Illustrations: Felipe Martini
It is one of the most famous murders in US history, unsolved to this day. The “Black Dahlia” is the victim, Elizabeth Short, a 23-year-old aspiring actress who was brutally murdered and her body left in a field in Los Angeles in 1947. Little has been discovered about the crime. The police investigation pointed out that the girl spent her last six months in the south of the city, but was never able to find out exactly how or when she was captured (it is estimated that it was between January 9 and 15). The corpse was found on January 15th and, despite massive media attention and an investigation with assistance from federal authorities, the person responsible was never discovered or captured. The story, however, won the world, fictionalized in novels, movies and even games. Elizabeth Short appeared, for example, as a character in the first season of American Horror Story.
MACABRO FINDING
The body was found in a ditch of a condominium project. Housewife Betty Bersinger was walking with her 3-year-old daughter when she spotted the corpse, which at first she believed to be a store mannequin. Upon approaching and realizing that it was a mutilated body, Betty covered her daughter’s eyes and called the police.
THE TRACKS
From concrete material evidence, the expertise found only a tire trail from the spawning site and boot footprints in the vicinity. The depth of the marks in the heel region indicated that someone might have carried the body. An empty cement bag with watery blood inside was found a few meters from the corpse. None of this evidence led to a suspect and the lack of forensic technology at the time didn’t help either.
THE PRESS HAS GONE
The case gained immediate media attention – many photos were taken of the body. Even with the ongoing investigation, the press treated it with speculation and a tabloid tone. The name «Black Dahlia» was given by a reporter for the LA Herald Express, Bevo Means, inspired by the movie Blue Dahlia, from the previous year. He cited crime like Black Dahlia in his stories. The other publications ended up adopting
IN PIECES
The girl was naked with her arms up and her legs spread. A black blouse was found underneath her torso, which was split in half at the waist. The intestines were positioned under the buttocks. The wrists, ankles and neck had very apparent lacerations.
MURDER WANTED
Due to the crime’s popularity, Los Angeles police have asked for state and federal help with the case. Attracted by the media chaos, 60 people confessed to being the killer, but all were discarded. In total, 25 suspects were investigated (some confessed, others not)
FORCED CONNECTION
The sensationalist media proposed links to other famous cases. One was with the Torso Killer crimes. Despite the similarity between Elizabeth’s condition and that of the victims of that serial killer, he had been active almost a decade before and had already been arrested.
PROBABLE ASSOCIATION
The Lipstick Killer (Willian Hereins) case had more likely links. One of the letters sent to the police and allegedly authored by Elizabeth’s killer (the author signed Dahlia Avenger) had a similar spelling and style to the letters sent by Hereins. But the call was dropped because the Lipstick Killer’s area of action and victim profile were different.
SOURCES Books Black Dahlia – The Whole Story: The Murder of Elizabeth Shortby Charles Scott, Black Dahlia Avenger – A Genius for Murder, by Steve Hodel; Time.com, NY Daily News, Daily Mail, Gizmodo, and vault.fbi.gov websites