THE BLACK DAHLIA

The 1947 Murder of Elizabeth Short

The Life of
Elizabeth Short
Elizabeth Short was born on July 29, 1924 in Hyde Park,
Massachusetts. Shortly after she was born, her parents
moved the family to Medford, Massachusetts.

Cleo Short, Elizabeth’s father, was making a living designing

and building miniature golf courses. When the Great
Depression hit in 1929, he abandoned his wife, Phoebe
Short, and his five daughters. Cleo proceeded to fake his
suicide, leaving his empty car near a bridge leading
authorities to believe he had jumped into the river below.

Elizabeth, known as “Betty,” “Bette,” or “Beth,” grew up

to be a pretty girl. She was always told that she looked
older and acted more mature than she really was.
Journey to California
When Elizabeth was older, Cleo offered her
residency with him in California until she was
able to find a job. Elizabeth had worked in
restaurants and theaters in the past, but she
knew she wanted to be a star if she moved to
California. Elizabeth applied for a job as a
cashier at the Post Exchange at Camp Cooke.
The servicemen quickly noticed her, and she
won the title of “Camp Cutie of Camp Cooke” in
a beauty contest.
Elizabeth did little housework for the
French family and continued her Her Final
Days
late-night partying and dating habits. One
of the men she became enamored with
was Robert “Red” Manley, a salesman from
Los Angeles who had a pregnant wife at
home. Manley admitted that he was
attracted to Elizabeth yet claimed that he
never slept with her. Manley had an Manley and the hotel employees were the
appointment in the morning of January 9 last people to see Elizabeth Short alive. As
and returned to the hotel to pick Elizabeth far as the Los Angeles Police Department
up around noon. She told him that she could tell, only Elizabeth’s killer saw her
was returning to Massachusetts but first after January 9, 1947. She was missing for
needed to meet her married sister at the six days from the Biltmore Hotel before
Biltmore Hotel in Hollywood. Manley drove her body was found in a vacant lot on the
her there yet did not stick around. morning of January 15, 1947.
 Crime Scene
When police arrived on the scene, they found
the body of a young woman who had been
bisected, displayed face-up on the ground with
her arms over her head and her lower half
placed a foot away from her torso. Her legs were
wide open in a vulgar position, and her mouth
had three-inch slashes on each side. Rope
burns were found on her wrists and ankles. Her
head face and body was bruised and cut. There
was little blood at the scene, indicating whoever
left her, washed the body before bringing it in the
lot.
Through fingerprints, the
body was soon identified as
22-year-old Elizabeth Short
or as the press called her,
"The Black Dahlia." A
massive investigation into
finding her murderer was
launched. Because of the
brutality of the murder and
Elizabeth's sometimes
sketchy lifestyle, rumors and
speculation were rampant,
often being incorrectly
reported as fact in
newspapers.
Suspects
Due to the way Elizabeth Short was cleanly cut in
two, the LAPD was convinced that her murderer had
some sort of medical training. The University of
Southern California complied with the LAPD and
sent them a list of their medical students. However,
the first suspected arrested for Elizabeth Short’s
murder was not one of these medical students. His
name was Robert “Red” Manley. Manley was one of
the last people to see Elizabeth Short alive. Because
his alibi for January 14 and 15 was solid and because
he passed two lie detector tests, the LAPD let him
go.
 Who Killed Elizabeth Short?
The Short Answer
We don’t know. The murder of Elizabeth Short remains
a cold case. A cold case is an unsolved criminal
investigation that will remain open for the discovery of
new evidence. However, the decades that have passed
since Elizabeth Short’s murder make the chances slim
for finding the little forensic evidence that remains. It is
doubtful that her murder will ever truly be solved.