On January 15, 1947, Los Angeles was rocked by the discovery of a brutal murder that has since become one of America’s most infamous cold cases. A passer-by found the dismembered body of a woman, later identified as Elizabeth Short, in an empty lot on South Norton Avenue, in the Leimert Park area. The gruesome nature of the crime, along with the mocking letters sent to the press, captured the public’s imagination and inspired numerous films, books, and songs over the decades.
A Gruesome Discovery
The scene was shocking. Short’s body had been cut in half at the waist, completely drained of blood, and carefully arranged. Her arms were positioned above her head, and her legs were splayed. Detectives later noted that she bore a “Glasgow smile,” a gruesome cut from the edges of her mouth to her ears. Additional injuries included deep gashes from which flesh had been removed, and a post-mortem examination revealed binding marks on her wrists, neck, and ankles, indicating that she had been restrained prior to her death. Medical experts determined that Short had died approximately ten hours before her body was discovered, primarily from blood loss due to severe facial injuries and trauma from multiple blows to her head.
Investigators learned that the killer had employed a method known as hemicorporectomy, suggesting a degree of medical expertise. Although some evidence suggested a possible sexual assault, tests for semen traces returned negative results. The brutality of the murder and the peculiar arrangement of Short’s remains led to one of the largest investigations in Los Angeles history.
An Extensive Investigation
The Los Angeles Police Department launched an extensive inquiry involving over 750 officers, 400 sheriff’s deputies, and 250 California State Patrol personnel. More than 150 men were interrogated as potential suspects, including those close to Short and others who had interacted with her before her death. Despite these efforts, investigators could not bring any charges due to a lack of sufficient evidence, even after searching numerous locations, including abandoned buildings and waterways.
In the weeks following the murder, the LAPD received an overwhelming number of confessions, starting with over 60 individuals coming forward, which ballooned to around 500 over the years. Most were quickly ruled out, further complicating the case and intensifying media interest. Newspapers sensationalized Short’s murder, dubbing her the “Black Dahlia” and focusing on her personal life and alleged relationships, often embellishing the details.
Journalists took extraordinary steps to uncover details about Short’s life, including contacting her mother before she was informed of her daughter’s death. In a shocking display of insensitivity, they informed her of Short’s participation in a beauty contest in an attempt to extract more information.
As the investigation progressed, correspondence believed to be from the murderer surfaced, including a package sent to the Los Angeles Examiner that contained Short’s birth certificate, business cards, photographs, and a personal address book, all meticulously cleaned with gasoline to eliminate fingerprints. Additional letters threatened to send more “souvenirs” related to Short while suggesting the sender would eventually surrender. Despite these unsettling communications, the perpetrator was never apprehended.
By February 1947, officials acknowledged that their investigation had reached an impasse. A grand jury later criticized the LAPD for “investigative shortcomings,” further complicating the case’s legacy.
Today, Elizabeth Short rests at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California. Her grave continues to attract true crime enthusiasts, serving as a somber reminder of the tragedy that unfolded so many years ago. Short’s murder had profound social and legal repercussions. Just weeks after her death, state assemblyman C. Don Field introduced a bill that established California as the first U.S. state to mandate sex offender registration, a significant step in addressing sexual violence.
The story of Elizabeth Short has been revisited in countless forms of media, most notably in James Ellroy‘s 1987 novel, The Black Dahlia, which was later adapted into a film in 2006. Various portrayals of Short have emerged in television and film, with notable performances by Lucie Arnaz in Who Is the Black Dahlia? (1975), Jessina Nelson in Hunter (1990s), and Mena Suvari in American Horror Story (2011 and 2018).
The case of Elizabeth Short remains a haunting chapter in Los Angeles history, continuing to evoke intrigue and horror long after the details of her life and death have faded into the past.
