On this day, Jan. 9, in 1947, aspiring actress Elizabeth Short disappeared in what has became known as the Black Dahlia murder case A week later, Short’s mutilated body was discovered cut in half in a vacant lot in Los Angeles.
Newspapers said Short had been known among her friends as the Black Dahlia, a play on a movie title, and because she liked to wear her black hair up like a bouquet.
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Prosecutors said the name was invented by reporters looking to sensationalize the case.
More than 50 people confessed to the murder, and Los Angeles police narrowed the list of suspects to 22. But no arrests were ever made.
The unsolved case has spurred widespread speculation, books, movies and websites.
Theories of the killer have ranged from a nightclub owner to a police officer to legendary director Orson Welles.
— Scott McCabe
