Who Is the Black Dahlia?

Elizabeth Short earned the nickname 'Black Dahlia' because of her distinctive appearance and persona. She had jet-black hair and consistently wore black clothing, which became her signature look. The name was coined at a local diner in California and quickly stuck, becoming the moniker by which she would forever be known in true crime history.

The film establishes her preference for black early, showing her wearing black as she claims to be a war widow.

On January 15, 1947, Sergeants Harry Hansen and Finis Brown were called to a vacant lot in Los Angeles where they found Elizabeth Short's mutilated corpse. The body had been carefully bisected in half with surgical precision and completely drained of blood, suggesting the killer had medical or mortuary expertise. The gruesome discovery quickly became headline news across the country.

The package was sent by an anonymous caller who first phoned a newspaper editor claiming responsibility for the murder. The package contained Elizabeth's Social Security card and other identification items that only someone who knew her intimately would possess. Despite this, the sender never made further contact and was never identified. Detective Hansen suspected this person was likely the actual killer, but the case remained unsolved.

The film hints that the caller knew details about the murder that were kept secret from the public.

Dr. Wallace Coppin was a hospital intern who acknowledged having drinks with Elizabeth Short on two occasions. He helped her purchase a cupie doll that she kept as a gift, which is why 'Love, Doc' was written on it. When police investigated, his alibi held up and he was cleared as a suspect. He was one of the last known people to have interacted with Elizabeth before her death.

The cupie doll was a key piece of evidence discovered in Elizabeth Short's suitcase at a bus station locker. Elizabeth had written 'Love, Doc' on the doll herself, referring to Dr. Wallace Coppin, who had helped her purchase it. The doll represented one of the few personal connections investigators could trace, though Dr. Coppin was ultimately cleared as a suspect.

The film shows Dr. Coppin buying the doll for Elizabeth, making its discovery meaningful later.

Miles Harmonder was a wealthy movie theater promoter whose address book was found among Elizabeth Short's belongings in a bus station locker. This made him a person of interest in the investigation. However, before police could thoroughly question him, Harmonder was found to have committed suicide, eliminating him as a viable suspect and closing one of the few promising leads in the case.

Police identified Elizabeth Short through her fingerprints, which had been taken during an arrest for underage drinking in 1944. When her fingerprints were sent to Washington D.C. from the 1947 crime scene, they were matched to her records, confirming her identity. At the time of her arrest in 1944, she was 19 years old.

The case remained unsolved primarily because Elizabeth Short lived a secretive, transient lifestyle with no fixed address and frequently changed her circumstances. While many people confessed to killing her, none could provide the three critical facts that investigators kept from the public. The anonymous caller who sent the package knew intimate details but never revealed himself, and all promising suspects either had alibis or died, including Miles Harmonder's suicide.

In her last days, Elizabeth Short was seen checking into the Mayfair Hotel with her suitcase. She was later observed leaving the hotel carrying her suitcase, which she placed in a locker before disappearing. Despite extensive investigation, no witnesses came forward who saw her during the final six days of her life, creating a critical gap in understanding what happened to her before her body was discovered.

Elizabeth Short claimed to be the widow of a war hero to create a mysterious and sympathetic persona that would help her in Hollywood. She used this fabricated identity while working at an army base PX and while going out with different men in Los Angeles. This lie added to her enigmatic reputation and became part of the Black Dahlia legend.

The film shows her telling this lie to her supervisor at the army base.