True Crime: Hulu presents The Zodiac and Black Dahlia Murders

A new ABC News Studio special on Hulu is taking a look at two of the most notorious true crime cases in American history. Impact X Nightline: Kill Code: The Zodiac and Black Dahlia Murders theorizes that maybe – just maybe – the same killer was involved.

On January 15, 1947 in South LA, a passerby discovered the body of a woman in a vacant lot. She had been cut into two pieces, and the woman who first spotted the body thought at first that she was seeing a mannequin.

The body was soon identified as Elizabeth Short, but she was known in the press as The Black Dahlia. An autopsy was performed on Short’s body, and the details of her murder were gruesome. In addition to her body being severed cleanly at the waist, there were ligature marks on her wrists, ankles and throat.

There were lacerations to her right breast, arms, and lower belly, and deep cuts extending from both sides of her mouth around 3.” Her scalp was bruised, and it was believed that she had been sexually assaulted. Her cause of death was determined to be loss of blood and shock.

Shortly after the discovery of Short’s body, the editor of The Examiner received a phone call from a man who claimed to be the murderer. He said some of Short’s ‘souvenirs’ would be mailed, and an envelope was received three days later. As promised, the envelope contained her birth certificate, photos, and an address book. All had been thoroughly cleaned.

Hulu true crime special asks: is there a connection between the Black Dahlia killer and the Zodiac killer?

Twenty-one years later, the Zodiac killer struck the San Francisco Bay area, terrorizing residents. In all, the unknown killer is known to have committed at least five murders, and two other victims survived. True crime followers know the story of the Zodiac killer, and are familiar with the more than 20 chilling letters he sent to newspapers and law enforcement.

Cryptograms were included in four of the letters, and most were signed “This is the Zodiac speaking”, with a drawing that resembled the crosshairs of a gun.

Zooming in on the fact that letters were sent in from the person who murdered Elizabeth Short and the cryptic Zodiac, The Zodiac and Black Dahlia Murders takes a look at the possibility the killers in these cases might actually be a single killer instead. “Following a trail of cryptic clues, an amateur sleuth now says he’s cracked the code on both cases.”

Impact X Nightline: Kill Code: The Zodiac and Black Dahlia Murders is currently available to stream on demand on Hulu. Will you be watching?