10 Chilling Things To Know About The Black Dahlia Murders

Elizabeth Short photo from police bulletin. Wikimedia

10 Chilling Things To Know About The Black Dahlia Murders

The Black Dahlia Murder is an American melodic death metal band that adopted the name from the 1947 unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short. Born on 29^th July 1924, Elizabeth Short was referred to as Black Dahlia. She was an American lady who was found murdered in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Elizabeth was the third born of five daughters of her father, Cleo A. Short, and his wife Phoebe May Sawyer. Her father used to build miniature golf courses until when he lost his savings due to the 1929 stock market crash which made him fake his death. At the age of 15, she underwent lung surgery due to bronchitis and severe asthma attacks and her mother relocated to a warm place.

In 1943, she was arrested for drinking alcohol in a local bar. Elizabeth was initially married to a Navy sergeant but she left him due to frequent abuse. On 9^th January 1947, Elizabeth returned home from a brief trip with a married salesman she was dating and was last seen making a call on a lobby telephone.

On 15^th January 1947, in the morning, the naked body of Elizabeth Short which was badly mutilated was discovered by a resident while walking with her 3-year-old daughter. The murder of Black Dahlia was highly publicized due to the gruesome nature of the killing. Here are the 10 Chilling Things To Know About The Black Dahlia Murders:

1. Black Dahlia’s Father Faked His Death after Losing His Lifetime Savings

Elizabeth Short, Black Dahlia, was born on 29^th July 1924, in Boston, Massachusetts, as the third of five girls to Cleo A. Short and Phoebe May Sawyer. Her family temporarily relocated to Portland, Maine, in 1927 before settling in Medford, a Boston suburb, the following year.

Short’s father, Cleo A. Short used to create miniature golf courses not until during the 1929 stock market crash which cost him most of his savings. After this incident, he had a plan of how he could ditch his family which was by faking his death. He left home and his car was discovered abandoned on the Charlestown Bridge in 1930, and it was believed he had jumped into the Charles River.

2. Elizabeth Suffered from Respiratory Conditions Making her have Lung Surgery

As Elizabeth Short grew up, she started experiencing some health problems. At the age of 15, she experienced frequent bronchitis and also had severe asthma attacks.

She had to undergo lung surgery to manage her condition, plus she was advised to relocate to a milder climate to prevent further complications. Her mother had to send her to Miami, Florida to spend winters for three consecutive years. She had to drop out of Medford High school during her sophomore year.

3. Dahlia Lived with an Abusive Army Sergeant before Moving Out

Mugshot was taken of Elizabeth Short’s “The Black Dahlia” in 1943 for underage drinking. Author; Santa Barbara police. Wikimedia

At the age of 18, Black Dahlia was sent by her mother to stay with her dad who had resurfaced after 12 years of being known that he had died. While in Vallejo, California, Short started a job at the Base Exchange at Camp Cooke.

She started dating and living with a U.S. Army Air Force sergeant. However, she was reportedly abused by her lover and decided to leave him.

In mid-1943, Elizabeth was arrested for drinking at a local bar while underage. She was sent to Massachusetts, but she defied and went to Florida to visit her family occasionally.

4. Her Second Lover Died in a Second Plane Crash after Proposal

In Florida, Black Dahlia met Major Matthew Michael Gordon who was a decorated Army Air Force officer of the 2^nd Air Commando Group. He was training hard for his deployment to the Southeast Asian theater of World War II.

Gordon made his first move by proposing to her as he recovered from injuries he suffered from a plane crash in India. Elizabeth accepted the proposal but on 10^th August 1945, Gordon died in a second crash.

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5. Short Went Missing after a Brief Trip with a Married Man

Elizabeth Short photo from police bulletin. Wikimedia

Short returned to her house in Los Angeles on 9th January 1947, after a brief trip to San Diego with a friend. 25-year-old Robert “Red” Manley who was a married salesman had gone with her on the trip. The two had been dating.

Manley claimed that he dropped Short off at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles that afternoon. Short was to meet her sister, who was visiting from Boston.

Staff at the Biltmore remembered seeing Short use the lobby phone, according to some accounts before reports of her missing were made. She was reportedly seen shortly after by patrons of the Crown Grill Cocktail Lounge at 754 South Olive Street, about 38 miles (600 meters) away from the Biltmore.

6. The Body of Black Dahlia was Discovered by a Mother and her 3-year-old Daughter

On 15^th January 1947, the body of Elizabeth Short was discovered. The naked corpse which was severed into two pieces was discovered in a vacant lot on the west side of South Norton Avenue, halfway between Coliseum Street and West 39th Street (at 34.0164°N 118.333°W) in the Leimert Park neighborhood.

That morning, Betty Bersinger, a resident, discovered the body at around 10 AM. Betty was in the company of her three-year-old daughter, originally assuming she had discovered a discarded store mannequin. When she discovered it was a corpse, she dashed to a nearby house and called 911.

7. Black Dahlia’s Body was Severely Mutilated and Drained of Blood

A mugshot of Elizabeth Short. Wikimedia

The body of Elizabeth Short was severely mutilated and completely severed at the waist. What shocked many people is that the body was drained of blood which left the skin pallid white.

Investigators and medical examiners revealed that she had been dead for around 10 hours before the body was discovered. The medical examiners also made another important note that the body might have been washed by the killer.

8. Her Might have had Some Knowledge in Surgery of How the Body was Mutilated

The face of Elizabeth Short had been slashed from the corners of her lips to her ears, producing the “Glasgow smile.” She had several incisions on her thigh and breasts, where large chunks of flesh had been removed.

Her lower half was a foot away from her upper half, and her intestines were perfectly tucked beneath her buttocks. Her hands were over her head, her elbows were bent at right angles, and her thighs were spread apart.

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9. An Autopsy Showed that Black Dahlia had been Cut Using a Technique Called Hemicorporectomy

Murder victim Elizabeth Short was dubbed ‘The Black Dahlia’ photographed in 1946 by an unknown American serviceman. Author; Fritzandjane150147. Wikimedia

Frederick Newbarr, the Los Angeles County coroner, conducted an autopsy on Short’s body on January 16, 1947. The autopsy report stated that Short was 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighed 52 kg, and had light blue eyes, brown hair, and severely decayed teeth, according to Newbarr’s autopsy report. Her ankles, wrists, and neck had ligature scars, and her right breast had an “irregular laceration with superficial tissue loss.”

In addition, the coroner noticed superficial lacerations on the right wrist, left upper arm, and lower left side of the chest. A hemicorporectomy, a technique demonstrated in the 1930s, was used by the killer to completely cut the body in half. The bottom half of her body had been removed by severing the intestine at the duodenum and transecting the lumbar spine between the second and third lumbar vertebrae.

According to Newbarr’s account, there was “very little” bruising along the incision line, indicating that it was done after death. Another 414-inch-long “gaping laceration” went longitudinally from the umbilicus to the suprapubic region. The lacerations on each side of the face, which stretched from the corners of the lips, were three inches on the right side and two and a half inches on the left.

10. Reporters Lied to Black Dahlia’s Mother about her Daughter before Revealing She was Dead

The grave of Elizabeth Short, better known as the Black Dahlia, was murdered in 1947. Author; DarkCryst. Wikimedia

Short’s mother, Phoebe Short, was called in Boston immediately after the identification of Black Dahlia. The reporters from William Randolph Hearst’s Los Angeles Examiner informed Phoebe that her daughter had won a beauty contest.

After getting much personal information about Black Dahlia, the reporters disclosed that her daughter was murdered. The newspaper offered to cover her airfare and hotel expenses if she traveled to Los Angeles to assist with the police investigation.

The murder of Black Dahlia was covered more by the media because of the nature of the killing. Investigations were done for a very long time but no one was convicted for the gruesome murder. More than 50 people were interrogated and many others gave confessions but none was the suspect in the murder of Black Dahlia. Her death inspired various movies and books.

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