The Black Dahlia - Elizabeth Short

hello friends!


i don't have anything to say as far as an intro, so i'm going to jump right into the story (you guys probably like it better this way, anyway)


today's story is that of a victim. this murder is one that has always fascinated me, and it has likely fascinated others, seeing as it has been made into a film and had a portrayal in the popular tv show, American Horror Story.


so without further ado, the black dahlia:






elizabeth short was born on july 29, 1924 in boston, massachusetts. when she was six years old, the stock market crashed and her father lost most of his money. his car was found at the charlestown bridge and it was assumed that he committed suicide by jumping off. elizabeth suffered from bronchitis and asthma and needed lung surgery when she was fifteen. her doctor told her mother to move her someplace warmer during the winters, so she spent winters in miami, florida. elizabeth dropped out of high school her sophomore year.


in 1942, elizabeth's father wrote a letter of apology to her mother. he explained that he was alive and relocated to california to start a new life. elizabeth, who was eighteen, decided to move to california to be with her father.


short worked as a waitress in 1926 and had aspirations of becoming an actress. she had no acting credentials, but she believed she could make it on film regardless.


on january 15, 1947, short's body was found cut completely in half by local resident betty bersinger and her three-year-old daughter.


now the wild part: no one knows who killed her.


on january 9, short returned to los angeles after a short san diego trip with her boyfriend. the biltmore hotel staff recalled seeing her use their telephone and she was seen later the same day at a grill and cocktail lounge. but that was the last time anyone recalled seeing her.


she wasn't killed until the night of the 14th or very early on the 15th.


she had various lacerations on her arms and chest, as well as ligature marks on her ankles, wrists, and neck. she also had cuts from the corners of her mouth to her ears.



her murder was all over the media, who nick-named her 'the black dahlia'


since her murder, over 500 people have confessed to killing short. most confessions were deemed unviable, however, there are still 12 remaining suspects. those include: walter bayley, norman chandler, leslie dillon, joseph a. dumais, mark hansen, dr. francis e. sweeney, george hill hodel (my personal favorite), fred sexton, george knowlton, robert m. "red" manley, patrick s. o'reilly, and jack wilson. (i highly recommend looking some of these up. lots of people have made kind of crazy theories)


unfortunately, there isn't much concrete evidence for this murder, so thus concludes terrifying truth no.2!


i could likely go on forever about this one. the most wild thing is it's been 70 years and they still haven't found the killer. but it's still fascinating nonetheless. i wish i could provide more truth to you guys, but there just isn't any. and this is terrifying truths. so i apologize. but i'll link the black dahlia fbi page and again, i highly recommend looking up the potential murderers. although it's not proven, it's still interesting to see why they are suspects.


and i'll leave it at that. until next time, stay spooky.

~ Adi (adsmads)

fbi page on the black dahlia:
https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/the-black-dahlia