Black Dahlia case remains unsolved 78 years after Elizabeth Short's body found

On the morning of January 15, 1947, a woman’s body was discovered in a vacant lot in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. A local resident, Betty Bersinger, was walking with her young daughter when she saw what she initially thought was a mannequin and called police. It was not a mannequin. The victim had been severed in half at the waist, drained of blood, and washed. The corpse was posed with the arms raised above the head.

The victim was later identified as Elizabeth Short, a 22-year-old aspiring actress who had moved to California from Massachusetts. Because of her habit of wearing black clothing and her dark hair, the press dubbed her the “Black Dahlia.” The case was never solved.

Los Angeles Police Department homicide detectives Harry Hansen and Finis Brown led the investigation. The Los Angeles County coroner’s office performed the autopsy. Police found few physical clues. The body had been expertly severed, leading to speculation that the killer had medical or surgical training, but this was never proven.

The victim’s belongings, including a purse and shoes, were found discarded in a different part of the city. A key piece of evidence was a newspaper clipping and an address book that had been mailed to the press, but the sender was never identified. Hundreds of people were interviewed, and thousands of tips were received.