Posted in: Amazon Studios, TV | Tagged: ballard, Bosch, Michael Connelly

Ballard Inspiration Mitzi Roberts on Investigating Black Dahlia Murder

Bosch and Ballard creator Michael Connelly launched a podcast on the Black Dahlia and Zodiac Killer, which Det. Mitzi Roberts investigated.

While work continues on season two of Bosch spinoff Ballard, Michael Connelly has launched a new podcast, Killer in the Code, which deals with the latest revelation that both the Black Dahlia Murder and the Zodiac Killer cases may have at least been solved. What sets this podcast apart from other true crime podcasts is the authority that Connelly brings with his background as a thorough crime reporter. He also interviews real-life inspiration for Renée Ballard, former LAPD Homicide cop Mitzi Roberts, to comment on the case, since she investigated the Black Dahlia Murder as a side project during her time in the LAPD. Connelly credits her as the world authority on the Black Dahlia, and she has declared that citizen sleuth Alex Baber has conclusively solved the case. He solved it by accident – he had set out to investigate the Zodiac Killer Murders, and came across clues and links that suggested that the Black Dahlia Killer and the Zodiac Killer are the same man.

Killer in the Code Feels like a Bosch & Ballard Case

Connelly probably wrote the synopsis for Killer in the Code, so it feels like it comes from the world of Bosch & Ballard: Self-styled cold case consultant Alex Baber believes he has a set of life skills that allow him to find the hidden beneath the hidden. These skills took him down a two-year path to solving two of the most infamous murder cases in history, the Black Dahlia and Zodiac killer cases. With no badge and no law enforcement training, has Baber closed the cases that have baffled law enforcement for more than half a century? Some of the top minds in homicide and code-breaking work believe so and stand by his findings.

Killer In The Code follows Baber on his investigative journey across the country as he employs cryptology, genealogy, AI, and ultimately, long hours of old-fashioned detective work to identify a suspect who has taunted and eluded authorities for decades. Along the way startling new evidence in both cases is discovered, all of it pointing unequivocally toward one man who lived in a dark world and may have intentionally left a "smoking gun" behind so that one day he would be discovered by someone who viewed the open cases as one puzzle missing just a few key pieces. Alex Baber found those pieces and solved the puzzle. Killer In The Code tells the story.

Mitzi Roberts, a consultant on the Bosch book and TV series and inspiration for Renée Ballard, discussed the time she spent investigating the Black Dahlia case on the podcast.

In the previous Bosch and Ballard novel, The Waiting, Harry's daughter joins Ballard's Cold Case unit to investigate the Black Dahlia Murders as a side project to practice her investigative skills. She and Ballard find evidence that appears to name a likely suspect, and Ballard credits Maddie with solving the case. However, the Department was unable to officially declare the case closed due to political factors and some ambiguity in the evidence. Since the book is fiction, Connelly left space for that answer to be true or not. Retired LAPD Homicide Detective Rick Jackson joins Roberts and Connelly on the podcast as they comb over Baber's findings.

And as Connelly pointed out, "Both Jackson and Roberts serve as inspirations for characters I write about in my novels. That would be Harry Bosch and Renee Ballard. They are the living embodiment of the homicide detectives' creed: everybody counts, or nobody counts. These are people who solve murders in real life, not on the internet, not on YouTube.

It's worth listening to the episodes of Killer in the Code and visiting the official website to examine the evidence that Baber presented, as well as the experts, including Connelly, Roberts, and those they brought in, who studied it. As True Crime Podcasts go, and a deep dive into the two mythical unsolved murder cases that defined Los Angeles and California's crime history, this is as good as it gets while you wait for the next season of Ballard and Bosch & Ballard novels.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!