Black Dahlia suspects

Many Black Dahlia suspects, or persons of interest, have been proposed as the unidentified killer of Elizabeth Short, nicknamed the "Black Dahlia", who was murdered in 1947 in Los Angeles, California.

Short was born in 1924 near Boston, Massachusetts. She relocated to California in 1942, hoping to reconnect with her estranged father but she soon distanced herself from him after a series of arguments. For the next few years Short lived a somewhat unstable lifestyle, moving between different lodgings and employment. She lived in Florida for a period, but moved back to southern California for the final six months of her life.

The final confirmed sighting of Short was in Los Angeles on January 9, 1947. Her body was found on the morning of Jan 15 in an empty lot in the middle-class area of Leimert Park, Los Angeles. Autopsy found she been killed with a blow to the head and bleeding from severe cuts to her face. After death, Short's body was mutilated: she was drained of blood, and carefully bisected at the waist in a manner that led investigators to believe the killer or killers had medical training. She had been killed only about 10-12 hours before discovery of her body. Later in January, someone claiming to be the killer mailed some of Short's personal belongings to the Los Angeles Examiner, including her birth certificate and an address book.

Many suspects and conspiracy theories have been advanced, but none have widespread acceptance and some are not taken seriously at all. The murder investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) was the largest since the murder of Marion Parker in 1927, and involved hundreds of officers borrowed from other law enforcement agencies. Sensational and sometimes inaccurate press coverage, as well as the gruesome nature of the crime, focused intense public attention on the case. As the case continues to command public attention, more people have been proposed as Short's killer, much like London's Jack the Ripper murders. LAPD Sergeant John "Jigsaw John" St. John, an LAPD detective who worked the case until his retirement, stated, "It is amazing how many people offer up a relative as the killer."