Obscure Occurrences : The Black Dahlia

 On the 15th of January, 1947, A woman named Betty Bersinger was taking a stroll on Norton Avenue, Los Angeles with her three-year-old daughter. During her walk, at around 10 in the morning, she stumbled upon a whitish object that at first appeared to be a discarded broken mannequin. But, on closer inspection she discovered it to be a corpse. Not a welcoming sight during your morning walk, isn't it? In fact, it was a gruesome sight. The corpse was severed into two, with the waist being the midpoint and chunks of flesh missing from her body. Yes, I'm speaking about "The Black Dahlia".

About the Victim

 The victim’s real name is Elizabeth Short and she had her origins in Boston, Massachusetts. Born to Cleo A. Short and Phoebe May Swayer on July 29, 1924, she was their third daughter. She along with her family relocated from Boston to Portland, Maine in 1927 only to come back to Medford of Boston in the same year.

 After the perceived death of her father in 1930, Elizabeth’s mother became the only bread earner of the family and Elizabeth’s medical condition was not making it any easier for her. Elizabeth suffered from bronchitis and severe asthma attacks and she was put under the knife at the measly age of 15 for lung surgery. Her doctors suggested she periodically move to a place with a better climate to avoid any further complications. As a result, her mother sent her to Miami during the winters for the next three years.

 In 1942, Elizabeth’s mother got a letter from her husband who according to them was already dead. The letter carried his apology and the details of his whereabouts. In December 1942, at the age of 18, Elizabeth left her mother to live with her father in Vallejo, California. But differences in opinions made her leave her father’s house in January 1943.

 She started working at the Base Exchange at Camp Cooke and ended up living with an Air Force sergeant. Because of his abuse, she moved to Santa Barbara in mid-1943 where she was arrested for underage drinking. The authorities sent her back to Massachusetts to live with her family but, she went to Florida instead.

 She later moved to Los Angeles in July 1946 to visit an Army Lieutenant who was one of her friends after which she decided to settle in Los Angeles itself. She worked as a waitress for a living and according to many reports, she had aspirations to become an actress.

Murder and Investigation.

 After a short trip to San Diego with Robert Manley, a married salesman she was dating, Elizabeth returned to her home in Los Angeles. Manley reported dropping her at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles and that was her last sighting.

 On the 15th of January, 1947, Betty Bersinger reported seeing a disfigured corpse on South Norton Avenue near Leimert Park. Elizabeth’s body was naked and split into two from the waist and it appeared inhumanely white due to blood being completely drained out. Examiners reported that she had died at least 10 hours before the discovery of her corpse. The murderer had reportedly washed her body before discarding it.

 The killer had cut her face from ear to ear along her mouth, which gave her body an everlasting eerie smile (Could have been a fan of Kuchisake Onna). Her corpse had multiple severe cuts on her thighs and breasts with chunks of flesh sliced away from the body. Could he also be a Cannibal? The answer remains unknown. The lower half was placed a foot away from her lower half with her intestines placed under her lower part of the body. The corpse was placed with her hands on her head and her legs spread wide.

The autopsy suggested that the body was cut in half by a technique called hemicorporectomy and the cause of her death was haemorrhaging from the slashing of her face. Also, the dilation of her anal suggested rape as well. The Media being unethical, slandered her morality by calling her killing a “sex fiend slaying" and nicknamed her “The Black Dahlia”.

 On the 21st of January, 1947, an editor of the Examiner named James Richardson received a call from a man who claimed himself to be Elizabeth’s killer. According to James, he stated that he would eventually surrender to the police, but only after the police pursued the case further. He had also told James to “expect some souvenirs of Beth Short in the mail”.

 Three days later, a Postal Service worker found an eerie envelope. It was addressed to "The Los Angeles Examiner and other Los Angeles papers" with words being cut and pasted from newspapers. Also, a message on the cover of the envelope read "The Los Angeles Examiner and other Los Angeles papers". The envelope had Elizabeth’s birth certificate, business cards, photographs, names on papers, and an address book that had the name Mark Hanses. The envelope and the things within it were thoroughly cleaned with gasoline to remove all the fingerprints. On the same day, a package was received by The Examiner and it had a handbag and a black shoe. Similar to the envelope, even these objects were carefully cleaned with gasoline by the killer.

 Two days later, The Examiner received another letter which said "Here it is. Turning in Wed., Jan. 29, 10 am. Had my fun at police. Black Dahlia Avenger" and named the location where the killer would surrender additionally. But he did not surrender on an aforesaid day and instead sent another letter to The Examiner saying, “Have changed my mind. You would not give me a square deal. Dahlia killing was justified".

 On the 14th of March of the same year, amidst the ongoing investigations, the police found a suicide note inside the shoe that lay on top of a pile of men's clothing near the ocean’s edge at the foot of Breeze Ave, Venice. "To whom it may concern: I have waited for the police to capture me for the Black Dahlia killing, but have not. I am too much of a coward to turn myself in, so this is the best way out for me. I couldn't help myself for that, or this. Sorry, Mary" is the note’s content.

 So, did the killer actually kill himself or was it one of his moves to fool the police? The answer still remains unknown but, the second possibility seems to be the most probable one. Despite the efforts of 750 investigators and over 500 confessions, the true identity of the killer was never found. The actual daunting fact is that the psychotic killer who could have also been a cannibal roamed around people without letting them know about his true self.