Elizabeth short was an American aspiring actress who was found murdered in the Leimert Park neighbourhood of Los Angeles, California. Due to the graphic nature of her murder, her case became highly publicised. Her corpse had been mutilated and severed at the waist. She acquired the nickname of The Black Dahlia because newspapers of that time often nicknamed particularly lurid crimes. The term Black Dahlia is said to have originated from the murder mystery film The Blue Dahlia. Her death has inspired numerous books and films. Her murder is one of the most famous unsolved murders in American history, as well as one of the oldest unsolved cases in Los Angeles County. (Prior to murder) On January 9, 1947, Elizabeth returned to her home in Los Angeles after a short trip to San Diego with Robert Red Manley, a 25-year-old married salesman she had been seeing. Robet told investigators that he had dropped Elizabeth off at the Biltmore Hotel located in South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, and that Elizabeth was to meet her sister, who was visiting from Boston.The staff of the Biltmore Hotel recalled having seen Elizabeth using the lobby telephone. Shortly after, she was seen by the staff of the Crown Grill Cocktail Lounge at South Olive Street, approximately half a mile away from the Biltmore Hotel. (Discovery) On the morning of January 15, 1947, Elizabeth's naked body was found severed in two pieces on a vacant lot on the west side of South Norton Avenue, in Leimert Park, Los Angeles. Local resident Betty Bersinger discovered the body at approximately 10:00 a.m. while she was walking with her three-year-old daughter. Betty initially thought she had found a discarded store mannequin. When she realised it was a corpse, she rushed to a nearby house and telephoned the police. Elizabeth's severely mutilated body was completely severed at the waist and drained of blood, leaving her skin paper white. Medical examiners determined that she had been dead for around ten hours prior to the discovery, The body had been washed by the killer. Her face had been slashed from the corners of her mouth to her ears, She had several cuts on drained of blood, leaving her skin paper white. Medical examiners determined that she had been dead for around ten hours prior to the discovery, The body had been washed by the killer. Her face had been slashed from the corners of her mouth to her ears, She had several cuts onher thigh and breasts, where entire portions of flesh had been sliced away.The lower half of her body was positioned a foot away from the upper body and her intestines had been tucked neatly beneath her buttocks The corpse had been positioned with her hands over her head and her elbows bent at right angles, and her legs spread apart. Los Angeles Herald-Express reporter Aggie Underwood was among the first to arrive at the scene, and took several photos of the corpse and crime scene. By the spring of 1947, Elizabeths murder had become a cold case, with few new leads Several crime authors have suspected a link between Elizabeth's murder and the Cleveland Torso Murders, which took place in Cleveland, Ohio between 1934 and 1938.
