Black Dahlia, The

Elizabeth Ann^[1] Short, posthumously^[2] known as the "Black Dahlia," was discovered murdered on the morning of 15 January 1947.

Background

Short was born in Hyde Park in Boston, Massachusetts on 29 July 1924. She was the third of five daughters born to Cleo Alvin Jr. and Phoebe May^[3] Short (née Sawyer). Her sisters were Virginia, Dorothea, Elenora, and Muriel.

Phoebe and Cleo were married on 11 April 1918. Phoebe Sawyer was born on 2 July 1897 in Milbridge, Maine. Cleo was born on 18 October 1885 in Gloucester, Virginia. Despite having five daughters with Phoebe, Cleo abandoned his family in 1929 (“Black Dahlia”).

Death

Short returned to her home in Los Angeles on 9 January 1947, following a brief trip to San Diego with Robert M. "Red" Manley (Harnisch, “A Slaying...”; Scott 221). Manley was a 25-year-old^[4] red-headed pipe clamp salesman, who had previously been an army corporal (Harnisch, “A Slaying...”; Underwood).

Manley dropped Elizabeth off at 6:30 PM at the Biltmore Hotel^[5] where she was living, located at 506 South Grand Avenue (Harnisch, “A Slaying...”; Scott 221). Allegedly, patrons of the Crown Grill Cocktail Lounge at 754 South Olive Street saw her shortly after that (Scott 221).

Iris Menuay, an acquaintance of Short, confirmed Short's return to Los Angeles, telling police that she had seen her in the lobby of the Chancellor Hotel^[6] on either 9 or 10 January at around 8:30 PM (Hodel, Slocombe).

The bartender at the Four Star Grill, located at 6818 Hollywood Boulevard, Robert "Buddy" La Gore^[7], told police that Short had come into that bar during the late-evening hours of 10 January 1947. La Gore stated that she was accompanied by two other unnamed women (Hodel).

Policewoman Myrl McBride reported that she had encountered Elizabeth at the bus depot in downtown Los Angeles on the afternoon of 14 January. McBride stated that Short had come up to her, "sobbing in terror," and claiming that "Someone wants to kill me [Short]" (Eatwell, Hodel). When questioned further, Short reported that she had come from a bar and had run into an ex-boyfriend, who was also an ex-Marine. McBride alleged that Short "told me [McBride] the suitor had threatened to kill her if he found her with another man" (Eatwell, Hodel).

Following this, McBride escorted Short back into the Main Street bar, where she recovered her purse. Shortly after, McBride witnessed Short reenter the bar, emerging later with two men and a woman. Myrl then spoke briefly with Short once more, who claimed that she "was going to meet her parents at the bus station later in the evening" (Hodel).

However, despite these sightings, the only one which has been repeatedly confirmed is Manley's (Eatwell). Importantly, Short's baggage was checked in at the downtown Greyhound bus station, but was never reclaimed. Police questioned Short's girlfriend^[8] Ann Toth about this inconsistency, or if Short was the type to spend days in the same clothes or if she would borrow the clothes of others often. Toth responded clearly:

No she wasn't. She was the type that didn't want anybody to touch their clothes and she didn't want to touch theirs. She washed everything. She was a very meticulous person.

Discovery

Elizabeth's naked, bisected body was found on a vacant lot on the west side of South Norton Avenue, between Coliseum Street and West 39th Street in Leimert Park, Los Angeles^[9].

Around 10:00 AM on 15 January 1947, local resident^[10] Betty Louise Bersinger saw the body while she was out walking with her three-year-old daughter Anne^[11] (Bartlett; Harnisch, “A Slaying...”). At first, Bersinger supposed that the body was a mannequin (Bartlett; Katz 185). She later recounted in an interview (Harnisch, “A Slaying...”):

My goodness... it was so white. It didn't look like anything more than perhaps an artificial model. It was so white and separated in the middle I noticed the dark hair and this white, white form.

Bersinger rushed to a nearby house in order to call police (Harnisch; Knowlton and Newton 185). However, she did not give the police her name during the call. Official records later indicated that Betty's call was received at 10:54 AM (Hodel). Anne described the nearby house as "being the second house on Norton Avenue from 39th Street, and that it belonged to a doctor" (Hodel). This would put the current address of that house as either 3885 South Norton Avenue or 3878 South Bronson Avenue. However, the identity of the doctor remains unknown.

Investigation

Notes

↑ According to Harnisch, the middle name "Ann" was added by the Los Angeles Times in the 1970s ("Common Myths...").
↑ Some sources claim that Short used this name in life (Gilmore 15, 56; Harnisch "Common Myths..."; Mancall 39; Newton), while others dispute this claim (Blakinger).
↑ Sometimes listed as "Mae."
↑ Manley was born 5 November 1921 and died 9 January 1986, according to the plaque which marks his grave site. Pictures of the plaque can be found here.
↑ Now known as the Millennium Biltmore Los Angeles.
↑ Located at 1842 North Cherokee Avenue, Hollywood.
↑ Sometimes spelled "LaGore."
↑ This is the term used by Eatwell, although others simply state that she roomed with Short at their Carlos Avenue residence (Wolfe). This makes sense, as Toth was the girlfriend of Mark Hansen at the time, who operated the Florentine Gardens in Hollywood.
↑ Specifically, 34.0164°N 118.333°W.
↑ A 1948 voter registration puts Bersinger's address as 3705 South Norton Avenue (and her party affiliation as Republican). Betty currently lives in Roseville, California. The South Norton address is approximately located at 34.019853°N 118.332905°W, only about a five-minute walk from where Short's body was found (according to web service Google Maps).
↑ Anne Louise Bersinger currently lives in Carmichael, California. Her father was John Woods Bersinger, whose obituary is available here. He died on 21 January 2008 ("John Woods Bersinger's Obituary"). Anne attended Occidental College in the 1960s, as indicated by a 1964 Occidental College yearbook.

External Links

References

“Black Dahlia.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 21 Sept. 2016, www.biography.com/people/black-dahlia-21117617.
“John Woods Bersinger's Obituary on Los Angeles Times.” Los Angeles Times, 25 Jan. 2008, www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?n=john-woods-bersinger&pid=101851410.
ELIZABETH ANN SHORT, a.k.a. "THE BLACK DAHLIA" Rep. N.p.: n.p., 2006. Print.
Bartlett, James. “The Black Dahlia: Los Angeles' Most Famous Unsolved Murder.” BBC News, BBC, 8 Jan. 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38513320.
Blakinger, Keri. “Here Are the Things We Still Don't Know about Black Dahlia.” NY Daily News, 15 Jan. 2016, www.nydailynews.com/news/national/don-black-dahlia-article-1.2498088.
Eatwell, Piu Marie. Black Dahlia, Red Rose: the Crime, Corruption, and Cover-up of America's Greatest Unsolved Murder. Liveright Publishing, 2017.
Harnisch, Larry. “A Slaying Cloaked in Mystery and Myths.” Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 1997, articles.latimes.com/1997-01-06/news/mn-15889_1_black-dahlia.
Harnisch, Larry. “Common Myths About the Black Dahlia and Their Origins.” Heaven Is HERE!, Larry Harnisch, 2005, www.lmharnisch.com/myths.html.
Hodel, Steve. Black Dahlia Avenger: A Genius for Murder: The True Story. Arcade Publishing, 2015.
Katz, Hélèna. Cold Cases: Famous Unsolved Mysteries, Crimes, and Disappearances in America. ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2010.
Knowlton, Janice, and Michael Newton. Daddy Was the Black Dahlia Killer. Simon and Schuster, 1995.
Latson, Jennifer. "Black Dahlia Murder Case Hits 68 Years Unsolved." Time.com, Time Inc., 15 Jan. 2015, time.com/3657606/black-dahlia-murder-case/.
Mancall, James N. James Ellroy: a Companion to the Mystery Fiction. McFarland & Company, Inc., 2014.
Newton, Michael. The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes. 2nd ed., Checkmark Books, 2009.
Scott, Cathy. The Crime Book. DK Penguin, 2007.
Slocombe, Romain. Sexy New York: L'Océan De La Stérilité 2. Fayard, 2010.
Underwood, Agness Sullivan. Newspaperwoman. 1st ed., Harper, 1949.
Wolfe, Donald H. The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul, and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles. William Morrow Paperbacks, 2006.

[1] According to Harnisch, the middle name "Ann" was added by the Los Angeles Times in the 1970s ("Common Myths...").

[2] Some sources claim that Short used this name in life (Gilmore 15, 56; Harnisch "Common Myths..."; Mancall 39; Newton), while others dispute this claim (Blakinger).

[3] Sometimes listed as "Mae."

[4] Manley was born 5 November 1921 and died 9 January 1986, according to the plaque which marks his grave site. Pictures of the plaque can be found here.

[5] Now known as the Millennium Biltmore Los Angeles.

[6] Located at 1842 North Cherokee Avenue, Hollywood.

[7] Sometimes spelled "LaGore."

[8] This is the term used by Eatwell, although others simply state that she roomed with Short at their Carlos Avenue residence (Wolfe). This makes sense, as Toth was the girlfriend of Mark Hansen at the time, who operated the Florentine Gardens in Hollywood.

[9] Specifically, 34.0164°N 118.333°W.

[10] A 1948 voter registration puts Bersinger's address as 3705 South Norton Avenue (and her party affiliation as Republican). Betty currently lives in Roseville, California. The South Norton address is approximately located at 34.019853°N 118.332905°W, only about a five-minute walk from where Short's body was found (according to web service Google Maps).

[11] Anne Louise Bersinger currently lives in Carmichael, California. Her father was John Woods Bersinger, whose obituary is available here. He died on 21 January 2008 ("John Woods Bersinger's Obituary"). Anne attended Occidental College in the 1960s, as indicated by a 1964 Occidental College yearbook.

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