Notorious Criminals & Outlaws Codexery

Black Dahlia

The Black Dahlia: America's most famous unsolved murder.

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Elizabeth Short was born on July 29, 1924, in Boston, Massachusetts, the third of five daughters.[1] The case is frequently cited as one of the most famous unsolved murders in U.S. history.[2]

Key facts and history

Short's father lost most of his savings in the 1929 stock market crash and was presumed dead after his car was found abandoned on a bridge in 1930.[3] She underwent lung surgery at age 15 due to bronchitis and asthma, then spent winters in Florida.[4] She moved out in January 1943 after arguments with her father.[5] Short later told friends she accepted a marriage proposal from Major Matthew Michael Gordon Jr., but he died in a plane crash on August 10, 1945.[6]

In July 1946, she relocated to Los Angeles to visit an acquaintance from Florida.[7] On January 15, 1947, Short's naked body, severed into two pieces, was found in a vacant lot in Leimert Park.[8][9] The body had been completely severed at the waist, drained of blood, and her face had been slashed from the corners of her mouth to her ears.[10] After Short's mother received a letter from her presumed-dead husband in late 1942, the 18-year-old moved to Vallejo, California, in December of that year to reside with her father, who she had last seen when she was six years old.[11]

The FBI identified Short by matching her fingerprints, which were in their records from a 1943 arrest.[12]

What the cited sources add

Harnisch also notes that the Hollywood Canteen closed in 1945, while Short did not arrive in Los Angeles until late July or early August 1946.[13] According to Harnisch, the book "Severed" is "25% mistakes and 50% fiction"[13] The BBC reports that the nickname "Black Dahlia" was a reference to Short's black hair or her habit of dressing in black.[14] The New York Daily News notes that before the "Black Dahlia" name caught on, one paper dubbed her killing the "Werewolf Murder"[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Black Dahlia" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gilmore 2006; Haugen 2010, p. 15; "Elizabeth Short: The Black Dahlia", Murderous Roots, August 12, 2020; "FamilySearch.org", ancestors.familysearch.org; "Cleo Alvin Short Jr.", www.familysearch.org; "Phoebe May Sawyer", www.familysearch.org; "Cleo Alvin Short Jr.", www.familysearch.org; Steeves, Heather, "The Black Dahlia lived on Munjoy Hill: An unsolved murder from the vaults", Maine Today, February 14, 2014; Scott 2017, p. 9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Black Dahlia" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Scott 2017, p. 9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Black Dahlia" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Haugen 2010, p. 15; Haugen 2010, p. 15; Haugen 2010, p. 15; Haugen 2010, p. 15 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Black Dahlia" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Haugen 2010, p. 15; Haugen 2010, p. 15; Haugen 2010, p. 15 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Black Dahlia" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Haugen 2010, p. 15 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Black Dahlia" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Knowlton Newton 1995, p. 30; Katz 2010, p. 186; "Dorothea Schloesser Obituary (2012) – Legacy Remembers", Legacy.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Black Dahlia" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gilmore 2006; Knowlton Newton 1995, p. 30; Scott 2017, p. 9; Knowlton Newton 1995, p. 30; Haugen 2010, p. 15 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Black Dahlia" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Black Dahlia: Los Angeles' most famous unsolved murder", BBC, January 8, 2017 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Blakinger, Keri, "Nearly 70 years after her murder, here are the things we still don't know about Black Dahlia", New York Daily News, January 16, 2016. facts only, no text reused. nydailynews.com
  10. Wikipedia, "Black Dahlia" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Scott 2007, p. 106; McLellan, "Obituaries: Ralph Asdel, 82; Detective in the Black Dahlia Case", Los Angeles Times, January 9, 2003; Katz 2010, p. 186; Scheeres, "Macabre Discovery", The Black Dahlia; "The Black Dahlia: Los Angeles' most famous unsolved murder", BBC, January 8, 2017; Newton 2009; Scheeres, "Macabre Discovery", The Black Dahlia; Katz 2010, p. 186; Scott 2007, p. 106 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Black Dahlia" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Haugen 2010, p. 15; Haugen 2010, p. 15 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Black Dahlia" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation 2008, p. 43 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  13. Harnisch, Larry, "Common Myths About the Black Dahlia and Their Origins". facts only, no text reused. lmharnisch.com
  14. Summers, Chris, "The enduring legend of Black Dahlia", BBC, August 31, 2006. facts only, no text reused. news.bbc.co.uk

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Black Dahlia (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. In what year did Black Dahlia die?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1947.

From the source: “Elizabeth Short (July 29, 1924 – , 1947), posthumously known as the Black Dahlia, was an American woman found murdered in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on January 15, 1947. Her case became highly publicized owing”

2. In what year was Black Dahlia born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1924.

From the source: “Elizabeth Short was born on July 29, 1924, in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, the third of five daughters to Cleo Alvin Short Jr.”

3. In which place was Black Dahlia born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Boston, Massachusetts, U.S..

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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