The Brutal Murder of The Black Dahlia

Introduction:

The 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short, more commonly known as The Black Dahlia has remained unsolved for 74 years, and haunted the streets of Las Angeles ever since. This homicide was brutal, as well as very disturbing. Even today, with all of the sick people in the world, and all of the true crime stories that I have researched and covered, this one actually caused me to have to take a couple of weeks off from writing. Of course, that is in part because I looked at the crime scene photos, many of which can be found on google. I would not recommend looking at the photos or even reading about this case in depth if you have a weak stomach or if you are easily disturbed by torture or mutilation. I will list sources at the end of this article, and you can use them to look further into this case if you wish, however, as far as the crime scene photos go, you will have to look them up on your own. I will not be posting them. Go to google images, type in "The Black Dahlia" and many pictures of Elizabeth Short will flood your screen, and pictures of her crime scene will be scattered among the pictures of the beautiful young girl prior to her horrific death.

Brief Background of Elizabeth Short:

Elizabeth short was born on July 29th 1924 in Hyde Park, Boston Massachusetts. Her Father was not involved in her upbringing, however, when she dropped out of high school and left home, she did track him down and stay with him for a brief period of time when she was 18. That arrangement did not work out, as her Father said that she hardly ever came home. She left, and did not see her Father again. He didn't even go to her funeral basically stating that he had a new life, and that he didn't want to be a part of anything to do with his past life.

Elizabeth, like many girls her age at the time, had dreams of marrying a military man. That dream was so close to becoming a reality for Elizabeth. She had a relationship with and was engaged to be married to the love of her life, Army Air Force officer, Matthew Gordon, but sadly, his plane crashed and he was said to have been killed. (There has been rumors and debate that he had survived and even sent Elizabeth a letter apologizing and stating that he'd started a new life, however, there is very little to support that theory)

After the loss of her Fiancé, Elizabeth ended up in Los Angeles to fulfil another dream that she and many girls her age had, which was to become a star. Young girls like Elizabeth did not have much money in those days, and so it was not uncommon for them to date for dinner, meaning that they would allow men to take them out and buy them meals in order to eat. This was not unheard of at all, and was something Elizabeth was said to have done often.

The Murder:

The official disappearance date for Elizabeth Short was said to have been January 9th 1947, however this has been a topic for debate due to the fact that after her body was found on January 15th 1947, many people came forward claiming to have seen her in the days between the 9th and the 15th. Which to some extent is believable cause when she was found, it was said that she had more than likely been killed some time late the night before, or early the morning her body had been found.

The body was discovered in a vacant lot between Coliseum Street and West 39th Street around 10am by a Mother who was walking with her three-year old daughter. At first, she had thought that it was a mannequin, but upon closer observance she realized that it was the nude body of a young woman, and she ran to a nearby home, and phoned the police.

When police arrived, they were absolutely horrified by what they saw. Elizabeth Short's nude body, posed in an awkward position with her hands raised above her head. Her body had been surgically cut in half and cleaned prior to her body being placed where it was found. Her intestines had been removed from her body and tucked underneath her. It was determined that the dismemberment and cleaning of her body had been done after her brutal death, as it was very clear she had been tortured. She had a cut from ear to ear on her face, which looked like a demented smile, and her official cause of death was a combination between blunt force trauma, and shock.

There were a number of suspects, as well as people who were coming forward admitting to the crime just to get some form of attention. A lot of those people were evaluated, and all of them were ruled out. It was very much believed that the person who had committed the brutal murder was a surgeon or somebody who had surgical experience (like someone who had been to school for it, for example.)

Conclusion:

The horrific murder of the Black Dahlia has never been solved, although there were many suspects, one of which I as well as many other people believe was more than likely responsible. In the sources below, you will find links to videos that will further explain this case. I strongly recommend watching them if you have any interest in this case what so ever, because you will be shocked by some of the things that you hear, and you will be more equipped to make a decision on what it is that you think happened. You can also look the case up for yourself on google and youtube for further information.

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_-9cw6uVXE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6j7bLqrPx4