Black Dahlia + Los Feliz Murder House Investigated | Alisa Statman + Karen Smith of Voices from the Grave (Episode 198)
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Voices from the Grave creator Alisa Statman and retired forensic detective Karen Smith bring psychic mediums, forensic testing and ghost boxes into two of Los Angeles’ most infamous homes: the Los Feliz murder house and the Sowden House, once home to Black Dahlia suspect George Hodel. They share what the mediums found, what Karen confirmed with forensics, and the moments neither of them can explain.
About This Episode
Alisa Statman is a film director who moved from half hour comedies to horror before creating the YouTube series Voices from the Grave. Karen Smith is a retired forensic detective with about 25 years in forensics who serves as the show’s researcher and scientific foundation. Together they discuss how a director and a skeptical detective came to investigate Hollywood’s darkest cold cases alongside psychic mediums.
Creating Voices from the Grave
Burned out on directing comedies, Alisa wanted the feeling of not being able to wait to get to work, and turned to her love of true crime and the paranormal
The show began as Haunted Hollywood, bringing together a homicide investigator, psychic mediums and a paranormal team
The Los Feliz murder house drew her in: after Dr. Harold Perelson killed his wife and himself in 1959, new owners sat on the house for 50 years without cleaning the crime scene
Karen joined after an email that would normally have gone to spam, drawn by the chance to dig into old Hollywood homicides
Alisa recruited Kelvin Cruickshank after seeing his work with police on New Zealand’s Sensing Murder
Joe Perreta came recommended by medium Kim Russo, and Alisa says her late partner came through to confirm he was the right choice
The three mediums didn’t know each other would be there until they met the night before the first investigation
From Skeptics to Investigators
Before 2000, Alisa had never heard of a medium
After her partner died of breast cancer, Alisa could not find a final letter her partner wrote to her children
A medium she had never met described birdhouses, a circle of figures holding hands, massages in bed, and hats and wigs
Following those clues at home led Alisa to a backpack under the hats in her closet, with the letter on top
Karen had never used a medium in an investigation and saw psychics as entertainment
When Joe kept pointing to a stairwell wall, Karen tested it with Bluestar and found blood spatter along the daughter’s escape route
Kelvin crawled through the basement and found old bones, which a forensic anthropologist identified as a white tailed deer with no known way in
Keeping the Mediums Blind
Mediums are never told where they are going, and the team avoids saying any names in front of them
Every car ride is filmed, both to capture early impressions and to show the mediums pick up details before they arrive
At the Sowden House, the team brought mediums in through the back alley so the facade couldn’t be seen
When an Uber accidentally delivered Bryce Ziskin to the exact location, the team drove her in circles for miles before returning
Karen refuses to validate anything during a walk, which frustrates the mediums but keeps them from being steered
Joe first assumed Karen was a skeptic journalist out to expose him, until he realized she was grieving
The Sowden House Connection
At Los Feliz, the mediums described multiple murders, a bathroom covered in blood, a man who lost a tooth, and names George and Elizabeth
None of it matched the Los Feliz history, and the team had no plans to visit the Sowden House
Two years later, they ended up at the Sowden House by chance, testing ghost boxes for a network after another location fell through
Reviewing the Los Feliz footage afterward, Alisa realized the mediums had been describing George Hodel and Elizabeth Short years earlier
Ghost Boxes and Unexplained Responses
Alisa explains how ghost boxes evolved from Thomas Edison’s idea to modern scanners that sweep 250 radio stations per minute
The team’s Wonder Box runs an app in reverse, so Alisa considers any forward phrase that comes through hard to dismiss
She warns against using ghost boxes alone at home, especially while grieving, comparing it to opening your living room in a war zone
After Karen called out “wait for me to come back, sport,” the box answered “okay, sport,” then greeted her return a minute later
When Joe asked who George Hodel was talking to, the box answered “you” in a deep voice
In George Hodel’s office at the Sowden House, the box said “Schumacher,” the name of the man who built the Los Feliz house
Personal Encounters
After the box threatened to slash Karen’s face, she got her first nosebleed since she was a teenager
Karen says the experience ended her habit of provoking anything during investigations
The night before investigating the Cecil Hotel, Joe stopped Alisa at her front door with a message he said came from Richard Ramirez: “Tell her Ricky says hi”
Police, Evil and the Afterlife
Karen’s department never used mediums, and she says agencies that do rarely admit it because psychic information can’t be used in court
Any tangible evidence a medium leads to can still be used, as long as the chain of custody holds
For cases with no leads left, Karen asks what harm there is in bringing in a medium with a proven track record
Alisa believes in evil and darkness, and says killers like George Hodel and Richard Ramirez may choose to stay “earthbound” for a time
Karen sticks to what she can prove: she has come face to face with human evil, but can’t say what lies beyond it
Alisa says she is 100% certain of an afterlife and has no fear of dying
Karen, who hears her late father’s and grandmother’s voices, wonders whether it is them or consciousness returning in a familiar form
Alisa Statmen
Award-Winning Television Director | Producer | Author | Investigative Storyteller
Alisa Statman is an award-winning television director, producer, and author whose career spans some of television's most acclaimed and successful series. Her directing credits include the Emmy Award-winning Modern Family, Fresh Off the Boat, Life in Pieces, Superstore, and American Housewife.
Beyond scripted television, Statman has carved out a distinctive voice in investigative documentary filmmaking, combining cinematic storytelling with an unwavering determination to uncover hidden truths.
She is the co-author of Restless Souls: The Sharon Tate Family's Account of Stardom, the Manson Murders, and a Crusade for Justice, an intimate and deeply personal account informed by her decades-long relationship with the Tate family.
As the creator and driving force behind Voices From the Grave, an investigative docuseries that blends true crime, historical research, forensic investigation, and the paranormal, Statman continues to challenge the boundaries of traditional documentary storytelling.
Whether exploring Hollywood's darkest secrets, investigating controversial deaths, or bringing forgotten histories to light, her work
Karen Smith
Karen Smith is a retired major crimes detective, forensic specialist, professor, and executive producer with more than 24 years of experience investigating homicides, suspicious deaths, and complex criminal cases. Throughout her career, she has investigated hundreds of homicides, examined thousands of crime scenes, and taught forensic investigation to law enforcement professionals across the country.
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