Alex Baber is an investigative consultant who named Marvin Margolis (Marvin Merrill) as a suspect in both the Zodiac and Black Dahlia cases, claiming to have decrypted the Z13 cryptogram to reveal “Marvin Merrill.” His findings were reported by the Los Angeles Times in 2025. In May and June 2026, Dave Oranchak — credited among the solvers of the Z340 cryptogram — published a three-part YouTube series characterizing Baber’s investigation and accusations as a hoax and fraud.
Conflicting accounts
Baber maintained his theory; Oranchak’s series concluded it was fraudulent.