Elizabeth Short July 29, β c. January 14β15 , , known as the Black Dahlia , was an American woman found murdered in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles , California , on January 15, Her case became highly publicized owing to the gruesome nature of the crime, which included the mutilation and bisection of her corpse. A native of Boston , Short spent her early life in New England and Florida before relocating to California, where her father lived.
It is commonly held that she was an aspiring actress, though she had no known acting credits or jobs during her time in Los Angeles. Short acquired the nickname of the Black Dahlia posthumously, as newspapers of the period often nicknamed particularly lurid crimes; the term may have originated from the film noir thriller The Blue Dahlia After the discovery of her body, the Los Angeles Police Department LAPD began an extensive investigation that produced over suspects but yielded no arrests.
Short's unsolved murder and the details surrounding it have had a lasting cultural impact, generating various theories and public speculation. Her life and death have been the basis of numerous books and films, and her murder is frequently cited as one of the most famous unsolved murders in U. Short's father built miniature golf courses until he lost most of his savings in the stock market crash. In late , Short's mother received a letter of apology from her presumed-deceased husband, which revealed that he was in fact alive and had started a new life in California.
Arguments between Short and her father led to her moving out in January Short later told friends that Gordon had written to propose marriage while he was recovering from injuries from a plane crash in India. On January 9, , Short returned to her home in Los Angeles after a brief trip to San Diego with Robert "Red" Manley, a year-old married salesman she had been dating. At the time, Leimert Park was largely undeveloped. Short's severely mutilated body was completely severed at the waist and drained of blood, leaving her skin a pallid white.
Los Angeles Herald-Express reporter Aggie Underwood was among the first to arrive at the crime scene, and took several photos of Short's body and its surroundings. Short's body had been cut completely in half by a technique taught in the s called a hemicorporectomy.
