The Morbidly Fascinating Page
This Month's Subject:
The Black Dahlia
See John Gilmore's article HERE
IN THE ARCHIVES:
Permanent Halloween Costumes
Dr. Ochi
Victorian Post-Mortem Photography
Flesh-Eating Bacteria
Autopsy
Death Scenes
Circus Freaks
PIECES OF ELIZABETH: An Ode to the Black Dahlia
by Dennis Bagwell
See: Dennis Bagwell HERE
Impressionable young girl
With stars in her eyes
Went west from Boston
To chase some giddy lies
Like a thousand girls before her
She headed to Hollywood
She became more famous
Than she ever thought she could
She came looking as they do
For a job and a thrill
Hollywood will screw you, they say
When no one else will
In a grassy vacant lot
On a January day
At 39th and Norton
In the city of L.A.
Another transient victim
Another shocking death
But this one had a name
It was Elizabeth
How did she arrive
To meet such a fate?
Why was her murderer
Filled with so much hate?
Whatever his motive
He had something to say
To pose her for the world
And put her on display
Both legs were broken
Right about the knee
Burn marks on her breasts
For everyone to see
Her internal organs missing
And gashes most obscene
Her mouth cut ear to ear
Like a pumpkin on Halloween
Her teeth were all broken
Her face and nose were smashed
She was discarded in the night
Like someone's dirty trash
The worst thing of all I think
On the morning she was found
Was her naked body cut in half
On the dew covered ground
Was the killer a drifter?
Some nameless homeless bum?
Did he torture her for days?
Liquored up on rum?
Maybe he was distinguished
Prosperous and rich
Who ever the animal was
He was an evil son of a bitch
Could it have been a doctor?
Or some other medical pro?
Elizabeth can't answer
So the world will never know
Who failed to provide
This young girl's basic needs?
It's too late now to ask
When she's lying in the weeds
She was no perfect angel
But didn't't deserve this slaughter
She was someone's pretty sister
She was someone's troubled daughter
An unfortunate situation
To get into such a spot
One she couldn't't get out of
In that cold and vacant lot
Like a thousand girls before her
She headed to Hollywood
She became more famous
Than she ever thought she would
January 15, 2014 is the 67th anniversary of The Black Dahlia's Death.
What happened to Elizabeth Short?
The Black Dahlia murder hit post-War Los Angeles like a bombshell and this impenetrable mystery was the haunting crown jewel of LAPD’s unsolved murders. Even before her savage death, beautiful 22-year old Elizabeth Short, an aspiring starlet and nightclub habitué, was known as the Black Dahlia. Since her horrible demise, she has become a magnetic icon in American pop culture, a mythical symbol of noir Hollywood.
On January 15, 1947 a woman had been walking on the sidewalk in the 3800 block of Norton St., in Liemert Park, Los Angeles. She caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a department store mannequin lying in the weeds; the top half separated from the lower half. As she approached the mannequin, she realized that it was actually the nude body of a woman.
Officers Frank Perkins and Will Fitzgerald were the first upon scene. What they saw both shocked and appalled them. The body had been severely mutilated and in fact, cut in half. The dead woman had been posed with her arms above her head and her face and breasts had been slashed. Rope burns marked her ankles and her legs were spread eagle with the letters “BD” carved into one thigh.
Shortly after Beth's funeral, a mysterious package arrived at the LA police department. It contained Beth's belongings including her purse, ID, the address book of a local nightclub owner. Upon examination of the returned items, it was determined that no possible lead could come from the evidence. Everything had been washed in gasoline, removing all fingerprints.
To date, according to the LAPD, the case goes unsolved.
MEET JOHN GILMORE, AN EXPERT IN THE POST-INVESTIGATION AND AUTHOR OF SEVERED
See John's article about Elizabeth Short HERE
Read more about Elizabeth Short at
