hotel at 1842 North Cherokee Avenue, Hollywood, was one of the first people to run into Elizabeth after the victim got back to L.A. on January 9. Menuay reported to the police that she had seen Elizabeth Short sitting in the lobby of the Chancellor Hotel on January 9 or 10, at approximately 8:30 p.m. At that time, Menuay told police, she observed Elizabeth 'embracing a man dressed like a gas station attendant.' It was unclear whether Menuay actually meant that Elizabeth was embracing a gas station attendant or just somebody in a uniform she couldn't otherwise identify.
The next person to recognize Elizabeth was bartender Buddy La Gore at the Four Star Grill, at 6818 Hollywood Boulevard, where she was one of the semi-regulars. He told the police and press that she had come to the bar on January 10, 1947, during the late-evening hours in the company of two other women. Elizabeth Short didn't drink hard liquor, La Gore explained. Though in the past she had spent long hours at his bar, 'It was her custom to order soft drinks.' 'She always dressed immaculately,' he told the cops, 'and her clothing, makeup, and hair were perfect.'
On the evening of January 10, however, La Gore noticed, her appearance and demeanor were drastically different. 'When she came in on January 10, she looked like she had slept in her clothes for days,' he told police. 'Her black sheer dress was stained, soiled, and otherwise crumpled.' La Gore said he was surprised at the difference. 'I'd seen her many times before and always she wore the best nylons, but this time she had no stockings on.'
But it was more than just her clothing, he said. 'Her hair was straggly and some lipstick had been smeared hit-and-miss on her lips. The powder on her face was caked.' He also described a dramatic change in her demeanor. 'She was cowed instead of being gay and excited, the way I'd seen her before. Also, she was friendly and nice to me this time. The other times I saw her she acted like the 'grand lady' and was bossy.' La Gore told the police that he'd seen the women who accompanied Elizabeth Short on January 10 on other occasions as well, but always with Elizabeth.
That same day, Elizabeth was spotted by an unnamed witness whom Donahoe dubbed 'John Doe Number 1.' John Doe Number I told the detectives he'd seen Elizabeth Short, accompanied by two other women, drive up to the curb in a 'a black coupe' along the 7200 block of Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. The witness overheard them say they were 'staying in a motel on Ventura Boulevard, and were on their way to the Flamingo Club on La Brea Avenue.'
He also provided the following description of the other two women: 'One was 27 years old, 5'6', 125 pounds, with long black hair. The second one was a female who appeared to be in her 20s with light brown hair, combed up.' During the police interview, the witness readily identified Elizabeth Short from her photographs.
Mrs. Christenia Salisbury was another acquaintance who recognized Elizabeth when she was in Los Angeles during the week of January 9. Salisbury had known Elizabeth since 1945 when Elizabeth had waited tables in her Miami Beach restaurant, where the two women became friends. Salisbury, a Native American and vaudeville performer, had played several seasons with the Ziegfield Follies as a featured dancer named 'Princess Whitewing.' After she retired from show business, she bought the cafe in Miami Beach that she operated until just a few days before Christmas, 1946, when for health reasons she moved to Los Angeles in early January 1947.
In the offices of the
She and Elizabeth continued their conversation for ten minutes or so on the sidewalk while her two friends waited. Elizabeth 'appeared happy and cheerful,' Salisbury told reporters. She asked her for her phone number, to which Elizabeth replied, 'I'm living with these two girls in a motel in San Fernando Valley. We don't have a telephone. Give me your phone and I'll call you.' Salisbury gave Elizabeth her number, after which Elizabeth hurried to the car.
Paul Simone was a painting contractor living in Hollywood who had been employed by and was working at the
