hollywoodland
The Black Dahlia (Elizabeth Short): A Gruesome Murder, a Corrupt Police Department, and an Unsolvable Mystery
Listen Free:
Amazon Music | iHeart | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify
In January 1947, the mutilated body of 22-year old Elizabeth Short was found, literally cut in half, in a vacant lot in Los Angeles. Even though hundreds of suspects were investigated and dozens of confessions were made, her murder remains unsolved to this day. In the years since, the case has gotten warm and cold again. Speculation into motive and method has been endless. And the deeper you look, the murkier the case becomes. It’s a case populated by drunks and junkies, syphilitic ex-cons and petty thieves, kingpins of organized crime, and the most corrupt police officers to ever wear a badge. And it still continues to this day.
Sources
Black Dahlia Avenger: The True Story, by Steve Hodel
Severed: The True Story of the Black Dahlia, by John Gilmore
Has the Black Dahlia Murder Finally Been Solved? (Rolling Stone)
N.Y. Dishwasher Gives Clue to Black Dahlia Murder (Desert Sun)
FBI Records: The Vault – Black Dahlia murder (FBI.gov)
Suspect Held in Slaying of Woman in LA (Madera Tribune)
Unsolved Mysteries: The Killing of the Black Dahlia (Medium)
I know who killed the Black Dahlia: My own father (The Guardian)
John Gilmore (1935-2016): The Black Dahlia and the Bunco Artist (Los Angeles Review of Books)
Credits
Hosted by Jake Brennan.
Written by Zeth Lundy.
Copy edited by Pat Healy.
Scored and mixed by Matt Beaudoin.
Additional music and score elements by Ryan Spraker.
*illustrations by Avi Spivak @avispivak