In 1947, in Los Angeles, they found the mutilated body of aspiring actress Elizabeth Short. The brutality of the crime made him number one sensation in the press, and the victim received the romantic nickname "Black Dahlia." The mysterious murder of Elizabeth Short excited society and served as the basis for several literary works.
The Story of Elizabeth Short
Elizabeth Short was born in 1924 in Boston. During the Great Depression, the global financial crisis of the 30s, her family went bankrupt. In 1930, father Elizabeth disappeared. It was assumed that the man committed suicide, but several years later it turned out that he was alive.
When the girl was 19 years old, she moved to California and began to live with her father. Their relationship did not work out, soon Elizabeth left home. She left for Santa Barbara, where she was arrested for drinking alcohol, after which she returned to Florida and worked there as a waitress for a while. There she met a young man, a military man, with whom she began an affair. Wedding plans were interrupted by a tragedy: the bridegroom Elizabeth died.
On January 15, 1947, Elizabeth's naked body was discovered on a wasteland in Los Angeles. It was cut into two parts at the waist and divided. Such extraordinary cruelty aroused the interest of the press. Various publications were ready for anything to be the first to receive information. It was in the press that Elizabeth Short was first named the Black Dahlia.
Investigation
Many wanted to become involved in the sensation. The police received a lot from those who allegedly saw Elizabeth on the day of the murder. Reporters and ordinary people bombarded the detectives with their versions of what happened. All this only slowed down the investigation.
More than 50 people confessed to the murder. The police considered 25 of them as suspects. At different times, the publisher of the famous newspaper Norman Chandler, the messenger Leslie Dillon, the doctor Patrick S. Reilly, and many others were charged with the crime. In one of the books on the motives of the murder, even the legendary director Orson Welles was accused.
The case of Elizabeth Short remained unsolved. Today it is the oldest unsolved murder in Los Angeles.
