Black Dahlia Intro

Elizabeth Short sometime in the mid 1940's.

Elizabeth Short in 1945. Part of her nickname, 'Black Dahlia', came from the fact that she would wear dahlias in her hair.

Elizabeth Short had a number of publicity photos, showing a young woman with many different sides.

Perhaps the best of her publicity photos, Elizabeth Short would include one whenever she passed out her information sheet.

Beth was arrested and booked at one point. Even her mugshots showed a pretty face.

AP photo that Black Dahlia Avenger author Steve Hodel believes was Beth Short

AP photo that Black Dahlia Avenger author Steve Hodel believes was Beth Short

Phoebe Short (left) was Elizabeth's mother. Elizabeth is wearing a dressy coat, perhaps to show her mother that she was becoming a star.

The discovery of Beth's body off the side of the road near Rodeo Drive was sensational news. The media covered any changes in the case, and it was front page news from coast to coast.

One of the investigators, George Wheeler, inspects evidence concerning the Black Dahlia case. Here he is brushing a note, sent annonymously, for fingerprints.

One suspect, Robert 'Red' Manly, took a lie detector test, which the police claimed was inconclusive.

Manly identifies Short's purse and belongings to police.

At one point during the investigation, an envelope was sent to the police department, and media called it the 'Clue Letter'. Since this contained some personal effects of the Black Dahlia, the police were very interested in who sent it. The sender was never found.

The murder of socialite Georgette Bauerdorf seemed to fit the pattern of the Black Dahlia murder case.

Jack Wilson aka Arnold Smith was a possible suspect in both the Bauerdorf and Short murders, but it was never definitively proven that he commited the crimes.

Steve Hodel and bookcover of the Black Dahlia Avenger. Hodel claimed his father was the killer responsible for the Murder of Beth Short.