THE GRUESOME CASE OF THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER

Some may find this content disturbing. People who are sensitive aren’t recommended to read it.

What’s the most devastating, heartbreaking true crime case you ever heard? Black Dahlia is sure to be listed.

It is one of the most gruesome cases in history. Let’s look into it. 

THE GRUESOME CASE OF BLACK DAHLIA

 “I glanced over at my right and saw a strange sight. It looked like a mannequin that had been cut in half…” -Betty Bersinger On 15th January 1947,

 Betty Bersinger discovered something in a vacant lot on Norton Avenue during her morning walk. What did she find? A corpse…, white as snow, bisected at the waist. It wasn’t a surprise for her to mistake the corpse for a mannequin. 

Later on, it was found that the body belonged to a 22-year-old aspiring Hollywood actress, Elizabeth Short (who was dubbed the black dahlia for her affinity to sheer black clothes). Her corpse was lying naked, facing up. Her eyes were open, hands above her head with elbows bent and legs out straight spread apart. There were cuts all over her body; some pieces of flesh from her body had been removed. She had 3-inch slits from the corners of her mouth to her ears, forming the shape of a Glasgow smile. 

She had been hit over her head, and her body was cut half from waist up into 2 parts. There was no blood at the scene. Her body was scrubbed and drained of blood, due to which her skin appeared pallid white. Short’s autopsy report said that she died of hemorrhage and shock. 

While she was alive, she was tortured, and the Glasgow smile was made at the same time. The cuts were clean, suggesting that someone with surgical skills could be the murderer. After 9 days from her body discovery, letters were sent to the offices of the Los Angeles examiner, many signed as “THE BLACK DAHLIA AVENGER.”

There were Short’s personal belongings in one such letter, including an address book missing a few pages. The items were treated with gasoline to remove fingerprints. 

WHO DID IT?

Out of 150 suspects, one worth mentioning and perhaps the most discussed suspect is George Hodel, a wealthy doctor.

 In his book THE BACK DAHLIA AVENGER, published in 2003, Steve Hodel writes in detail about his investigation in the case, which he took after he retired from LAPD, claiming that the murderer was his own father, Geroge.

 It’s also worth mentioning that Geroge’s daughter, at the age of 14, accused him of sexual abuse, which the family later denied. After his death, Steve found two photos of a female looking identical to Short. After examining the photos by many experts, there were inconclusive reports. The handwriting of his father and that on the letters match, as per the handwriting expert hired by Steve. For further more information about his investigation, you should probably read his book. 

After hearing this theory, a LA Times reporter Steve Lopez went to Los Angeles DA and was granted permission to look into the case files and the grand jury documents. Surprised, by finding George’s photo in the files, among the 21 other prime suspects, he also found records that LAPD had snuck listening devices into George’s house without his knowledge. One transcript, Steve said, had recorded George saying, “Supposing I did kill the Black Dahlia? They couldn’t prove it now. They can’t talk to my secretary because she’s dead.”

 The case, till this day, is a mystery!