The Crime Book

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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