Scott Paden

Monica Lott

Eng 11011

October 23, 2008

The Black Dahlia

The 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short has remained one of Hollywood’s most notorious unsolved cases in Los Angeles history. The cold case has been passed down from detective to detective searching answers or any clues to help put the case to rest. The Black Dahlia was actually Elizabeth Short: a young, aspiring actress from a small town in Massachusetts.

Elizabeth or Beth, as known by many, was born July 29, 1924 in Hyde Park, Massachusetts. (Beth Short). Elizabeth was the daughter of Cleo and Phoebe Short. (Beth Short). In 1929, Beth’s father Cleo disappeared, and his truck was found near a bridge, convincing people that he had committed suicide. (Beth …show more content…

I also believe he was teasing police; therefore, this is not the theory I believe.

Janice Knowlton is daughter of George Knowlton, and author of novel Daddy Was The Black Dahlia Killer. In the book, Janice discusses her father and her rough past with incest and brutality. (Beth Short). She talks about facts of the murder that only the LAPD knew about, and believes that her father killed Elizabeth Short. In 2004, Janice committed suicide for what doctors thought was due to psychological problems (Beth Short). Janice’s sister later said that Janice simply confused her father with George Hodel. There is still no explanation for how Janice knew of the confidential information about the case. This theory also comes off to me as having very weak evidence supporting this, therefore, I also do not believe in this theory.

While every lead and every suspect checked out, nothing conclusive ever came from the investigation. However, LAPD Detective Brian Carr and LA Times Reporter Larry Harnisch believe that they have stumbled new evidence and a new lead in the case. (Black Dahlia Avenger). When Harnisch was doing a little personal research of his own, he came across a marriage document. The document included an address only a block south of the lot where Elizabeth Short’s body was found. This theory states that Dr. Walter Bayley murdered Elizabeth Short. Dr. Bayley knew Elizabeth, because his daughter was friends of Elizabeth’s older