One of these stories was as I have related in BDA, telling me of her going to our father at age 12 and asking him to help her name her the Black haired doll she had just received from her mother for her 12th birthday in late March of that year. As Tamar's half-brother Steve shared on his blog, Tamar died in 2015 at the age of 80. Hodel attended South Pasadena High School, graduated at age 15 and entered California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena. (The reason being to hide the fact that a murder was committed during the electronic stakeout and they took no action, made no immediate response to the assault.) Under the pretext of illness, he petitioned their father, King David, to send Tamar and her culinary skills his way. She said he smiled at her and said, Why dont you name her Elizabeth. During the telling of that story, she laughed and went on to say that seven years later she would name her own daughter, Deborah Elizabeth. George is a monster to an unimaginable degree but the good he gave this earth came in the form of you, your siblings, nieces and nephews. Zack, the host of the show, had an agenda different than hers. Fauna's own daughters, Yvette Gentile and Rasha Pecoraro, have been helping to tell their mother's story following Fauna's death in 2017. I dont know? In the evening, a cook shot himself in the head while inside his hotel room after failing to reconcile with his wife and child. I was wondering if you are aware of the photo taken of Elizabeth Shorts crime scene that was seemingly taken at night which, presumably would suggest it was the killer who took the photo as she was found in the morning? In 2021 George Hodel's son, Steve Hodel, published a two-part investigation (The Early Years: The Further Serial Crimes of George Hodel M.D. Steve, where in Donegal does your mums family come from ?Im fascinated here in Donegal lol. (That pregnancy was aborted in 1949.). Two separate victims from the 1930s cases (unrelated to each other) attended school (one in high school and one in college) with George Hodel and the suggested motive, as in many of his crimes, was his hatred of being rejected by them in his youth. C. Crow. I was speechless listening to the part about your discovery of the receipts for the concrete and fertilizer. George Hodel was accused of sexually assaulting his 14-year old daughter, Tamar Hodel but the misogynistic judge and jury thought that Tamar was "crazy" and acquitted George Hodel. Share this: Twitter Facebook Email Print Reddit Tumblr Loading. Do you believe that she wanted you to become a police detective in order to uncover the truth about george ? Thank you for the kind words. St. Helens Hall would have been the name of the boarding hall. At least eight witnesses claimed first-hand knowledge of a 1946 relationship between Short and Hodel, then back in Los Angeles from China. I Will be publishing The Early Years next year which covers his pre-Dahlia crimes and hopefully that will allow me to get out of the twenty-plus back hole. PLEASE CORRECT. If they look at it they will have to conclude as I have shown, that LAPDs two greatest heroes, Chiefs William H. Bill Parker and Chief of Detectives Thad Brown, did in fact, participate in a cover-up by not pursuing their known/identified suspect, Dr. George Hill Hodel. Thanks to books from Hodel's own children and a successful adaptation of one of them as the TNT mini-series "I Am the Night" starring Chris Pine, Hodel has been accepted by many as the leading suspect in the Dahlia murder. Tamar is the mother of the five grandchildren of George Hodel interviewed in Root of Evil. Less impressed was active Detective Brian Carr, the LAPD officer then in charge of the Black Dahlia case which was still officially open. Yes, Im familiar with the derogatory comments by Larry Harnisch on his website. She desperately wanted to be loved. Fauna Elizabeth: Dear Fauna: In our hundred or more hours of discussions after our fathers death in 1999, your mother, my sister, Tamar told me many personal stories, as I wanted to know as much as possible about what she could recall about our father and his life. She immediately gave her up for adoption. I will continue to wear the dual masks of Drama (Thalia God of Comedy and Melpomene God of Tragedy). But I cant imagine how Id feel to uncover evidence that my parent had had a second career as a notoriously depraved serial killer. This author suggests your account of your father as The Black Dahlia murderer is nothing more than a series of endless lies. Jimmie Lee struggled to raise Fauna in Sparks, NV. 1: CEO Despite their complicated family history, it seems like today, Gentile and Pecoraro have a good relationship with their aunt and uncles. She even addressed Steve Uncle, Not sure the reference, but it may have been from Deborah aka Fauna II? He asked her if GHH was her father, and other prurient questions. Talk about racist. That child was Fauna . Unfortunately there are probably many people who were not convicted due to their standing in the community or being able to buy off officials in those days. https://stevehodel.com/2019/04/12/director-screenwriter-david-lynch-reveals-new-old-clue-to-black-dahlia-investigation-in-dinner-with-john-john/, Sehr geehrter Herr Hodel Steve, Head Deputy District Attorney Stephen Kay described himself as highly impressed by Steve Hodel's research and conclusions and even went so far as to declare the case had been solved. She would have been 13 I believe. [4], One Day She'll Darken: The Mysterious Beginnings of Fauna Hodel, "The Wild, True Story That Inspired 'I Am the Night': So. No, LAPD nor any other LE agency has never done any testing. As explained on the One Day She'll Darken website, the real Fauna learned about her siblings when she wrote to her mother for the first time. You and your family ? But isnt it also true much of what you have put together, at least regarding the Black Dahlia, is also conjecture based on your own theories and no 100% proof so you could call that dramatic effect for your own writing and sales as well. Fauna with her two daughters Rasha, left and Yvette right. The structure, built in 1926 by Lloyd Wright (son of the noted American architect Frank Lloyd Wright), has since been registered as a Los Angeles historic landmark. Geraldine M or Martha J: He was also a musical prodigy. Supposin' I did kill the Black Dahlia. My heart felt condolences go out to each one of them. Christina M.G. My point in using the term is to show exactly how Faunas unnamed father was described on the 1951 birth certificate, which reads, information withheld concerning Father, Color or Race of Father Negro. These are not MY words they are the words used by the hospital to describe her father. Negro is absolutely offensive and disrespectful when used flippantly, without care for the hurt it causes so many. Based on this the HOSPITAL AUTHORITIES AND PERSONNEL ASSUMED THAT THIS FRIEND (A NEGRO) WAS THE FATHER, and Tamar continued to let them believe the father was black. It has been speculated that Fauna was Tamar's daughter from that incestuous relationship. ET. The second project was an eight-part documentary podcast, entitled Root of Evil: The True Story of the Hodel Family and the Black Dahlia,[11] a Cadence13/TNT production using archival audio and interviews with Hodel family members. I just finished this podcast and had to leave a comment to you and your whole family. Scenes for the series were shot on location at Dr. Hodel's 1945-50 residence, the historic Frank Lloyd Wright Jr.-built John Sowden House at 5121 Franklin Avenue, Hollywood, California. With an address in hand, Fauna (India Eisley) and Jay (Chris Pine) head to Hawaii to find Tamar. Thanks so much for taking readers on such an intriguing, Byzantine journey, originating with a 1947 gruesome murder in LA. A third recanted her earlier testimony and refused to come forward, with one theory being that Hodel threatened her into silence. After Tamar gave birth to Fauna, her maturity began to appear and she eventually had four additional children, Elizabeth (also known as Fauna II), and three boys, Peace, Love and Joy. I have recently re-listened to your nieces podcast. She is a character in 'I Am the Night' primarily portrayed by Jamie Anne Allman. . When she sought out her birth mother Tamar years later, she found out about her. That's in the original newspaper coverage, which most people haven't read. Tamar responded with a photo of herself with her four other children, whom she had after giving Fauna up for adoption daughter Elizabeth (who was also called Fauna II) and sons Peace, Love,. He called her "Dorero" to avoid confusion with his other wife, Dorothy Anthony, at least within their circle,[2] but she is better known as Dorothy Huston-Hodel. Well, as you know from reading BDA I started out confident I would be able to exonerate my father and easily prove he had no involvement in the horrific crime. Surely they made links between the imagery? Even then, I tend to leave room for the story to change, if that makes sense. Craig: Thanks for the kind words. Fauna's Daughters Have Given Their Stamp Of Approval,", "New Podcast Explores Black Dahlia Murder: Root of Evil dives into the story of George Hodel, a primary suspect in Elizabeth Shorts 1947 unsolved murder and its told by his great-granddaughters,", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fauna_Hodel&oldid=1133379049, This page was last edited on 13 January 2023, at 13:52. Outraged by the audacity of their daughter and the stigma attached to a mixed-race child within their midst, her mother quickly arranged to have the baby permanently given away to Jimmie Lee, a black maid in a Nevada casino. "Things could not get any more weird . or so we thought," Gentile said of the situation. Good evening, Mr. Hodel, Then I read the word negro, and now Im done. I remember she never came back and we all wondered why. They could not allow this to become public so they locked away the DA Secret Hodel Files for fifty-three years, until accidentally discovered by LA Times journalist Steve Lopez, and myself in 2003. Two years before Fauna was even born, Tamar. And I just got a chill upon reading that he told her to name her doll Elizabeth. Margo: No, Tamar and George did not have a relationship AFTER the trial going forward. Fauna Hodel's quest to retrace her roots on I Am the Night has become deadly, but she's finally getting close to some answers about her birth mother, Tamar Hodel. Just seeing things from both sides. Fauna 1 who died in 2017 and Fauna II (originally named Deborah Elizabeth, but changed her name to Fauna as an adult.) He teamed up with LAPD detective Brian Carr (now long retired) and together they did a few TV shows and Det. Shock, anger, hatred, and now just a terrible feeling of sadness for his undeniable psychopathy and the recognition he was in truth a real life Jekyll and Hyde. [3] She spent her formative years not knowing her name or biological parentage.[4][1]. Fauna's birth father was unknown, and the troubled Tamar gave up Fauna for adoption. She, when married my father she hoped George would be proud of her, close to her again (as she never meant to tell on him. ) [4] In February 2019, it was announced that Gentile and Pecoraro were producing a podcast, Root of Evil, which delves further into the book, the miniseries adaptation, and their family history. Christina: Steve Hodel, George's son, even claims his father was the Zodiac Killer. By around 1928, Hodel was in a common-law marriage with a woman named Emilia; they had a son, Duncan. Below is a PDF containing the complete seven pages as included in BDA III Chapter 6, Tamar Nais Hodel. Thank you for the response, Steve. Thank you so much for sharing your deeply personal story with us. Have you heard of it? Tamar Hodel, the daughter in that 1949 case, tells a story that supports the notion that her physician father killed the secretary. (Her father was folksinger, Stan Wilson.). Do you happened to know a relative by the name Starr Hodel? It isnt a reflection of his age or his inability to keep up with the times. Unlike in the show, it didn't occur until years after Fauna first discovered the truth about her birth mother, and she brought her oldest daughter, Gentile, to Hawaii with her. Hodel purchased the Sowden House in 1945 and lived there from 1945 until 1950. Born August 1, 1951, in San Francisco, Hodel was the first child of 16-year-old Tamar Nais Hodel and the granddaughter of Los Angeles doctor and socialite George Hodel. [2] Hodel's medical degree also aroused suspicion, given the hypothesis that whoever bisected Short's body had some degree of surgical skill. Take care of yourself and stay safe out there! It actually made me think about a movie that I never watched (and dont intend to) called A Serbian Man. Taken as an infant from her teenage mother, Fauna was placed in the care of a working-class black woman, who raised the white child as her own. The reason being that her mother Dorothy Anthony Barbe Hodel was originally from Portland, Oregon and married a symphony conductor from that city. It was through Tamar that Michelle met John Phillips.This week the headline-making news comes from John Phillips's 49-year old daughter, Mackenzie Phillips (whose mother is Susan Adams Phillips,. Just as many television shows/movies/books often use terms that are racist and deeply insensitive when referring to anyone who isnt a straight, white, Christian person in order to give an accurate representation of the time and place the story is set. 20 Who was Tamar Hodel's biological mother? (On his blog site Harnisch informs his readers that he hasnt and doesnt read my books.), My father had a total lack of empathy for anyone. Hodel left the United States in March 1950 for Hawaii, then a U.S. territory, where he married an upper-class Filipino woman, Hortensia Laguda. Much appreciated. Paddy: If I think about your father at length, I feel deeply uneasy. As I indicated, after my niece Fauna came out with her creative license for dramatic effect as relates to inventing fictitious letters supposedly written by my mother, in her autobiography, I just ignored it. You seem so stabke as a person through all this hell knowledge discovered about your Father. Tamar gives us the true story of how once she was hospitalized, a very kind and loving Black man offered to help meoffered to marry me, but authorities refused. They follow the kids to the house and low and behold..out comes Tamar. But, LAPD claimd they are too busy to do any followup. No luminol ever test back then or through the decades. Did she board 1 year at St. Helens Hall in Portland, OR for 7th or 8th grade? In fact, George's own daughter, fifteen-year-old Tamar Hodel claimed that she was one of his sexual partners. Hodel, the younger's investigation presents four (4) potential crimes committed in the 1920s and nineteen (19) crimes believed committed in the 1930s. Much appreciated. In the 1930s, he was legally married to Dorothy Anthony, a fashion model from San Francisco; they had a daughter, Tamar. Most assuredly, YES. Although the Hodel family has many more skeletons than other families, you all are dealing with this by acknowledging, acceptance and healing. The viewing/listening/reading public needs to know what is FACT and what is FICTION. Tamar died two years earlier in 2015. https://stevehodel.com/2015/10/19/tamar-nais-hodel-dies-at-80-in-honolulu-hawaii/, Clarification, I have been Fauna since I was 15, never knowing Id meet my sister in my lifetime . The Martin letter, reproduced in full in the chapter "Afterword" in Black Dahlia Avenger III,[8] went on to name "GH" on 17 separate occasions identifying him as a personal acquaintance of Martin's as well as of McCauley's, and named him as the killer of both Short and of a second lone woman, Louise Springer, the "Green Twig Murder" victim. That is what she told me. Along the way, she'll meet her half-siblings. He usually represents his Daughter as a sexual item in front of his relatives and friends. I wanted to let you know that I just finished Root of Evil and I thought your work on it was amazing! I applaud you for continuing to fight for justice for all of Georges victims. I started out convinced my father would be incapable of committing such a crime and was sure I would be able to clear him of any suspicion. Our father did see Tamar on occasion through the decades when passing through Hawaii enroute to the U.S. Im sure it wasnt easy for you to figure out what your father was.. For your information, this old guy doesnt have a racist bone in his body thanks to my mothers teaching and raising me and my brothers to love and respect ALL RACES from our childhood. All five of Tamar's children had different fathers, Gentile explained. I only know what she told me. If so, I want to believe that wherever she is, she now knows the truth. You wrote you people not in bad faith, but as a result of your misinterpretation. Oh, you people, you people. I fear that she was never IDd. , In this opening introduction, Tamar presents me with the details of her teenage pregnancy and exactly how it happened and what followed during her placement in an unwed mothers home., Tamar gives us the true story of how once she was hospitalized, a very kind and loving Black man offered to help meoffered to marry me, but authorities refused. 10: Civil Servant, the guy LH has a clock on his site saying how many years/months/days/hours/mins/secs since the movies rights have been bought for your book (hes that petty and sad), Kate: Tamar claimed she had posed for nude photos for Man Ray when she was just a child. What were all the factors in his childhood that came together to create such a hatred of women and Humanity? SKH Note: Faunas autobiography would not be written until 2008, some five years after the publication of my book, Black Dahlia Avenger and some four years after Tamar wrote and sent me the below account of the facts, to be told in The Tamar Chronicles. Do I think that she gave you the middle name of Elizabeth to show her ongoing love for her father and to do as he wished and name her little doll, (this time a living doll) to please her father and fulfill his seven-year-old request, to name her Elizabeth? Dear Steve, (See full description and details in Tamars own words as to the how and why of it below.). This is fascinating. She was eighty years old. In fact she spoke of George this way even years after your first book: Black Dahlia Advenger. So was George in Hawaii then, thousands of miles away, when Tamar got pregnant? Tamar Nais Hodel formerly Anthony Born 24 Mar 1935 in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States Ancestors Daughter of George Hill Hodel Jr. and Dorothy Grace (Anthony) Barber Sister of Michael Paul Hodel [half], John Dion Hodel [half] and [private brother (1940s - unknown)] [half] [spouse (s) unknown] Mother of Fauna Hodel Tamar Hodel was Fauna Hodel 's mother. The school itself was Oregon Episcopal School. Interesting, compelling, and disturbing. I am too busy working on active cases." Only source on it is Ancestry.com I dont know if it was ever asked and answered but why did the second daughter change her name to Fauna 2. Its generally meant to group people together often based on stereotypes and ignorance, to other. Hi Joan. I cant imagine the shock you have gone through when you found your first proofs. No harm came to either of them so the letter remained unreported and in the family's possession for 70 years until discovered and read by Martin's granddaughter. In my young mind it was my way to be New, loved, a person not sexually abused!! Tamar's testimony was perceived as contradictory and attention-seeking. The Martin letter made it clear that "GH" was known and protected by law enforcement officers, and that they "let him go." 1 podcast ranking" in the United States. Steve, I believe I knew Tamar years ago. McCawley" (Sgt. Writer: I Am the Night. They were never really interested as they believed that my investigation was just another of the many Site by AuthorBytes. The show is adapted from Fauna's real memoir, One Day She'll Darken, in which she discussed her half-siblings. He was also accused of raping his daughter, Tamar Hodel, but was acquitted for that crime. The three-page letter identified W. Glenn Martin as a paid LAPD police informant working for a "Sgt. Were doing okay I wish yours had acted sooner.. ( my sister and her family ), Olivia P: Tamar Hodel was 16 when she gave birth to Fauna. [2] The full details of the investigation came to light only in 2003, when a "George HodelBlack Dahlia File" was discovered in archives at the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office. (Also, FYI, you can search any subject by using the SEARCH BOX under my badge on the Squad Room Blog page. LAPDs refusal to look at it has I think, all to do with IMAGE. Was Fauna Hodel the child of incest, and the catalyst for a sensational trial that left her well-to-do family scarred by scandal, even as the accused sexual predator walked free? 5: Surgeon was far more compelling and richly detailed than lmharnischs efforts at debunking your suppositions. The case earned major publicity and prompted one of the largest investigations in the history of the Los Angeles Police Department. Assume you are referring to the below paragraph. I have not read your books (yet) as I just stumbled onto your site after googling about the I am the night series after recently watching it. Tamar responded with a photo of herself with her four other children, whom she had after giving Fauna up for adoption daughter Elizabeth (who was also called Fauna II) and sons Peace, Love, and Joy. Fauna Hodel was born in August, 1951. five brothers all who were coal miners in PA, and my grandfathers parents Suzi F: No, not really. {forgive me, Im not trying to flippantly insult your late father. "A former child prodigy, now a brilliant doctor who entertained and inspired a Hollywood salon of the avant-garde in the 40's until a scandal broke and sent his famous friends scurrying." George Hodel is the scion of an . So, I will do that, as best I can, in my writing, and public speaking and if the muses are willing (How can they not be? I' ve contemplated factors. Though the father was. Fauna's birth father was unknown, and the troubled Tamar gave up Fauna for adoption. Dee: Thanks for the kind words. This started up again when she married my father Stan Wilson. Born in 1907, the only child of George Hodel, Sr. and Esther Hodel, he was a musical prodigy with an IQ of 187 . They remained in touch with each other as long as I can remember.. her reasons to win his love and hopefully gain financial support as well. As far as the Black Dahlia investigation is concerned it is way beyond my personal conjecture and theories. But, one has to read the material and see all the linkage. Fauna Hodel never met her grandfather George Hodel in life and was never at the Sowden/Franklin House until long after his death in 1999, and then only to visit the new owners briefly. From where her handbag was found (Griffith Park) and Elisabeth Short was found (Leimert Park). Fauna 2 was born Deborah Elizabeth Wilson. In 1947 just months after murdering Elizabeth Short, George told her to name the doll "Elizabeth." Just came out with Book 6, In The Mesquite which details a horrific mother/daughter murder I believe he committed pre Dahlia in 1938. [4], After the success of his medical practice and becoming head of the county's Social Hygiene Bureau, Hodel was moving in affluent Los Angeles society by the 1940s. His "crime spree" would total fifty victims over a nearly fifty-year time period. Traumatic Reenactment - Root of Evil: The True . Id just like to say, I hope this finds you and finds you in good health ? Many of my HODEL family members ARE BLACK AND BEAUTIFUL. Short's relatives also disagreed that the photos in Hodel's album were of Short. But murder is just part of the Hodel family story, one filled with horrifying secrets that ripple across . Its really suspicious for me to see a comment from Fauna herself in May 24, 2019 when she supposedly passed in 2017. In the end, by following the evidence, it took me in the exact opposite direction. Much appreciated. Fauna in the hope of finding some answers about who she is, Jay hoping to find answers about the Hodel story he wrote about that ruined his career. On January 15, 1947, the naked body of 22-year-old Elizabeth Short was discovered in an empty lot in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. After Hodel died in 1999, his son Steve Hodel, a former LAPD homicide detective, started investigating his father as a possible suspect in the Elizabeth Short murder and has written several books on the subject. Take care, Fauna Hodel's daughters host the podcast. Hilarious how afterwards you follow it with black. I cant begin to imagine the complexity of emotions ranging from love to hate for a man that gave you life. Steve- Ive recently finished reading DANGEROUS FRIENDS which has a lot of background on John Huston, who as you know, was well connected to Fred Sexton. He is a major character in 'I Am the Night' and is portrayed by Jefferson Mays. You are that spotlight. I expect you would have Mr. Burns go back and edit out all the live footage that clearly demonstrated and used the real-life 1920s and 1930s racist references to lynchings and the use of Nigger and Negro from the script. When Elizabeth Short, also known as The Black Dahlia, was brutally killed in 1947, it gripped the entire country. Surely you would have seen through her lies relating to age and background with george . In any case, I just wanted to put that out there. Thank you for telling your story! is there any further movement on the testing of the DNA on the envelope, which your father sealed? Tammy: The son makes a clear disclaimer that "none of the presented crimes contain proof beyond a reasonable doubt and without hard physical evidence such as DNA linkage are not solvable."
