Where And When?: Los Angeles, California, January 1947.
Who?: Unsolved
The Murder: Elizabeth Short moved to Hollywood with dreams of becoming a film star. This migration followed on the heels of two intended marriages that didn't place due to tragedies that left her 'husbands-to-be' dead. She acquired the nickname "Black Dahlia", maybe because of her long dark hair, (photo) or perhaps for her tendency to wear black clothing. Beth Short managed to gain some movie work as an extra, but never received the work she hoped for. The aspiring actress succumbed to the bottle and became addicted to drink. On January 15, 1947, L.A. police received an anonymous phone call that led them to a grisly scene. A woman's body was discovered on a section of waste ground near the city. Her torso had been cut in half, and the letters 'B D' had been carved into the left thigh. (photo) No identification was found on or near the body, so police had to use other means to put a name to their find. Fingerprint identification was possible because Beth Short's prints were on file for past run-ins with law enforcement. It was apparent that the 22 year victim had died an extremely violent death, that was almost certainly preceded by extensive torture. Police and newspapers received a spate of taunting letters, not unlike those sent by Jack The Ripper or the Zodiac Killer, but despite the available evidence, no one was ever prosecuted for the crime.
Suspects?: Police never identified the mystery phone caller, and failed to gather evidence suitable to make an arrest in the case. They initially suspected a serviceman in San Diego who knew Short from the brief time she lived there. He was taken in to custody, but released when no link could be found. A number of local L.A. lunatics confessed to the crime, such a thing is common in high-profile cases, but none proved to have anything to do with the murder. Was the fact that the torso had been cut in two an important clue? Elizabeth Short was a slight woman. Did the killer bisect the body because it was too heavy to carry? Could the murderer have been a woman or a smaller, weaker man? No one knows for certain. Elizabeth Short's alcoholism led her to associate with the seedier side of Hollywood. She frequented places with the deviants and miscreants of society. Perhaps the evils of overindulgence, along with an unlucky past killed the Massachusetts native. In hindsight, the moniker "Black Dahlia" was more appropriate than anyone, even Elizabeth Short herself, could have ever imagined.
