Elizabeth Short, aka "The Black Dahlia"

Note: This is a particularly disturbing story.  Parental guidance is suggested.

Elizabeth Short was born was born on July 29, 1924 in Hyde Park, Massachusetts.  She was the third of five children, and when she turned three, her family relocated to Portland, Maine.  There, her father owned a series of successful miniature golf courses, but these would disappear, along with the family's savings, in the Stock Market Crash of 1929.  A year later, her father himself disappeared.  Although his body was never found, circumstantial evidence indicated that he had committed suicide.

Fast forward twelve years to 1942.  Short's mother Phoebe received a letter from her supposedly dead husband, who had in fact relocated to San Francisco.  Elizabeth, having already dropped out of high school, moved west to reunite with her father.  There, she had a series of run ins with the law, including an arrest for underage drinking in 1943.

Short's 1943 mug shot.

Following the arrest, Short left California, this time relocating to Florida.  There, she met and fell in love with Matthew Michael Gordon, Jr., a decorated Air Force pilot.  The two were engaged and planned to marry, but it would never come to be.  Gordon's plane went down on August 10, 1945, just one week before Japan surrendered.

Following his death, she returned to California, this time settling in Los Angeles.  She spent the final six months of her life working as a waitress.  By all accounts she had aspirations of becoming a movie star, but this too, would not come to be.

On the morning of January 15, 1947, Short's body was discovered in an undeveloped area of the Leimert Park section of Los Angeles.  She was the victim of a brutal murder.  The body was naked and severed in two pieces at the torso.  These photos can be readily found on the internet if you are curious.

The case remains cold to this day and remains one of the most infamous unsolved murders in the world.  For more information, books, movies and a score of documentaries on the case are all available.

Short was interred at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland California.  The grave site is on a rather steep hill and can be difficult to find.  Be careful where you step!

Mountain View Cemetery
Section 66
Marker 798

Trivia

• The origin of the Black Dahlia nickname is a subject of debate.  Some claim it came from the LAPD, who noted her preference for sheer black clothing.  Others maintain it was given to her by friends at a Long Beach drug store following release of the 1946 Alan Ladd film noir The Blue Dahlia.
  
  
• Two weeks after Short's murder, Republican state assemblyman C. Don Field introduced a bill calling for the formation of a sex offender registry.  California became the first state to make the registration of sex offenders mandatory.
  
  
• Vlogger (yes, that's a word) Adam the Woo visits the Dahlia murder locations in this video.
  
  
• In 2006, Brian DePalma brought the story to the big screen.  The Black Dahlia starred Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson and Hillary Swank.  The film was a complete disaster and bombed at the box office.  This blogger was dragged to it, kicking and screaming.  Feel free to watch the trailer here.
  
  
• A number of documentaries on the case have been produced over the years.  Here's one by CBS's 48 Hours.  Running time: 1 hour, 5 minutes.