Episode 6: The Murder of Dorothy Lee Gordon

One evening in 1940, nine-year-old Dorothy Lee Gordon was kidnapped as in the most insidious of ways: simply and quietly by a man whom, according to her friend, pulled up alongside them as they walked home from church and said “Get in the car, Dorothy. I’m going your way.” Weeks later, Dorothy would be found dead, and to this day, her murder has not been solved. The murder shook the predominantly black neighborhood of Central-Alameda and set a sad precedent for how L.A. media would cover subsequent investigations into missing children.

One evening in 1940, nine-year-old Dorothy Lee Gordon was kidnapped as in the most insidious of ways: simply and quietly by a man whom, according to her friend, pulled up alongside them as they walked home from church and said “Get in the car, Dorothy. I’m going your way.” Weeks later, Dorothy would be found dead, and to this day, her murder has not been solved. The murder shook the predominantly black neighborhood of Central-Alameda and set a sad precedent for how L.A. media would cover subsequent investigations into missing children. Find out more about Underbelly L.A. on the official website: https://www.underbellyla.com Underbelly L.A. on Twitter: https://twitter.com/underbellylapod Underbelly L.A. on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/underbellyLApod Underbelly L.A. on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/underbellyla This podcast was researched, written and narrated by Hadley Meares. Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hadleymeares Underbelly L.A. is produced by Drew Mackie (https://twitter.com/drewgmackie) and edited by Meika Grimm (https://twitter.com/meikagrimm). The music was composed by Donovan Dorrance (https://www.donovandorrance.com/). The logo was designed by Sarah Wickham (http://www.saywickham.com/). Underbelly L.A. on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/underbelly-l-a/id1483509578 Underbelly L.A. on Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/drew-mackie/underbelly-la Underbelly L.A. on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1B73o13RJdJZgZQnGHQWTr This is a TableCakes podcast. Learn more about TableCakes Productions here: https://tablecakes.com

Photo: Aerial view, Lois Angeles Basin, from the L.A. Public Library Archive.