1. Purpose of this page ↑ Back to top
This page collects, in one place, the citations behind claims made in a three-part video series (plus several short-form videos) examining public statements made by Alex Baber, a self-described cold case investigator, about his role in the Zodiac Killer and Black Dahlia cases. The videos are the primary content; this page exists so viewers, journalists, and platforms evaluating Baber's claims can trace each factual assertion back to its source without having to scrub through hours of footage.
Every numbered citation[0] in this document links to a specific video, article, or document. Where a claim rests on witness testimony rather than a public record, that is stated explicitly, along with how many independent sources corroborate it. This page does not assert that Baber has been convicted of any crime; where legal or financial disputes are referenced, they are described as disputes, filings, or licensing records — not findings of guilt.
Michael Connelly, a bestselling crime novelist, wrote, produced, and narrates Killer in the Code, a commercial podcast built around Baber's investigation, and brought retired LAPD detectives Mitzi Roberts and Rick Jackson on to publicly endorse Baber's findings.[1] Both have also long worked as Connelly's paid consultants on his Bosch and Ballard novels and their TV adaptations — a financial relationship worth weighing against the independence of their endorsement.[2] Cryptographer Ed Giorgio's cryptanalysis, also featured on the podcast, is described by Connelly himself as validating only the "internal consistency" of a method that already assumed Baber's candidate, Marvin Margolis — not an independent test of Baber's conclusions or Margolis's guilt.[3] No fully independent review of Baber's conclusions has been publicly documented.
2. The video series ↑ Back to top
Full episodes:
Short-form clips (individual examples):
Independent reporting that raised related questions about the underlying case claims (not produced by this channel):
- The Mercury News — "Michael Connelly, Zodiac Killer controversy, Danville" (Feb. 18, 2026)
- Defector — "Michael Connelly Should Stick To Fake Crime"
Baber's response and his account of these events are published on his own Substack: cccoa.substack.com. Readers are encouraged to review it directly.
3. Claims specific to the current investigation ↑ Back to top
These are the claims examined in Part 3 that relate most directly to Baber's current Zodiac/Black Dahlia investigation. Each is followed, where available, by Baber's response.
Z340 cipher: "I got verification I was the first one to solve it" vs. "I have never claimed to have solved Z340"
In 2020, Baber posted publicly that he had solved the Z340 cipher "6+ months" before it was solved and announced by an independent team (David Oranchak, Sam Blake, and Jarl Van Eycke) in December 2020, writing "wait until the entire story is out."[4] On a livestream roughly two months before that public solve, Baber described a partial decryption and stated on camera that he had gotten "verification I was the first one to solve it."[5] Years later, in a written message to Oranchak, Baber stated: "I have never claimed to have solved Z340; my focus at the time was limited to the ciphers previously noted which excluded Z13."[6]
These three statements — an archived public post, on-camera livestream footage, and a direct written denial — are all in Baber's own words and are mutually exclusive. This claim does not depend on any third party's account.
Timing of the Marvin Margolis / "Marvin Merrill" identification
Baber has described identifying Marvin Skipton Margolis (also referred to as "Marvin Merrill") as a suspect only after decoding the Zodiac's "Z13" cipher, and has said he "had no idea" who Marvin Merrill was before that.[7] Research materials reviewed for this series — including a 2019 email exchange with a contributor who says he informed Baber of the Margolis/Merrill connection — indicate Baber was promoting Margolis as a suspect as early as 2019.[8]
When Baber says he first contacted his suspect's son
Baber has stated he contacted his suspect's son — whose identity is withheld here — in 2024 under false pretenses before later revealing his true intentions, and has separately said he tracked the son down through genealogy research and social media. Footage reviewed from a 2021 interview shows Baber describing having already secured that individual's cooperation by 2021 or earlier, using the son's and a step-brother's first names.[10] It is not clear why Baber had to use false pretenses in 2024 to secure the son's cooperation when he claimed in 2021 he already had it.
The "Elizabeth" sketch: what the Reis report actually says, vs. how it has been represented
Baber commissioned forensic imaging examiner George Reis, of Imaging Forensics, to analyze a sketch of a topless woman labeled "ELIZABETH" and signed "Marty Merrill '92,"[11] to determine whether writing was present in a shaded area of the drawing. Reis's report, dated January 13, 2026, is now available in full and can be compared directly against Baber's public characterizations of it.[12]
What the report says Reis actually did: he tested the sketch with 45-degree lighting, raking light, back illumination, ultraviolet light, and infrared light — and states plainly that "none of these methods resulted in significant results." The only technique that revealed anything was co-axial illumination,[13] a specialized method using a coated two-way mirror to send light along the camera's optical path — equipment and a technique not available to an ordinary phone camera or consumer app.
What the report says was found: using co-axial lighting, Reis identified marks "consistent with letters" in the area above the "T" in "ELIZABETH" — describing the left-most mark as "appearing to be the letter Z" and the right-most as "the letter C," with a mark between them "that could be another C or a lower-case A," and additional markings in between that he calls "less distinct." The report never states that the word "ZODIAC" was found, confirmed, or read in full — its conclusion is limited to a few individually hedged, partially-legible letter fragments.
The deviation: Baber has publicly described this material as showing the word "ZODIAC" hidden in the sketch, and has at various times attributed the discovery to his own use of "infrared" imaging or a "contrast spectrum" technique. The report directly contradicts both points: infrared is explicitly listed among the methods that produced no significant results, and the technique that did produce results — co-axial illumination — is a specialized forensic method performed by Reis, not a technique Baber has described accurately or demonstrated he can perform or replicate himself. Baber has not corroborated the process he says he personally used to see "ZODIAC" in the sketch before commissioning this report, and the report he cites as validation does not confirm that word was ever there.
Claims about interest from People, Vanity Fair, and The Times of London
Baber has said Vanity Fair and People Magazine were prepared to run cover stories on his findings, and that The Times of London arranged an international photoshoot. Direct statements gathered from individuals at those outlets — quoted at length in Part 3 — describe declining to run stories because his claims were not considered credible or evidence-backed, and, in People Magazine's case, objecting to Baber publicizing an unconfirmed story using their name.[14]
4. A pattern predating the current investigation ↑ Back to top
Beyond the claims specific to the Margolis investigation, the series documents a longer pattern of disputed or contradicted statements about Baber's background:
- Employment as a motor vehicle salesman. Baber has denied a history working as a car salesman, telling one journalist[42] that critics were making up claims to "fit your narrative." Public licensing records identified in Pennsylvania (1997) and Tennessee (2018) show he held motor-vehicle salesman licenses in those states, and a Delaware debt-collection matter connected to that employment resulted in a default judgment and wage-garnishment order.[16] Two different dealership owners were interviewed and claimed Baber engaged in fraudulent activity and theft[41].
Baber's response: Baber acknowledged working for the "automotive industry" but gave no specifics or explanations[43]. In a YouTube comment, Baber claims one of the dealership owners has a "documented history of fraud allegations" and cites bad reviews on sites such as Yelp, Birdseye, and Glassdoor. He did not provide any examples of the fraud allegations[44].
- Departure from Austin's Beauty College. The owner of the business, interviewed directly, states Baber was terminated after roughly three months for conduct she describes as untrustworthy, including an allegation of attempted theft from the business; a second, independent named witness corroborates the account of his termination and conduct there. Baber states he was not terminated, disputes any theft allegation, and gave conflicting explanations for ending his employment there: 1) Leaving for a full-time employment opportunity after assisting with grant and military-funded admissions; 2) Leaving due to family health reasons.[17]
- Military and protective-service background. Baber has referenced special-operations experience and protective-services work for diplomats, including a suggestion that the unit portrayed in Black Hawk Down was his own. Sources who say they contacted Baber's mother report she told them he did not serve; Baber states his mother has confirmed she was never contacted about this and disputes the claim. Neither an affirmative service record nor its absence has been independently confirmed here.[18] A December 23, 2021 post from Baber's own Facebook account pairs a photo of a young man in a military-style dress uniform with a recent photo of Baber, captioned "30 years apart... the reflection has definitely changed" — implying it depicts him. Researchers who have reviewed the image consider it inconclusive at best: the insignia and uniform details are not clearly identifiable to a specific branch or unit, and the image's presentation has raised questions about its authenticity. No forensic image analysis has been performed for this page, and the photo does not resolve the underlying dispute either way — it's noted here only as a data point Baber himself put into the public record.[19]
- 2007 Zodiac phone call claim. Baber has stated the Zodiac killer personally called him after he posted a cipher solution online in 2007. No corroborating evidence for this call has been produced.[20]
- Claimed exoneration of William Heirens, via an undisclosed fingerprint match. In a written exchange, Baber stated: "I already have a match. 19 points of identification. This print proves William Heirens was falsely imprisoned and served 65 years for 3 homicides he did not commit."[21] No forensic documentation of this claimed match has been made public. Note: Heirens's original 1946 conviction has independently been the subject of long-standing controversy unrelated to Baber; this entry addresses only whether Baber has substantiated the specific match he says he possesses, not the separate question of Heirens's guilt.
- "Forensic Linguistics Database." Baber and a former collaborator have described proprietary software said to cross-reference over 1,000 criminal documents to find hidden linguistic links between cases. Baber has at times called the software "hypothetical" and at other times stated he applied it to decode Z13. No independent demonstration of the software has been documented.[22]
- "Cold case consultant" credentials. Two established cold-case organizations — Cold Case Solutions and Resources, and the Cold Case Foundation — state in writing that they have no record of ever working with Baber, despite his public branding as a cold-case consultant.[23]
- Sourcing and credit disputes. Multiple individuals — including Black Dahlia researcher Steve Hodel and another Zodiac researcher whose identity is withheld here — state Baber used research they contributed without adequate credit. Baber states Hodel's contributions have been "acknowledged" and documented with law enforcement, and that the other researcher's role "has been publicly disclosed."[24]
Accounts defending Baber online that appear connected to him
"Dahlila Short" (Facebook): a profile using the display name "Dahlila Short" — an evident allusion to "Dahlia" and Black Dahlia victim Elizabeth Short — has posted in defense of Baber and his business, including "CCCOA helped my family... this appears to be a hate campaign," and a five-star review of "Cold Case Consultants of America, LLC" praising Baber's "linguistic database" as "ingenious."[25] The profile lists a birthdate of July 27, 1924 — two days from Elizabeth Short's actual birthdate of July 29, 1924 — and lists its hometown as Medford, Massachusetts, which matches Elizabeth Short's real childhood home. Most directly: the account's own Facebook URL is facebook.com/alex.baber.73/ — the account's underlying identifier is Baber's own name, regardless of its display name.[26]
"@JackDoeland" (YouTube): a YouTube commenter using this handle has repeatedly defended Baber in the third person while displaying extremely detailed insider-level knowledge of his claims and disputes.[27] In a private Facebook Messenger conversation with Oranchak on January 3, 2026, Baber himself used the uncommon word "distractors" in place of the standard word "detractors" — e.g., "Imagine if Einstein had listened to his distractors?"[28] The same non-standard word choice appears in at least three separate @JackDoeland comments posted over several months: "nobody outside of a handful of distractors, few are falling for your smear campaign anymore"; "a development that has clearly intensified the response from the few distractors there are"; and "the investigation and cipher solution are being dismissed appears to stem from Baber's prior opposition to these few distractors."[29]
This page does not assert as settled fact that Baber personally operates either account. What can be stated directly: one account's own URL identifies it with Baber's name, and a distinctive, non-standard word choice (or eggcorn) appears identically in Baber's own private words and in a separate public account's repeated defenses of him.
5. Financial and legal history ↑ Back to top
- A pattern across four independent states, over 26 years — including six completed default judgments. Court records show: five default judgments in Delaware alone, including a $251,694.69 mortgage-foreclosure default judgment (2009, naming Baber alongside a co-defendant, entered after he was not personally served and did not respond) and a $4,811.29 landlord judgment with possession awarded (2001); a 1998 Maryland traffic case (Allegany County) where the docket records a "Failure to Appear" and a same-day driving-privilege suspension; a 2001 New Jersey disorderly conduct case (Somerdale Boro Municipal Court) where a bench warrant, issued after the case went delinquent, remained outstanding for eighteen years before being recalled in November 2019; a 2009 New Jersey cell-phone-while-driving citation (Carneys Point-Pennsville) with a warrant that shows as still outstanding, with no recall date, as of the record obtained; a 2023 Pennsylvania civil case in which Baber's property management company, Reliant Realty Property Management, obtained a default judgment of $2,659.81 against him after he did not respond or appear, later certified toward collection before being vacated for reasons the docket does not state; and a Delaware debt case (Robin Drive Auto, LLC) still open more than two years after filing, following repeated failed service attempts, now proceeding via Delaware's long-arm statute.[30]
- Not part of that pattern: A Delaware landlord case (Cranston Hall Apartments, 2024) was resolved by a negotiated settlement rather than default, and other Delaware and Tennessee cases were dismissed or closed simply because the plaintiff could never locate/serve Baber — an unsuccessful service attempt on its own isn't strong evidence of deliberate evasion. These are different kinds of outcomes than the default-judgment pattern above and shouldn't be read as evasiveness.[31]
- 1994–95 Illinois record (Williamson County). Six misdemeanor/traffic cases from Baber's late teens/early twenties: two retail-theft charges (one resulted in a guilty plea and court supervision that was later satisfied; the other was dismissed on the State's own motion), two uninsured-vehicle citations resolved by guilty plea and paid fines, and two speeding tickets, one of which triggered a bond-forfeiture notice before being resolved the same day as a guilty plea and paid fine. No default judgments appear in this batch, and most matters were resolved and paid.[32]
- Tennessee debt-collection filings (Montgomery County). Four civil cases from two medical/EMS providers and a consumer lender show "Open" status with no judgment ever entered; in three of the four, court records show the process server was unable to locate or serve Baber at all ("Returned – Not Served"), so these matters do not appear to have proceeded past initial filing.[33]
- Pennsylvania DA complaint. Separately from the civil judgments above, Baber has, in his own written communications, discussed a complaint made against his "cold case consultant" business to the Pennsylvania DA's office and a related document request from an FBI field office. That a complaint was made and discussed by Baber is documented; the outcome or current status of any resulting inquiry is not established in the material reviewed, and a complaint or inquiry is not evidence of wrongdoing.[34]
6. Source testimony and corroboration ↑ Back to top
A substantial portion of the personal-conduct claims examined in the series come from individual sources rather than public records. In a July 15, 2026 exchange, Baber himself acknowledged the volume of this testimony, while disputing its accuracy: Oranchak told him the claims came from "dozens of people... many of whom never met each other but tell very similar stories," and that this pattern of independent, unprompted convergence — not any single source — is what the reporting relies on.[35]
Consistent with standard sourcing practice, this page and the underlying videos distinguish between:
- Named, on-the-record sources (e.g., Steve Hodel, DeWayne Hendrix, Nicholas Burston), whose statements are attributed to them by name;
- Sources granted anonymity (former employers, associates, family contacts), whose claims are described by number of independent corroborating accounts rather than by identity, consistent with standard practice for protecting sources describing personal or workplace conduct;
- Documentary evidence (licensing records, email correspondence, video footage), cited independently of any single source's credibility.
Baber was given the opportunity to respond to each specific allegation prior to publication and did so point-by-point; his responses are represented throughout this page and in full on his Substack.[36]
7. Relevance to prospective media and production partners ↑ Back to top
Several outlets and production entities that previously engaged with Baber's claims — including People Magazine, Vanity Fair, The Times of London, and DreamEmpire Films — are described in the source material as having stepped back from projects involving him, citing credibility concerns or disputes over the terms of the collaboration.[14][37] Separately, two established cold-case organizations have stated in writing that Baber has no track record with them despite his public "cold case consultant" branding.[23] Any organization evaluating a documentary, news feature, book, or partnership involving Baber's claims should independently verify factual assertions — particularly claims of law-enforcement confirmation, forensic validation, prior institutional affiliation, or family cooperation — before relying on them, given the documented instances above in which such claims did not hold up to direct inquiry.
8. Legal threats and correspondence ↑ Back to top
On July 15, 2026, Baber messaged Oranchak stating that outreach to news outlets and "SWAFS" [sic] "has been documented for our suit," and referenced potential legal action over the reporting.[38] In the same exchange, Baber disputed specific claims — including statements attributed to a beauty-college owner and to Baber's ex-wife — and Oranchak asked Baber directly to explain why numerous independent sources would make similar claims if untrue; Baber did not provide a specific rebuttal of the underlying pattern beyond disputing individual claims.[38]
Prior to the publication of Part 3, Oranchak sent Baber a formal right-of-reply letter listing every allegation intended for publication and inviting correction or clarification. Baber responded with a point-by-point rebuttal, disputing nearly all of the claims and stating that none of the alleged misconduct is supported by "any police report, court filing, civil action, or official record."[36] That full exchange — allegation and response side by side — is reflected throughout this page. Readers are encouraged to read Baber's own account directly on his Substack: cccoa.substack.com, where he has published his position on these matters in his own words.
Timeline of Baber's legal threats:
- May 13, 2026: Defamation threat from Baber after trailer released for the video series.
- May 31, 2026: Longer defamation threat from Baber before the release of Part 3.
- June 1, 2026: Cease and desist letter (redacted) from attorney Ben Walter, triggered by right-of-reply correspondence prior to June 2 publication of Part 3.
- June 1, 2026: Targeted legal documentation threat from Baber accompanying his responses to the right-of-reply correspondence.
- June 21, 2026: Legal threat Baber made in response to my correction of The Times characterization in Part 3.
- July 15, 2026: Lawsuit documentation threat made by Baber in response to Oranchak's outreach to upcoming paid events hosted by Baber and his supporters.
Further reading: These legal threats, and Baber's broader pattern of responding to criticism, are examined in detail in a companion document: DARVO analysis.
9. Outstanding questions about Baber's investigation ↑ Back to top
The following are specific, unresolved questions about Baber's investigation and his background, raised during the research for this series and, in many cases, put to Baber directly. They are grouped into categories below; the numbering runs continuously across all categories. Where a question is examined in more detail elsewhere on this page, that section is linked; where an existing citation applies, it is included.
Evidence behind the Merrill/Margolis identification
- Baber has stated, on camera and on multiple occasions, that he first learned the name "Merrill" through decoding the Z13 cipher. What accounts for research materials indicating earlier awareness of the Margolis/Merrill connection? (Examined in detail under Recent claims.)[7][8][9]
- Baber has attributed the discovery of letters in the "Elizabeth" sketch to his own use of "infrared" imaging or a "peeling off contrast spectrum" process. The Reis report lists infrared among the methods that produced no significant results, and identifies co-axial illumination — a technique performed by the examiner, not demonstrated by Baber — as the only method that did. What is the basis for Baber's description of his own process? (Examined in detail under Recent claims.)[12][13]
- The Killer in the Code podcast has stated that Reis concluded the word "Zodiac" was present in the sketch. Why does the report itself stop short of that conclusion, describing only a few individually hedged, partially legible letter fragments?[12][13]
- Why are there two different versions of the "Zodiac" signature attributed to the sketch?
- Baber has stated that no photographs, notes, or other materials were attached to the back of the "Elizabeth" sketch. Why has he also described sketches of neckties found behind it?
- Why was handwriting analysis comparing Merrill's writing to Zodiac correspondence conducted using copies of the documents rather than originals?
- How could the same document examiner, described in 2021 as the top handwriting analyst in the world, attribute the Zodiac letters to suspect Klein, and in 2025 attribute the same letters to suspect Merrill?
- Can documentation be produced for a claimed 18- to 19-point fingerprint match connecting suspect Klein to the "Lipstick Killer" case (for which William Heirens was convicted)?[21]
- Baber has said he had a fingerprint match between latent prints on Bryan Hartnell's car door at Lake Berryessa and Klein. How is this reconciled with Klein having reportedly already been checked twice against all latent print evidence in the Zodiac case?
- The weapon used at Lake Berryessa is described in the autopsy and by eyewitnesses as a double-sided knife roughly 12 inches long. The bayonet Baber attributes to Merrill is single-sided and over 20 inches. How is this discrepancy explained?
- Why has the bayonet been shown publicly only through photographs sourced from the internet, rather than as the physical item itself?
- A business card has been presented as evidence placing Merrill in Santa Clara in the late 1960s. How is this reconciled with the address on the card reportedly not existing until 1977?
- Why does Marvin's mouth appear to differ between versions of a photograph Baber has presented, given his denial of altering any facial features?
- A 1950 census search using a filter for California residency has been cited as how Merrill was located. How is this reconciled with Merrill reportedly living in Chicago, under the name Marvin Margolis, at the time?
- It has been said that a Zodiac-related event occurred everywhere Merrill went, even though all confirmed Zodiac crimes occurred in the North Bay Area. What is the closest documented distance between Merrill and a Zodiac crime or letter-mailing location within the relevant timeframe?
- A vehicle owned by the Merrill family has been described as the "exact vehicle" witnessed at Lake Berryessa. How is this reconciled with witness accounts describing California plates on the vehicle at the scene, while the Merrill family's vehicle carried Louisiana plates and was sold roughly a year after the cited 1971 arrest date?
- Baber claims the "Zodiac Motel" had a bath which was rare for motels at that time. But when responding to the Talestorm documentary claims he shows classified ads of several motels featuring baths. How does he explain this discrepancy?
- Baber has repeatedly stated anagrams are not valid solutions to the Zodiac ciphers[46]. But why does he now claim that Merrill allegedly encrypted multiple messages in a single cipher using anagrams?[45]
Circumstances of the investigation
- Why was a story about conducting WWII research reportedly needed to gain Merrill's son's cooperation in 2024, when Baber has separately said he already had that cooperation as of 2021? (Examined in detail under Recent claims.)[10]
- Merril's son has been described as willing to cooperate and share the sketch directly. Why did gaining access to it reportedly require a separate deception?
- If Baber was in contact with Merrill's son as early as 2021, why was the sketch not mentioned publicly until 2024?
- What is the basis for the suggestion that Marvin's son Kenneth, a retired judge, was involved in covering up cases against Merrill?
- Killer in the Code has stated it would not reveal the birth name of Merrill's son. What accounts for that name later appearing in other published coverage?
- What evidence supports the claim that a 2021 vehicle impoundment in New York, around the time of a scheduled meeting with People Magazine, was connected to that meeting?
Endorsements, institutional credibility, and media coverage
- Baber has said 50 cryptography experts endorse his findings. Publicly, only cryptographers Ed Giorgio, and to a lesser extent Patrick Henry, have spoken to any endorsement, and Connelly describes Giorgio's work as validating only the internal consistency of a method that already assumed Margolis as the suspect. What is the basis for the larger figure?[3]
- Cryptography expert Rich Wisniewski is included in the three-person team of supporters of Baber's code work. Are there any public statements from Rich Wisniewski concerning his support?
- Rick Jackson has been described in coverage as having worked on the Zodiac case. His law-enforcement career was with the Los Angeles Police Department. What is the basis for that description?
- Can any current endorsement of the investigation, or of Baber's agency, by a victim's family member be documented?
- The Debrief podcast has reported that Elizabeth Short's sister paid Baber to investigate her case. How is this reconciled with Baber's repeated statements that he does not accept payment from victims' families?
The Debrief podcast issued a correction to their statement about Elizabeth Short's sister hiring Alex: "This episode includes a misstatement that Alex Baber was hired by Elizabeth Short’s sister. Mr Baber would like to clarify that he was not hired by anyone to investigate these cases. He briefly spoke with Elizabeth Short’s sister, and that is the extent of his connection to the family."
- CCCOA's website states that "Alex has built a reputation for credibility." How is this reconciled with the financial, legal, and testimonial history documented elsewhere on this page? (See Financial and legal history and Source testimony.)
- Why did Baber say Vanity Fair and People Magazine were prepared to run stories on his findings, when direct statements from sources at those outlets describe the opposite? (Examined in detail under Recent claims.)[14][15]
Claims linking the investigation to other cases
- What is the basis for linking a two-person team, including Merrill, to the Zodiac case, the "Lipstick Killer" case, the Atlanta Child Murders, the Oakland Child Murders, the Freeway Phantom murders, and other solved and unsolved homicides?
- A source says Baber claimed to have solved the JonBenét Ramsey and Lindbergh baby cases. Can Baber confirm or deny this?
- Baber has been described as saying he knew who killed Lindy Sue Biechler. Why was nothing said publicly when a suspect was later arrested in that case?
- Can documentation be produced for a claimed contact from retired FBI profiler John Douglas, or for a claimed friendship with James Fitzgerald?
- Can documentation be produced for a claimed direct involvement in a "case review" of DNA evidence in the Atlanta Child Murders (ATKID) case?
- What is the basis for a statement, attributed to Baber, that his grandfather — whom Baber has described as a serial murderer — directed his uncle to commit a separate murder?
- Why did a relative of a victim in the Atlanta Child Murders say that Baber was attempting to profit from his family's grief?
Personal background and credentials
- Baber has denied a history of working as a car salesman. How is this reconciled with public motor-vehicle salesman licensing records identified in Pennsylvania (1997) and Tennessee (2018)? (Examined in detail under Pattern.)[16][42][43][44]
- What is the identity and relationship to Baber of accounts including "Dahlila Short" and "@JackDoeland" — accounts that display detailed insider knowledge of the investigation and, in one case, share a non-standard word choice with Baber's own private messages? (Examined in detail under Pattern.)[25][26][27][28][29]
- Can Baber explain a December 2021 Facebook post pairing a photo of a young man in military dress uniform with a recent photo of Baber, captioned to imply it depicts him? (Examined in detail under Pattern.)[19]
- Baber has stated he still possesses a Protective Services Officer certification. Can he or anyone else produce this documentation?
- Baber has given differing reasons for leaving Austin's Beauty College — a new employment opportunity in one statement, family health issues in another — while the owner states he was terminated. How is this reconciled? (Examined in detail under Pattern.)[17]
- Baber has stated he was formally diagnosed on the autism spectrum in childhood, between ages 12 and 13[48]. Can he produce proof of this diagnosis?
- If Baber was diagnosed with autism between ages 12 and 13 (1987-1988)[48], would he have been disqualified for military service, since autism in those days was considered a "Pervasive Developmental Disorder"?
- Baber has, at various times, described himself using terms including: high IQ, autodidact, polymath, perceptionism, "brain wired different", autistic, ADHD, OCD, "reads weird", genius, empath, neurodiverse, chronic insomniac, photographic memory, "intuit gifted", and Asperger's[49]. Can any of these be documented, or corroborated by named individuals?
- Baber has given differing reports of his IQ. In one interview, he said: “I tested 161 at the age of 14, 165 at the age of 18, 168 in my 20s”. In an OCCK Facebook group he said: “My Intelligence Quotient registered at 137 by 12 years old, my currently documented is 161 as of 5 years ago which places me in the top 1% of the entire population on earth.” Can any of these IQ results be documented?
- Multiple former employers describe negative experiences with Baber. Can other former employers be named who would give a positive account of his employment? (See Pattern and Source testimony.)
- Baber has stated he has had two ex-wives, but referred to a third former partner as his "wife" in a 2021 interview. How is this reconciled?
- Why did Baber criticize the idea of a non-journalist performing a journalist's tasks[47], yet said he gave false pretenses to secure a meeting with Marvin Merrill's son[10], and is himself not a credentialed investigator?
Financial history and money raised
- Baber has said he sold a house in 2007 after being frightened by a phone call attributed to the Zodiac killer, and separately described himself as a victim of the housing crisis. How is this reconciled with a 2009 repossession record for a property in his name? (Examined in detail under Pattern.)[20]
- Baber later said he eliminated Klein as a suspect. Does he still believe Klein made the 2007 phone call? If not, then who?
- Court records across multiple states show that most civil court activity involving Baber consists of unsuccessful attempts to serve him with paperwork. What accounts for this pattern? (Examined in detail under Financial and legal history.)[30][31][32][33]
- Can it be documented how funds raised through a 2021 GoFundMe campaign, described as being for a documentary about Baber's work, were used?
- A CCCOA website statement describes an "operational plan" to direct a portion of public-venture proceeds into a victim-family relief fund. Have any funds been paid into that fund, and has the operational plan been published?