Did Dr. O’Reilly have personal knowledge of Leimert Park?

The body of Elizabeth Short was found on the 3800 block of Norton Avenue in the development of Los Angeles, known as Leimert Park, named after its designer Walter H. Leimert. A criminal profiler indicated that the killer would have been familiar with the area. Did Dr. Patrick O’Reilly have a connection to Leimert Park?

At the time, Leimert Park was like a modern day subdivision, complete with shopping, businesses, homes, little parks, and streetcars.

It was still being developed when World War II broke out for the US in 1941. The war caused construction to cease, with empty lots between homes, and some streets, including some sections of Norton Avenue, being virtually barren besides sidewalks and driveway entrances that went nowhere. Despite not being a completed subdivision, it was still home to many people, and its plaza was a go-to place for shoppers and business clients.

One might speculate that people living in Los Angeles at the time were knowledgeable of, or familiar with, Leimert Park, as it was at a proverbial crossroads between several regions of Los Angeles. And Dr. O’Reilly lived in Los Angeles for over 20 years before the murder of Miss Short. However, we need more than speculation.

According to the 1921 newspapers, Patrick O’Reilly attended Poly Tech High School in Los Angeles. In 1935, the school’s name was changed to John H. Francis Polytechnic. When Mr. O’Reilly enrolled, it was located downtown at the intersection of Washington Blvd and Flower Street. The location was approximately five & a half miles from Leimert Park.

In 1920, the sister of Patrick O’Reilly, Frances Marsales, resided at 1227 Irolo street in Los Angeles. Two years later, at the age of 22, Patrick O’Reilly was listed as living with Frances at 1613 West 49th street. While the Irolo street address was only around four miles from where the body of Elizabeth Short would be found, the address Dr. O’Reilly shared with his sister was even closer. The address on 49th street was only two & a half miles from the location and less than two miles from the Leimert Park Plaza.

However, that Dr. O’Reilly lived near Leimert Park and went to school not too far off is not the only potential evidence we have to offer.

Let us, for a moment, explore a little hypothetical event. There was a suspect concerning a crime at Times Square. In this hypothetical, the defense says there is no proof that the suspect was familiar with Times Square. However, the prosecution presents that the suspect had a friend who was at Time’s Square all the time, potentially giving the suspect a by-proxy familiarity with the area and increasing the chances that the suspect had been there. This friend of the suspect would be evidence of possible locational knowledge. While this wouldn’t be proof of a crime, it would need to be weighed & considered alongside any other evidence.

Now with this in mind, I am able to show that Dr. Patrick O’Reilly had a friend with significant knowledge of the area. To start, let me bring your attention to the following article (middle column) in December 1947 from the Topanga Journal:

The editorial details a little event that happened in Malibu. In short, a woman was bitten by a dog and was rushed to Dr. Patrick O’Reilly’s Malibu home to receive medical attention, including a tetanus shot. The article melodramatically tells of her apprehension about getting the injection and the comical end of not even realizing Dr. O’Reilly had already given the shot to her. Patrick had been a resident of Malibu since at least 1944 on Roosevelt Highway, today known as the Pacific Coast Highway.

At first glance, this event seems irrelevant to Leimert Park, but the details always matter. The woman was brought to Dr. O’Reilly’s house by a third party: Dave (first aider) Duncan, also called David “the” Ducan in the article.

Dave Duncan was more than just some other resident in this area called the Malibu Colony, or simply the Colony to locals. He was a big name in real estate throughout the Malibu area. He was fairly well known, making the Malibu area papers quite a few times, even sponsoring the street map for the area.

The Colony was a private enclave for the wealthy & famous of Los Angeles. It was home to a number of Hollywood movie stars, giving it the nickname “Malibu Movie Colony,” and Mr. Duncan sometimes made the paper welcoming them to the community. Not exactly a pauper, the well-known Dr. O’Reilly was a member of the Colony with his wife at 21 Malibu Colony Road in 1945. In the tetanus shot incident, Dave Duncan was not only aware that Patrick O’Reilly was a doctor (note that there was a medical office belonging to another doctor nearby) but that he was probably there at the time despite his hospital being in the Glendale area. In addition, both Dr. O’Reilly & Mr. Duncan were members of the local community councils.

Now you, the reader, may wonder what the Malibu Colony has to do with Leimert Park, especially when they are over 20 miles apart. With it shown that Mr. Duncan and Dr. O’Reilly not only lived in the same area but were acquainted with one another, we can continue into why David Duncan is relevant in O’Reilly’s link to Leimert Park and to Norton Avenue.

Dave Duncan was not new to real estate, nor was his real estate activity confined only to Malibu. When looking through his real estate resumé, there is one company that Mr. Duncan worked for that stands out… the Walter H. Leimert Company. Yes, the very same company responsible for the creation and development of Leimert Park. Now Mr. Leimert’s company wasn’t exactly small, and the company had projects all around the Los Angeles area.

Not only was Dave Duncan the director of sales for the Walter H. Leimert company as of 1926, but in 1927 he was assigned to handle the sales organization in Leimert Park itself. These facts alone would show that Dr. O’Reilly’s friend Dave would know the area of Leimert Park. However, there is more.

In the 1936 voter registration and the 1937 city directory, David G. Duncan is listed as living with his wife at 4204 ½ Degnan boulevard.

Degnan blvd is located in Leimert Park and parallels Norton Ave after forking. The 4200 block of Degnan is less than a mile to the south of where Miss Short’s body would be left, a 12-minute walk away. Due to the fork in the road, it is a straight shot from one to the other.

There is no question that David Duncan was beyond well acquainted with Leimert Park, both professionally & personally.

In conclusion, Dr. Patrick O’Reilly had not only lived near Liemert Park himself but was acquainted with the man who knew the area like the back of his hand.