There are a mass of unsolved murders, yet, there aren't many cases that are quite as chilling as the Black Dahlia slaughter, yet decades have passed since the crime in 1947.
Please be aware that the details of this case are very disturbing... Scroll at your own will
Who Killed the Black Dahlia?
The name was adopted from 'The Black Dahlia', the 1987 novel by James Ellroy, but the public's obsession goes beyond the similarities to the case.
Both professionals and amateurs alike continue to pour over this murder mystery. There have been many potential suspects over the years and the case is still filled with speculation to this day. As early as half a year ago, retired LA detective came forward and announced that he had cracked the case, with evidence that implicated his own father, however, this was also soon dismissed.
Elizabeth Short, a beautiful young girl from Boston - who had moved to LA to be with her Father - had been missing since January 9th. It wasn't until the evening of January 15th did the police get finally discover the body. Her whereabouts during that week remains a mystery, and for some, are the key to her death.
Betty Bersinger was the woman who discovered Short's remains at around 10 pm in a vacant parking lot in LA. Initially, Betty had thought she had discovered the remains of a mannequin, but the truth was far more disturbing... Short's body had been bisected at the waist, her intestines tucked beneath her buttocks, her legs and arms bent and spread in a disturbing manner. Her face had been slit into a Glasgow smile, and she had multiple cuts and bruises. Her body had been washed and drained of blood by the killer. Detectives found a cement sack nearby containing watery blood and there was a heel print on the ground amid the tire tracks.
It was the media that coined the name 'Black Dahlia'. On the one hand, she was portrayed as a small girl in the big city, labeled as innocent and vulnerable. However, many journalists also conspired against her, labeling her as a call girl, stashing her reputation, and barely concealing the subtext that murder was to be expected in that line of work.
The LA County District Attorney determined that Short had not worked as an escort and that this one one of the 'facts' of the case misshapen by the media.
Witnesses who allegedly saw Short during the missing week were dismissed one by one as the investigators determined they had mistaken Short for another woman or were outright lying.
Some 60 people came forward and confessed to the crime, 25 of which were taken seriously by the LAPD. However, no convictions were ever made.
Ironically, while the case remains unsolved, all entails of the case are available to the public, and anyone wishing the research more into the case could do so by heading to the FBI vault, where the investigative materials are now public record.
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