The Black Dahlia

The Black Dahlia

While the Black Dahlia case isn't exactly a serial murder, this case remains as one of the most horrifying murders in history.

The Black Dahlia was the name given to Elizabeth Short (born July 29th, 1924), an American woman striving to be a model. In order to make money, she was a waitress and was troubled with asthma and bronchitis. She was the third of five daughters of Cleo Short and Phoebe Mae Sawyer. Her father built miniature golf courses until the 1929 stock market crash, in which he lost much of the family's assets. In 1930, he parked his car on a bridge and vanished, leading some to believe he had committed suicide. Short's mother moved the family to a small apartment in Medford and found work as a bookkeeper. It was not until later that Short would discover her father was alive and living in California.

 

In 1943, just a few short years before her death, she was arrested for underage drinking. (depicted above)

 

 

Murder and aftermath

The body of Elizabeth Short was found in the Leimert Park district of Los Angeles on January 15, 1947. Her remains had been left on a vacant lot on the west side of South Norton Avenue midway between Coliseum Street and West 39th Street. 

 WikiMiniAtlas

 / 34.0164; -1The body was discovered by local resident Betty Bersinger, who was walking with her three-year-old daughter around 10 a.m.; Bersinger initially mistook the body for a discarded store mannequin. Upon realizing it was a corpse, Bersinger rushed to a nearby house where she phoned the police.

Short's severely mutilated body was severed at the waist and completely drained of blood. Not only was the body bloodless, but her body had been obviously washed by the killer as well. Her face had been slashed from the corners of her mouth toward her ears, creating an effect called the Glasgow smile. Short also had multiple cuts on her thigh and breasts, where entire portions of flesh had been removed.

 Her lower half was positioned a foot away from her torso, and the intestines were tucked neatly under the buttocks. The body had been "posed" with her hands over her head, her elbows bent at right angles, and her legs spread. Near the body, detectives found a cement sack which contained droplets of watery blood, as well as a heel print on the ground amidst tire tracks.

The autopsy stated that Short was 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) tall, weighed 115 pounds (52 kg), and had light blue eyes, brown hair, and badly decayed teeth. There were ligature marks on her ankles, wrists, and neck. Although the skull was not fractured, Short had bruising on the front and right side of her scalp with a small amount of bleeding in the subarachnoid space on the right side, consistent with blows to the head. The cause of death was hemorrhage from the lacerations to the face and shock due to blows on the head and face.

Crime scene photos

                   

   

 

Unfortunately for Elizabeth Short, her killer has never been found, although more than 60 people had come forth stating they were her killer. LAPD have had multiple theories of this homicide being tied in with multiple others, but none have been confirmed.

Personal thoughts

In my opinion, this is by far one of the most horrifying and distinctly psychotic murders of all time. For the sake of Elizabeth Short, I hope one day justice is brought forth.

Elizabeth Short rests in the Mountain View Cemetery.