Black Dahlia and the stench of rotting flesh

Elizabeth Short aka Black Dahlia
where: 
Los Angeles, California
when: 
1947
The Story: 

Elizabeth Short, born in Boston before being brutally murdered in L.A. is one of the most famous aspiring actresses in crime history and was known as the Black Dahlia.

This notorious cold case is most known for the vicious way in which Betty was severely mutilated then cut in half, her body found by a female resident in the area. She was found on the 15th January 1947 in a vacant lot, her corpse bare and grotesquely exposed. She had been dissected, mutilated and her lifeless body drained of blood.

A detective named Brian Carr was reported to have said "I just can't imagine someone doing that to another human being." Despite a serious lack of evidence, one of very few clues was a sole witness who reported a suspicious black sedan around the area in the early hours of the morning when Betty was killed. The mix of unreliable witnesses and lack of evidence has contributed to making this one of the most disturbing cold cases I've reaserched.

According to the Sun, the investigation team unearthed evidence to do with a previous suspect Mr Hodel. Mr Hodel's father, Dr Hodel had his house searched and cadaver dogs were brought in as they can detect the stench of rotten flesh. Samples were reported to have been taken from the dirt in the basement to be submitted for lab testing. An unusual phone call was also recorded between Dr Hodel and an unknown person in which Hodel allegedly said "Supposin' I did kill the Black Dahlia. They couldn't prove it now.

They can't talk to my secretary because she's dead." Will we ever find out the answers to who, why or how this happened?

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