Ruth Short Research Paper

The most notorious cold case in Los Angeles history is the gruesome murder of Elisabeth Short. On January 15, 1947, Short’s mutilated corpse was found on the ground of a vacant lot by a local mother taking her child for a walk. As the news got word of this tragedy, there were many accused of committing this heinous crime. Although there are many suspects in Elisabeth Short’s murder, evidence suggests that George Hodel is a primary culprit.

Elisabeth Short was born July 29, 1924, in Hyde Park of Boston Massachusetts. At the age of eighteen, she decided to move to California with her father, Cleo Short. She was an aspiring actress, who believed moving to California would help with her dreams of a movie career. Sources claim, “She felt like

Manley claims that he dropped her off at the Biltmore Hotel where other witnesses confirmed seeing her there. On the morning of January 15, 1947, Short’s body was found by a mother walking her child through the neighborhood of Leimert Park. As police arrived at the scene of the crime, they witnessed a display of a truly sickening murder. Sources state, “Short's torso had been cut in half. Some of her organs had been removed. Her head had been bludgeoned. Slashes carved on either side of her mouth created the look of a maniacal grin. And the medical examiner found fecal matter in her stomach, suggesting she had been forced to eat it before being killed,” (History.) Police began finding identification for Short, “They were able to get fingerprints and run the prints through their system to see if they could get an ID… they were able to ID the body as Elisabeth Short,” (Youtube.) Eventually, newspapers got hold of this information and started calling her the Black Dahlia. She got this name for her iconic black hair and sheer black clothing. There was also a popular movie at the time called Blue Dahlia, hence the name Black Dahlia. Furthermore, newspapers continued to talk about the tragic case of Short, and surprisingly multiple people came forward to confess to her

Although many confessed, the police had a few worthy suspects. This included: “Red” Manley, Dr. George Hodel, and even the Cleveland torso killer. However, Manley had a strong alibi and police denied any relation to the Cleveland torso killer. Hodel was an American physician that had additional training in surgery. This makes him a suspect because Short’s body was bisected in a way that only an experienced surgeon would know how to do. In addition, his son, George Hodel, was going through his father's things after he passed away and found many things linking him to the case. He found photos tucked away that showed an eerie resemblance to Short, receipts for ten five-pound bags of concrete that is the same brand and size as the bags found near her body that is believed to be what the killer used to carry her body, and a transcript from the police questioning Hodel. The transcript reads, “Supposin’ I did kill the Black Dahlia. They couldn’t prove it now. They can’t talk to my secretary anymore because she’s dead,” (The Guardian.) It is believed by detectives that Hodel had killed his secretary and Short due to them both knowing about his involvement in financial