The Black Dahlia Murder

The Unsolved Murder of the Black Dahlia

At only 22 years of age, Elizabeth Short, nicknamed “The Black Dahlia” was brutally murdered in Los Angeles, California. Her killer was never found. The cold case of The Black Dahlia is, to this day, the city’s most famous unsolved murder. Elizabeth Short was born on July 29th, 1924. By her teens, Elizabeth Short knew that acting was her passion and that she wanted to pursue it as a career. In her early twenties, she was an aspiring actress, but sadly her journey to fame was cut short. On January 15th, 1947, her dead body was found in a vacant lot near Leimert park. Her body was nude and posed. It was severely mutilated, cut in half, drained of blood, and scrubbed clean. There are many suspects in the

George Hodel. Investigators said the Black Dahlia’s killer had to have medical experience because of the way she was cut so precisely. Dr. George Hodel was a physician in LA in the 1940s, so he had the surgical knowledge to do what was done to the Black Dahlia. Evidence in Dr. George Hodel’s home strongly suggests that he killed Elizabeth Short. His son, Steve Hodel, found two pictures that resembled Elizabeth Short when he was looking through his father’s belongings after his father’s death. “In 2004, Steve Hodel told CBS that his childhood home included a secret room he and his siblings weren't allowed to enter” (Gastaldo). This raises suspicion about what Dr. George Hodel did in that room. In February 2013, a team of investigators conducted a search of Dr. George Hodel’s home, where a search dog had previously detected the scent of human decomposition in the basement. Soil samples taken from Dr. George Hodel's home were submitted for lab testing. The soil sample came up positive for human remains. This information made Steve Hodel wonder if his father had killed others, besides the Black Dahlia. An old recording exists of a conversation between Dr. George Hodel and an unknown person where Hodel is heard saying, "Supposin' I did kill the Black Dahlia. They couldn't prove it now. They can't talk to my secretary because she's dead.” This evidence is another reason why Dr. George Hill Hodel looks guilty in the murder of the Black