The case remains one of Hollywood's long-running mysteries and one of
the most gruesome of the 1940s. A pretty young woman was found cut in
half and posed in a sexually explicit pose in a vacant lot in would be
sensationalized in the media as the "Black Dahlia" murder.
In the media frenzy that followed, rumors and speculation were published
as fact and inaccuracies and exaggerations continue to plague accounts
of the crime until this day. Here are the few real facts that are known
about the life and death of Elizabeth Short.
Elizabeth Short's Childhood Years
Elizabeth Short was born on July 29, 1924 in Hyde Park, Massachusetts to
parents Cleo and Phoebe Short. Cleo made a good living building
miniature golf courses until the Depression took its toll on the
business. In 1930, with his business suffering, Cleo decided to fake his
suicide and abandoned Phoebe and their five daughters. He parked his
car by a bridge and took off to California. Authorities and Phoebe
believed Cleo committed suicide.
Later, Cleo decided he made a mistake, contacted Phoebe and apologized
for what he had done. He asked to come home. Phoebe, who had faced
bankruptcy, worked part-time jobs, stood in lines to get public
assistance and raised the five children alone, wanted no part of Cleo
and refused to reconcile.
Despite her parents' difficulties, Elizabeth continued to correspond with
her father. She was growing up to be an attractive young girl and like many
teenagers, enjoyed going to the movies.
Her High School Years
Elizabeth was not academically inclined earning average grades in high
school. She left high school in her freshman year because of asthma
which she suffered with since childhood. It was decided that it would be
best for her health if she left New England during the winter months.
Arrangements were made for her to go to Florida and stay with family
friends, returning to Medford during the spring and summer.
Despite her parents' difficulties, Elizabeth continued to correspond
with her father. She was growing up to be an attractive young girl and
like many teenagers, enjoyed going to the movies. Like many young pretty
girls, Elizabeth developed an interest in modeling and the movie
industry and set her goals to someday work in Hollywood.
A Short-Lived Reunion
At the age of 19, Elizabeth's father sent her money to join him in
Vallejo, California. The reunion was short lived and Cleo soon grew
tired of Elizabeth's lifestyle of sleeping during the day and going out
on dates until late at night. Cleo told Elizabeth to leave and she moved
out on her own to Santa Barbara.
The Next Three Years
There is much debate about where Elizabeth spent her remaining years. It
is known that in Santa Barbara she was arrested for underage drinking
and was packed up and returned to Medford. According to reports up until
1946, she spent time in Boston and Miami. In 1944, she fell in love
with Major Matt Gordon, a Flying Tiger, and the two discussed marriage,
but he was killed on his way home from the war.
In July 1946, she moved to Long Beach, California to be with an old
boyfriend, Gordon Fickling, who she dated in Florida before her
relationship with Matt Gordon. The relationship ended shortly after her
arrival and Elizabeth floundered around for the next few months.
A Soft Spoken Beauty
Friends described Elizabeth as being soft spoken, courteous, a
non-drinker, or smoker, but somewhat of a loafer. Her habit of sleeping
late in the day and staying out at night continued to be her lifestyle.
She was pretty, enjoyed dressing stylishly and turned heads because of
her pale skin contrasting against her dark hair and her translucent
blue-green eyes. She wrote to her mother weekly, insuring her that her
life was going well. Some speculate that the letters were Elizabeth's
attempt to keep her mother from worrying.
Those around her know it that over the next few months she moved often,
was well liked, but illusive and not well known. During October and
November of 1946, she lived in the home of Mark Hansen, owner of the
Florentine Gardens. The Florentine Gardens had a reputation as being a
rather shoddy strip joint in Hollywood. According to reports, Hansen was
said to have various attractive women rooming together at his home,
which was located behind club.
Elizabeth's last known address in Hollywood was the Chancellor
Apartments at 1842 N. Cherokee, where she and four other girls roomed
together.
In December, Elizabeth boarded a bus and left Hollywood for San Diego.
She met Dorothy French, who felt sorry for her and offered her a place
to stay. She stayed with the French family until January when she was
finally asked to leave.
Robert Manley
Robert Manley was 25 years old and married, working as a salesman.
According to reports, Manley first met Elizabeth in San Diego and
offered her a ride to the French house where she was staying. When she
was asked to leave, it was Manley who came and drove her back to the
Biltmore hotel in downtown Los Angeles where she was supposed to be
meeting her sister. According to Manley, she was planning to go live
with her sister Berkeley.
Manley walked Elizabeth to the hotel lobby where he left her at around
6:30 p.m. and drove back to his home San Diego. Where Elizabeth Short
went after saying goodbye to Manley is unknown.
The Murder Scene
On January 15, 1947 Elizabeth Short was found murdered, her body left in
a vacant lot on South Norton Avenue between 39th Street and Coliseum.
Homemaker Betty Bersinger was running an errand with her three-year-old
daughter when she realized that what she was looking at was not a
mannequin but an actual body in the lot along the street where she was
walking. She went to a nearby house, made an anonymous call to police,
and reported the body.
When police arrived on the scene, they found the body of a young woman
who had been bisected, displayed face-up on the ground with her arms
over her head and her lower half placed a foot away from her torso. Her
legs were wide open in a vulgar position and her mouth had three-inch
slashes on each side. Rope burns were found on her wrists and ankles.
Her head face and body was bruised and cut. There was little blood at
the scene, indicating whoever left her, washed the body before bringing
it in the lot.
The crime scene quickly filled with police, bystanders and reporters. It
was later described as being out of control, with people trampling on
any evidence investigators hoped to find.
Through fingerprints, the body was soon identified as 22-year-old
Elizabeth Short or as the press called her, "The Black Dahlia." A
massive investigation into finding her murderer was launched. Because of
the brutality of the murder and Elizabeth's sometimes sketchy
lifestyle, rumors and speculation was rampant, often being incorrectly
reported as fact in newspapers.
Suspects
Close to 200 suspects were interviewed, sometimes polygraphed, but all
eventually released. Exhausted efforts were made to run down any leads
or any of the several false confessions to the killing of Elizabeth by
both men and women.
Despite efforts made by investigators, the case has remained one of the most famous unsolved cases in California's history.
source : http://crime.about.com/od/murder/a/blackdahlia.htm
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