“If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans,” says a famous proverb. The young and beautiful American Elizabeth Short had a standard dream for her age - to successfully marry and become an actress. However, she was distinguished from many peers by the fact that the girl spared neither time nor energy to achieve her goals. However, fate decreed otherwise, Short Elizabeth entered American and world history not as a talented actress, but as a victim of a brutal and senseless at first glance murder.
A Brief Biography of Elizabeth
The girl, who became famous throughout the world as the Black Dahlia, was born in
Massachusetts (Hyde Park city) in 1924. Later, the family moved to Medford, father Elizabeth engaged in the sale of golf equipment. The business was quite successful, and the family could safely be called prosperous. However, the mother did not work, and there were only four children. During the
Great Depression , Father Elizabeth’s company went bankrupt, and he himself disappeared. The car of the head of the family was found near the river, the main version of the disappearance was suicide. Since adolescence, Short Elizabeth has often enough to go to her aunt in Miami, claiming that the home climate is harmful to her health. At that time, the girl was eager to become the wife of a military pilot. Elizabeth's second dream was a big movie, she really believed that she could conquer Hollywood and very soon the whole world would talk about it.
Personal life of Black Dahlia
While still a minor, Elizabeth tried to provide for herself. The girl loved and knew how to dress beautifully and take care of herself and realized that not only natural beauty attracted men. However, having worked as a waitress, a dishwasher and even a model in a department store, she realized that all these activities in no way bring her closer to the fulfillment of her desires. After all this, Short Elizabeth takes a job at the Camp Cook military base. However, it did not work out in this place for a long time, ordinary soldiers liked the young beauty, but the leadership came to the conclusion that the girl was too defiant and fired her.
After that, Elizabeth met for a long time with the pilot Joseph Fickling, but he went to war without a promise to marry his girlfriend. Probably, our heroine considered herself a free woman after such a thing and very soon entered into a romantic relationship with Air Force Major Matt Gordon. It is not known how Elizabeth felt, but the pilot really lost his head in love, made an offer. Unfortunately, the wedding did not take place, as the groom tragically died in a plane crash, returning home. After such an event, Short for decency traveled for several weeks, and then left for Miami, where she was regularly seen with different and quite respectable men. At the same time, the girl regularly moved from place to place, rented new apartments and houses and still thought about the career of a film actress or model. She made new friends and lived at the expense of her boyfriends. Most likely, sooner or later she would really succeed if something terrible had not happened.
Mysterious murder, struck by its cruelty
In 1947, the Los Angeles Police received a message about the discovery of a human corpse. At the intersection of 39th Street and Norton Avenue, a local resident noticed a motionless body in the grass and hastened to report this find. The police who came to the call were shocked - the dismembered corpse of a naked woman really lay on the ground. The victim's body was neatly cut in the waist, there were multiple traces of violence on him, and his face was mutilated beyond recognition. It is worth noting that the American horror story by that time already recognized the existence of serial maniacs and psychopathic killers. But this crime made even the most experienced detectives shudder. A new sex maniac appeared in the city? But who is this woman and why did they end up with such cruelty? Specialists from the FBI were involved in the investigation, and very soon forensic experts made even more incredible conclusions by conducting an autopsy and a detailed examination of the body.
Examination Results
During the initial examination, multiple violent injuries were found on the victim’s body. Traces of the rope were visible on the wrists and ankles with the naked eye, multiple bruises on the face and body, and the mouth was cut open. All these signs, together with the lack of clothing, gave reason to make the assumption of rape in a particularly perverse form. However, after the autopsy, the experts unequivocally said that before the death the victim had no sexual contacts, and there is reason to believe that she was a virgin at all. We can also conclude with confidence that a dismembered corpse was delivered to the place of detection and thrown out after committing a crime. Moreover, the murder was committed deliberately. The victim was tortured for some time, then killed (death occurred as a result of multiple blows to the head, resulting in a head injury), after which they were dismembered with a very sharp and thin object, washed and taken out. The police were especially surprised by the choice of tools for separating the upper body from the lower. Most often in such cases an ax or saw is used. When committing this crime, a
surgical scalpel or a very sharp knife was used.
Elizabeth Short is the victim of a terrible murder!
With the identification of the found body there were problems. The body was too badly mutilated, documents, clothes and special signs were absent. Without much enthusiasm, the police carried out a
fingerprint examination. And then we got a positive result. The FBI database found the necessary fingerprints. There was no doubt, before the detectives and experts the body of Elizabeth Short - a beauty who dreamed of conquering Hollywood. What is noteworthy, the girl’s fingerprints entered the database almost by accident - they were taken from her during employment at a military base.
The Legend of Black Dahlia
After identifying the victim, the police began interviewing her relatives and friends. At the same time, information about the terrible crime began to appear in local newspapers. Journalists often called the unfortunate beautiful pseudonym - Black Dahlia. There is a widespread version that the girl really received this nickname from friends during her lifetime. Elizabeth was dark-haired and loved to dress in black, applying bright makeup to her face. In combination with pale porcelain skin, a truly vivid image of a fatal seducer was obtained. However, it is quite possible that the journalists themselves came up with a beautiful name for the deceased. Interestingly, the police specifically hid the fact that the victim was supposedly a virgin. While the newspaper men constantly called her a woman of easy virtue and suggested that it was precisely this kind of lifestyle that caused the incident.
Investigation progress
All people from the immediate environment of the deceased were very struck and saddened by the murder of Elizabeth Short. Some close acquaintances of Black Dahlia said that she was not always careful with men. Elizabeth often behaved defiantly, hinting at a close relationship, but at the same time did not have sexual relations with her boyfriends and fans. As soon as the admirer began to explicitly hint at sexual intimacy or demand it, Elizabeth firmly and unequivocally refused. The detectives concluded that one of her suitors might have a motive to kill the girl. However, they checked many close friends of the deceased, and all turned out to be a 100% alibi.
Who is the killer of Elizabeth Short?
During the investigation, it was found that Black Dahlia met not only with wealthy socialites. After the death of the groom, the girl remembered her first pilot, Joseph Flicking, she was the first to write to him. And after a short correspondence, the man even took a short vacation in order to meet with Elizabeth in person. However, Black Dahlia behaved as always - the "lovers" talked nicely, walked and went to the cafe, but slept in different beds. However, it was impossible to make an official suspect out of Flicking, since during the murder he was at a military base in Germany and could not leave it. They also checked a few fans and admirers of the spectacular girl, but they all did not arouse suspicion and had an alibi.
Strange message
The story of Elizabeth Short just stopped appearing on the front pages of newspapers when something strange happened. An incorrectly signed envelope was seized at the post office. It contained a note made from newspaper clippings: “So young! I’ll make it, as did Black Dahlia ”, below the signature -“ Avenger for Black Dahlia ”, as well as a photo of a young man with the signature“ Next ”. In addition, it was written on the envelope itself that the things inside belonged to Black Dahlia, and indeed, along with a note to the detectives, Elizabeth’s birth certificate, her medical insurance, business cards and Mark Hansen’s notebook were included. This man was found and interrogated, his identity and the person depicted in the photo with the caption "Next" were established. However, both had nothing to do with Elizabeth herself and her death.
The circle of suspects is expanding
The murder of Elizabeth Short in 1947 produced a significant public outcry and simply could not remain unsolved. After a strange message, about twenty more men were checked who aroused suspicion from the police. And then something incredible happened, a letter arrived at the police station, in which the anonymous author described in detail how he killed and dismembered a young girl. It is possible that it was Short Elizabeth. With great difficulty, the detectives figured out the author of the message, it turned out to be Leslie Dillon. The man was found and questioned, but it soon became clear that he was suffering from schizophrenia and in his letter only set out a personal reconstruction of the events that he had learned from the newspapers. The next suspect was Al Morrison (aka Adam Smith, Jack Anderson Wilson), he was indicated by a police informant to whom this person allegedly personally told about the perfect. However, as soon as a warrant for the arrest of this man was received, the incredible happened - he died as a result of a fire in a motel. Further, the investigation developed other versions, but it did not work to find the real killer and prove his guilt.
The Story of Elizabeth Short: Documentary and Fiction
More than half a century has passed since the tragic death of Black Dahlia, but this terrible and mysterious story is still not forgotten. In 1987, James Ellroy's book, based on a real crime, was published. Its name is Black Dahlia. Detective Steve Hodel also wrote about the high-profile murder. In addition, the American horror story received several films, documentaries and one multi-budget feature, telling about this crime. The image of Elizabeth Short was used by Marilyn Manson, and many popular artists dedicated songs to the victim of an unknown maniac, which later became hits.