The Crime Book

222 BLACK DAHLIA

Angeles Papers. Here is Dahlia’s

belongings. Letter to follow.” Inside

were Short’s birth certificate, social

security card, photographs, and an

address book embossed with the

name Mark Hansen.

Three more letters were

received from a person identifying

as the “Black Dahlia Avenger”. The

first was handwritten in ink on a

postcard and declared “Here it is.

Turning in Wed., Jan. 29, 10 a.m.

Had my fun at police. Black Dahlia

Avenger.” The second letter, again

in cut out letters, stated “Dahlia

Killer cracking – wants terms.”

However, on 29 January, a third

letter indicated the killer’s

change of heart. Cut-and-pasted

newspaper letters formed the

message: “have changed my mind.

You would not give me a square

deal. Dahlia killing was justified.”

Front page news

Early in the investigation, LAPD

investigators interviewed more

than 150 men as potential suspects.

Ann Toth told detectives that Mark

Hansen had tried to seduce Short,

but had been rejected. With a

plausible motive, Hansen became

the number one suspect.

Next, police recovered Short’s

handbag and a shoe from the top

of a waste bin 3 km (2 miles) from

Don’t try to find the Short

girl’s murderer because

you won’t.

Unidentified caller

Body found by Betty Bersinger

Elizabeth Short is murdered by

a heavy blow to the head

Her face is slashed from ear to ear and her arms,

thighs, and right breast are lacerated

The two halves of her body are placed a short distance apart

with her intestines positioned under her buttocks

Her body is severed at the waist, drained of blood,

and carefully washed

Short’s body is transported to a vacant lot between

Coliseum Street and West 39th Street

Her corpse is posed in a sexually degrading manner with

her arms raised above her head and legs spread

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223

Chief suspect Robert “Red” Manley

embraces his wife Harriet at the police

station shortly after his release. He had

an affair with Short soon after his wife

gave birth to their first child.

MURDER CASES

where Short’s body was found. The

items had been wiped clean with

petrol, erasing any fingerprints.

Mark Hansen identified the

handbag and shoe as belonging to

Short but denied using the address

book bearing his name. No charges

were brought against him, though,

and he was released. Attention

turned to Robert Manley. He was

officially named as a suspect, and,

in interviews, initially denied

knowing Short before changing his

story. However, after twice passing

polygraph tests, he was released.

For several months, the murder

dominated the front pages of

newspapers as the media

sensationalized the life and death

of Elizabeth Short. Following the

established practice of assigning

high-profile female murder victims

a floral nickname, the papers called

her case the “Black Dahlia murder”

on account of Short’s preference for

black clothing and for the dahlia

she wore in her dyed black hair.

Staged and posed murder scenes

Some criminals deliberately

alter crime scenes to confuse

forensic investigators. This

practice is known as “staging”.

This differs from “posing”,

which is when a killer places

the corpse in a specific position,

marks something on a body,

or takes a souvenir, such as a

piece of jewellery or clothing. An

offender might cover the face,

wash the victim’s hair or body,

or tie ligatures using a unique

knot. While posing can be a

message to the police or to the

public, it can also serve a killer’s

own fantasies. The Black Dahlia

murderer placed Short’s body in

a sexually degrading pose, much

like Jack the Ripper’s signature

posing, which represented

complete control and humiliation

even after death.

However, these practices

assist criminal profilers, because

they often provide insights into

the characteristics, mindset,

and behavioural patterns of the

criminal that can help police to

link a series of crimes together.

Unsolved enigma

The murder investigation slowed

until the summer of 1949, when

36-year-old Louise Springer, a

beauty shop worker, was found

garroted in the back seat of her

husband’s car on West 38th Street,

one block from where Short’s

remains were discovered. Many

believed the Black Dahlia killer had

struck again. The LAPD launched

another manhunt, this time probing

both murders, but concluded that

the cases were not related.

Despite the long investigation,

the Black Dahlia murder remains

unsolved. Many attempts have

since been made to profile the

killer. Experts generally believe that

the killer was medically trained,

male, and craved the limelight.

One remarkable feature of the

Black Dahlia case was the number

of people – around 500 – who

voluntarily confessed to Short’s

murder. The vast majority of them

were deemed to crave notoriety and

all were discounted. Experts have

also expressed doubts about the

authenticity of the letters sent by

the so-called “Avenger”, suggesting

that they were a ploy to sell more

newspapers. Today, the Black

Dahlia murder remains the most

perplexing unsolved case in the

history of the LAPD. ■

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