The Black Dahlia
The Mysterious Death of Elizabeth Short
On January 15th, 1947, at the corner of 39th street and Norton in Los Angeles, the severed and bruised body of a young white woman, was found by a passerby. The victim, Elizabeth Short, was a twenty-two year old woman who had come to Hollywood as an aspiring actress. The case today officially remains unsolved.
Beth
Elizabeth Short, or Beth as she preferred to be called, was born in Massachusetts. Her father abandoned the family while she was young, and was primarily raised by her mother. At nineteen years of age and determined to become an actress, she moved in with her father, who was living in California at the time, to realize her dream. In mid-January 1947, she was last seen entering the Biltmore hotel, supposedly to meet a gentleman. She was found dead on January 15th and was dubbed the Black Dahlia for her penchant to wear black attire to attract men.
Autopsy
The autopsy yielded the following results. Ms Short had died of hemorrhage from head and face wounds, as well as shock. She was tortured with sharp metallic instruments and her mouth was slit three inches from either side while she was alive. The desecration of the body was most likely done post mortem. A rumor arising from the autopsy suggested that she had undeveloped genitals. The truth is that she had a slightly deformed vaginal area making normal intercourse difficult if not near impossible. This finding eliminates the press portrayal of Ms. Short as a prostitute. It in fact shows that would have had trouble honoring the requirements of that profession.
Suspects
During the course of the investigation approximately 60 men and women confessed to the crime. All were eliminated by the police. Suspects were numerous. They included known criminals, surgeons, abortionists, servicemen, jilted boyfriends, drunkards, the suspect’s father and director and actor Orson Welles. The truth is that several of these were promising suspects, but in the end were exonerated by the LAPD and the FBI. If any of the known suspects were to have committed the crime the most likely one would have been a man by the name of Arnold Smith, a known drunkard and criminal. Author and investigator John Gilmore stated that there was evidence showing that he was the real killer. The evidence, which came to light in the mid-1980's, consisted of details that only the murderer could have known, plus the possession of items belonging to the Black Dahlia herself. Unfortunately, Smith died in a fire prior to being questioned by the police and the investigation could not be brought to a conclusion due to a lack of evidence. As a result, the only real evidence currently known and available is a letter that the real killer sent to a local paper. The letter contained Elizabeth’s social security card, pictures of her with various servicemen, torn pages from her address book, her birth certificate and other various sundry items from her persona. No fingerprints were found on these items.
Profile
Although no suspect was ever apprehended, a likely psychological profile of the murderer was made. The following represents the results.
- The victim being left in a lot suggests that the murderer most likely had a car. Since a person had to be relatively wealthy in those days to own one, we can assume that the suspect was rich or was a person familiar with car theft.
- Examination of the body showed that she had been washed many times. This shows a very cool, calm and organized offender that didn’t panic.
- The way she was tortured and ultimately killed suggests that the suspect had to have a home of his own or lived alone to perpetrate such a crime.
- The positioning of the body, out in the open for everyone to see, indicates an individual who wanted to shock the community to make a statement.
- The letter sent shows an individual who was confident that he couldn’t be caught, someone fairly intelligent and one who needed press recognition.
- The brutality and savagery of the crime suggests a sadistic individual who most likely disliked the type of women that Elizabeth represented and not Elizabeth herself.
Theories abound as to the identity of the murderer. Either due to time lapse, lack of forensic evidence and the passing away of those involved with the case, we may never know the true identity of Elizabeth Short's killer. No matter, all indications point to the fact that Elizabeth Short may have been a victim by just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
References
Roger Wilkes. The Mammoth Book of Unsolved Crimes. Carroll and Graf publishers,2007
Noli Nothis Permittere Te Terrere. Http://corkymcg.wordpress.com/tag/articles/
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