Elizabeth Short: differenze tra le versioni

Versione delle 19:24, 15 apr 2006

Versione delle 20:52, 17 apr 2006

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Le indagini sul "delitto della Dalia Nera" della Polizia di [[Los Angeles]] sono state fra le più vaste nella storia del Dipartimento ed hanno coinvolto centinaia di agenti ed ispettori, perfino di altri dipartimenti. I sospettati sono stati centinaia e migliaia le persone interrogate. Fortissima è stata l'attenzione dell'[[opinione pubblica]] sul caso, la cui complessità è stata ampliata dalla curiosità dei [[giornale|giornali]], dovuta alla natura del delitto.

Si sono autoaccusate dellDell'[[omicidio]] sono state accusate (o si sono auto-accusate) almeno 60 persone -, in larga parte [[uomo|uomini]], anche se ci furono anche alcune [[donna|donne]]. Dai documenti ufficiali degli investigatori della Polizia di [[Los Angeles]] risultano però 22 sospetti "principali".

Di seguito, riportiamo una breve biografia di alcuni di questi sospettati.

==Alcuni dei principali sospettati==

===Walter Alonzo Bayley===

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===Joseph A. Dumais===

'''Joseph A. Dumais''', [[soldato]] di 29 anni di stanza in [[New Jersey]], è stato uno dei primi ad auto-accusarsi del delitto poche settimane dopo che questo è avvenuto. Tutta la stampa di [[Los Angeles]] ha entusiasticamente sostenuto l'ipotesi, fin quando si è scoperto che Dumais era alla sua base di appartenenza in [[New Jersey]] al momento dell'omicidio. Gli investigatori, a differenza della stampa, lasciarono cadere immediatamente l'ipotesi. Durante gli [[Anni 1950|anni cinquanta'50]], Dumais è stato arrestato più volte per reati minori ed ogni volta ha continuato ad auto-accusarsi del delitto Short.

===Woody Guthrie===

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'''Woody Guthrie''', cantante [[musica folk|folk]], è stato iscritto nel registro degli indagati per aver [[molestia|molestato]] una donna [[California|californiana]] di cui era innamorato con lettere minatorie e contenenti pesanti allusioni sessuali. Gli investigatori hanno ipotizzato un suo coinvolgimento nel caso Short, ma non sono state trovate prove sufficienti. Guthrie è stato comunque posto sotto processo per [[molestia|molestie]].

<!--===George Hodel===

'''George Hodel''', [[fisico]] specializzato in salute pubblica, è stato posto per la prima volta sotto osservazione dalla Polizia di [[Los Angeles]] nell'[[Ottobre]] del [[1949]], quando sua figlia quindicenne Tamara lo ha accusato di [[molestia|molestie]]. Il caso ha suscitato qualche sospetto di collegamento con il caso Short, tanto che le autorità decisero di porre il dottor Hodel sotto sorveglianza dal [[18 Febbraio]] al [[27 Marzo]] [[1950]] per accertare la sua eventuale implicazione nel delitto.

Nel rapporto finale dell'accusa al Grand Jury di [[Los Angeles]], consegnato allo stesso il [[20 Febbraio]] [[1951]], si legge:

Dr. George Hodel came under police scrutiny in October 1949, when his 14-year-old daughter, Tamar, accused him of molesting her. Hodel was tried and acquitted of these charges in December 1949. The molestation case led the LAPD to included Hodel, a physician specializing in public health (not a surgeon), among its many suspects in the Dahlia case. Authorities put Hodel under surveillance from Feb. 18 to March 27, [[1950]] to ascertain whether he was implicated in the murder. In the final report to the grand jury dated Feb. 20, [[1951]], Lt. Frank Jemison of the [[Los Angeles County]] district attorney's office wrote:

{{quote|Il dottor George Hodel ''[...]'' al momento dell'[[omicidio]] aveva una [[clinica]] sulla East 1st Street, vicino Alameda. Lillian Lenorak ''(una delle sue pazienti con problemi mentali, successivamente trasferita in un'altro ospedale,'' ndr'')'', che viveva con il dottor Hodel, ha affermato di aver trascorso con lui del tempo nei paraggi dell'Hotel Biltmore ''(il luogo dove Elizabeth Short è stata trovata morta,'' ndr'')'' e di aver identificato la Short come una delle fidanzate del dottore.<br>Tamara Hodel, la figlia di quindici anni, ha dichiarato che sua madre Dorothy le ha confidato che, la notte dell'[[omicidio]], suo padre è stato fuori tutta la notte per un [[party]] e che le ha detto: "Non saranno mai capaci di provare che l'ho uccisa io". Due microfoni sono stati piazzati nella casa del sospetto.<br>L'informatrice Lillian Lenorak è stata trasferita all'Istituto Statale per cure mentali di Camarillo. Joe Barrett, che vive nello stesso residence del dottor Hodel, ha cooperato come informatore. E' stata sequestrata dagli effetti personali del dottor Hodel una [[foto]] dell'accusato, dove era ritratto nudo assieme ad una modella di colore, anch'essa nuda e successivamente identificata come Mattie Comfort ''[...]''. La Confort ha affermato che è stata con il dottor Hodel prima del delitto e che non sapeva assolutamente che l'accusato fosse in qualche modo collegato alla vittima.<br>Rudolph Waters, che si sa abbia conosciuto sia la vittima che il sospettato, ha asserito che non ha mai visto la vittima ed Hodel assieme e che non crede alla possibilità che i due si conoscessero. Le seguenti persone, interrogate, non hanno saputo fornire nessun dato capace di collegare il sospetto alla vittima ''[...]''. Cfr. anche i rapporti supplementari, i resoconti e le registrazioni, tutte tendenti ad eliminare Hodel dalla lista dei sospetti.}}

::Doctor George Hodel, M.D., 5121 Fountain Ave., at the time of this murder had a clinic at East 1st Street near Alameda. Lillian Lenorak [note: a mental patient later confined to the state hospital at Camarillo] who lived with this doctor said he spent some time around the [[Biltmore Hotel]] and identified the photo of victim Short as a photo of one of the doctor's girlfriends. Tamara Hodel, 15-year-old daughter, stated that her mother, Dorothy Hodel, had told her that her father had been out all night on a party the night of this murder and said: "They'll never be able to prove I did that murder." Two microphones were placed in this suspect's home[http://www.lmharnisch.com/recordings/record001.html] (see the logs and recordings made over approximately three weeks' time which tend to prove his innocence. See statement of Dorothy Hodel, former wife[http://www.lmharnisch.com/recordings/dhodel001.html]). Informant Lillian Lenorak has been committed to the State Mental Institution at Camarillo. Joe Barrett, a roomer at the Hodel residence cooperated as an informant. A photograph of the suspect in the nude with a nude identified colored model was secured from his personal effects. Undersigned identified this model as Mattie Comfort 3423 1/2 S. Arlington, RE public 4953. She said that she was with Doctor Hodel sometime prior to the murder and that she knew nothing about his being associated with victim. Rudolph Walters, known to have been acquainted with victim and also with suspect Hodel claimed that he had not seen victim in the presence of Hodel and did not believe that the doctor had ever met the victim. The following acquaintances of Hodel were questioned and none were able to connect this suspect with this murder--Fred Sexton, 1020 White Knoll Drive; Nita Moladoro, 1617 1/2 N. Normandie; Ellen Taylor, 5121 Fountain Ave.; Finley Thomas, 616 1/2 S. Normandie; Mildred B. Colby, 4629 Vista Del Monte St., Sherman Oaks, this witness was a girlfriend of Charles Smith, abortionist friend of Hodel; Tarin Gilkey, 1025 N. Wilcox; Irene Summerset, 1236 1/4 N. Edgmont; Norman Beckett, 1025 N. Wilcox; Ethel Kane, 1033 N. Wilcox; Annette Chase, 1039 N. Wkilcox; Dorothy Royer, 1636 N. Beverly Glenn. See supplemental reports, long sheets and hear recordings, all of which tend to eliminate this suspect.

('''N.B.''' La traduzione del rapporto non è del tutto letterale, ma ne è stato comunque rispettato il senso. Sono stati rimossi gli indirizzi dei soggetti citati e i nominativi completi delle persone ascoltate perchè ininfluenti.)

:In 2003, George Hodel's son, former LAPD Homicide Detective Steve Hodel, published a book claiming his father, who died in 1999, had in fact committed the Black Dahlia murder as well as a host of unsolved murders over the better part of two decades. Steve Hodel says he came up with the idea when he saw two pictures in his dead father's photo album that he claims resemble Short, although Short's family insists they are not of her and many other observers have failed to see the resemblance.[http://laweekly.com/ink/printme.php?eid=45474]. Steve Hodel claims he was unaware at the time that his father had been a suspect in the case, although his sister Tamar was friends with ''Daddy Was the Black Dahlia Killer'' author Janice Knowlton and case documents make it clear that his parents and many of their associates knew the senior Hodel was a suspect. After reviewing the information presented in Steve Hodel's book, Head Deputy D.A. Stephen Kay ([[Manson Family]] prosecutor) proclaimed the case "solved," but others have noted that Kay, who has since retired, formed this conclusion by treating Steve Hodel's many disputed assertions as established fact. Detective Brian Carr, the LAPD officer currently in charge of the Black Dahlia case, said in a televised interview that he was baffled by Kay's response, adding that if he ever took a case as weak as Steve Hodel's to a prosecutor he would be "laughed out of the office." Author [[James Ellroy]] endorsed Steve Hodel's theory in the foreword to the paperback version of Hodel's book.[http://www.blackdahliaavenger.com/Forewordfnl.doc]

Nel [[2003]], Steve Hodel (figlio del dottor Hodel ed ex-[[detective]] della Sezione Omicidi della Polizia di [[Los Angeles]]) ha pubblicato un [[libro]] in cui afferma che il padre, deceduto nel [[1999]], è il responsabile sia dell'[[omicidio]] della "Dalia Nera" che di un ampio numero di [[omicidio|omicidi]] irrisolti commessi lungo un ventennio. L'ex-detective Steve Hodel ha affermato di aver maturato questa ipotesi dopo aver trovato due [[foto]] del padre in compagnia di una ragazza simile ad Elizabeth Short - anche se la famiglia della Short insiste nel negare ogni somiglianza fra la ragazza nella foto e la vitima. Steve Hodel inoltre sostiene di non essere stato a conoscenza che all'epoca il padre fosse uno dei sospetati - nonostante sua sorella Tamara fosse amica di Janice Knowlton, autrice di "Mio padre è l'assassino della Dalia Nera" (vedi più sotto), e nonostante i documenti rendono chiaro come i parenti e anche alcuni soci del Dottor Hodel sapessero che era stato inserito nella lista dei sospetti.

---

Dopo aver analizzato le informazioni presentate nel libro di Steve Hodel, il Vice-Capo D.A.<!--titolo da tradurre!!!--> Stephen Kay (che è stato anche [[pubblico ministero]] nel processo alla "[[Charles Manson|famiglia Manson]]") ha dichiarato il caso "chiuso". Molti hanno però notato che Kay - ritiratosi in pensione subito dopo - abbia formulato il suo giudizio considerando le affermazioni di Steve Hodel come fatti inconfutabili. Non sono mancati invece i critici che hanno contestato le affermazioni di Hodel. Il [[Detective]] Brian Carr, attualmente responsabile del caso, ha affermato in una intervista televisiva che il responso di Kay lo ha lasciato "confuso" ed ha anzi aggiunto che se avesse portato al pubblico ministero un impianto accusatorio debole come quello di Steve Hodel sarebbe stato "cacciato fuori dal suo ufficio".

*'''George Knowlton''': Little reliable information is available on George Knowlton, except that he lived in the Los Angeles area at the time of the Black Dahlia murder and died in an automobile accident in 1962. In the early 1990s, George Knowlton's daughter, Janice Knowlton, began claiming that she had witnessed her father murdering Elizabeth Short, a claim she based largely on "recovered memories" that surfaced during psychological therapy. The Los Angeles Times said in 1991:

<!--===George Knowlton===

::Los Angeles Police Detective John P. St. John, one of the investigators who had been assigned to the case, said he has talked to Knowlton and does not believe there is a connection between the Black Dahlia murder and her father. "We have a lot of people offering up their fathers and various relatives as the Black Dahlia killer," said St. John, better known as Jigsaw John. "The things that she is saying are not consistent with the facts of the case."

*'''George Knowlton''': Little reliable information is available on George Knowlton, except that he lived in the Los Angeles area at the time of the Black Dahlia murder and died in an automobile accident in 1962. In the early 1990s, George Knowlton's daughter, Janice Knowlton, began claiming that she had witnessed her father murdering Elizabeth Short, a claim she based largely on "recovered memories" that surfaced during psychological therapy. The Los Angeles Times said in 1991:

:But the Westminster Police Department took her claims seriously enough to dig up the grounds around Ms. Knowlton's childhood home, looking for evidence. They found nothing to tie George Knowlton to the crime. In 1995, Ms. Knowlton created a sub-genre as the first person to publish a book claiming that his or her own father committed the Black Dahlia murder. The book was written with veteran crime writer [[Michael Newton]]. In the book Ms. Knowlton, a former professional singer and owner of a public relations company, alleged that her father had been having an affair with Elizabeth Short and that Short was staying in a makeshift bedroom in their garage, where she suffered a miscarriage. Ms. Knowlton said she was later forced to accompany her father when he disposed of the body.[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671880845/103-2188749-1951860?v=glance]. Ms. Knowlton claimed that a former member of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department told her that George Knowlton was considered a suspect in the case by that agency, but this claim is unsupported by public documents that have since been released in the case. She claimed the same source told her that future LAPD chief and California politician [[Ed Davis]] and Los Angeles County District Attorney Buron Fitts were suspects in the murder as well. Janice Knowlton died of an overdose of prescription drugs in 2004, in what was deemed a suicide by the [[Orange County]], CA, coroner's office.

::{{quote|Los Angeles Police Detective John P. St. John, one of the investigators who had been assigned to the case, said he has talked to Knowlton and does not believe there is a connection between the Black Dahlia murder and her father. "We have a lot of people offering up their fathers and various relatives as the Black Dahlia killer," said St. John, better known as Jigsaw John. "The things that she is saying are not consistent with the facts of the case."}}

:In a curious side note to her accusations against her father, Ms. Knowlton, who was a frequent contributor as [http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&q=jgk61+&qt_s=Search jgk61] to various online forums where the Black Dahlia case was discussed, posted [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.news-media/msg/520d0ca8b1f82d31?hl=en/ this article] to a Usenet group in August 1998, in which she names Dr. George Hodel as a suspect in the case. George Hodel was the father of Steve Hodel, who published a book in 2003 naming his father as the killer. Ms. Knowlton's sister has since stated on amazon.com's web page for her sister's book, ''Daddy Was the Black Dahlia Killer'', that after publication of Ms. Knowlton's book, Tamar Hodel, daughter of George Hodel and sister of Steve Hodel, contacted Ms. Knowlton and the two women remained "email pals for several years".

:But the Westminster Police Department took her claims seriously enough to dig up the grounds around Ms. Knowlton's childhood home, looking for evidence. They found nothing to tie George Knowlton to the crime. In 1995, Ms. Knowlton created a sub-genre as the first person to publish a book claiming that his or her own father committed the Black Dahlia murder. The book was written with veteran crime writer [[Michael Newton]]. In the book Ms. Knowlton, a former professional singer and owner of a public relations company, alleged that her father had been having an affair with Elizabeth Short and that Short was staying in a makeshift bedroom in their garage, where she suffered a miscarriage. Ms. Knowlton said she was later forced to accompany her father when he disposed of the body.[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671880845/103-2188749-1951860?v=glance]. Ms. Knowlton claimed that a former member of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department told her that George Knowlton was considered a suspect in the case by that agency, but this claim is unsupported by public documents that have since been released in the case. She claimed the same source told her that future LAPD chief and California politician [[Ed Davis]] and Los Angeles County District Attorney Buron Fitts were suspects in the murder as well. Janice Knowlton died of an overdose of prescription drugs in 2004, in what was deemed a suicide by the [[Orange County]], CA, coroner's office.

:Ms. Knowlton also made claims prefiguring those of ''Black Dahlia Files'' author Donald Wolfe. In 1999, she claimed in various public fora that Norman Chandler participated in a cover-up of the murder. Ms. Knowlton claimed that on Halloween 1946 she was sold as a child prostitute to a Pasadena devil-worshiping sex cult at the age of 9 (''Daddy Was the Black Dahlia Killer'', Page 128). She frequently alleged that she was sold as a child prostitute to a long list of dead movie stars and other notables, including [[Norman Chandler]], [[Gene Autry]] (whose name she continually misspelled as Autrey), [[Arthur Freed]] and [[Walt Disney]]. Knowlton became so abusive in her [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.true-crime/browse_thread/thread/8697985d89f9cf0d/6597d7598ac16723?lnk=st&q=jgk61+pacbell&rnum=2#6597d7598ac16723Usenet Usenet posts] that Pacbell canceled her account in 1999.

:In a curious side note to her accusations against her father, Ms. Knowlton, who was a frequent contributor as [http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&q=jgk61+&qt_s=Search jgk61] to various online forums where the Black Dahlia case was discussed, posted [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.news-media/msg/520d0ca8b1f82d31?hl=en/ thisan article] to a Usenet group in August 1998, in which she names Dr. George Hodel as a suspect in the case. George Hodel was the father of Steve Hodel, who published a book in 2003 naming his father as the killer. Ms. Knowlton's sister has since stated on amazon.com's web page for her sister's book, ''Daddy Was the Black Dahlia Killer'', that after publication of Ms. Knowlton's book, Tamar Hodel, daughter of George Hodel and sister of Steve Hodel, contacted Ms. Knowlton and the two women remained "email pals for several years".

---

:Ms. Knowlton also made claims prefiguring those of ''Black Dahlia Files'' author Donald Wolfe. In 1999, she claimed in various public fora that Norman Chandler participated in a cover-up of the murder. Ms. Knowlton claimed that on Halloween 1946 she was sold as a child prostitute to a Pasadena devil-worshiping sex cult at the age of 9 (''Daddy Was the Black Dahlia Killer'', Page 128). She frequently alleged that she was sold as a child prostitute to a long list of dead movie stars and other notables, including [[Norman Chandler]], [[Gene Autry]] (whose name she continually misspelled as Autrey), [[Arthur Freed]] and [[Walt Disney]]. Knowlton became so abusive in her [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.true-crime/browse_thread/thread/8697985d89f9cf0d/6597d7598ac16723?lnk=st&q=jgk61+pacbell&rnum=2#6597d7598ac16723Usenet Usenet posts] that Pacbell canceled her account in 1999.

*'''Robert M. "Red" Manley''': The last person seen with Elizabeth Short before her disappearance, Manley was the LAPD's top suspect in the first few days after killing. After two polygraph tests and a sworn alibi, Manley was set free.[http://www.sandiegomag.com/issues/jan97/dahlia.shtml]

===Robert M. Manley===

---

*'''Robert M. "Red" Manley''' detto "Red" : The last person seen with Elizabeth Short before her disappearance, Manley was the LAPD's top suspect in the first few days after killing. After two polygraph tests and a sworn alibi, Manley was set free.[http://www.sandiegomag.com/issues/jan97/dahlia.shtml]

*'''[[Orson Welles]]''': In her 1999 book, Mary Pacios, a former neighbor of the Short family in Medford, MA, suggested filmmaker Orson Welles as a suspect.[http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2000/08/16/dahlia] Pacios bases this theory on such factors as Welles' volatile temperament and his obsession with cutting-in-half as indicated by the visual clues Pacios claims can be found in the crazy house set he designed for scenes that were later deleted from a film Welles was making around the time of the murder. Pacios also cites the magic act Welles performed to entertain soldiers during WW II. She believes that the bi-section of the body was part of the killer's signature and an acting out of the perpetrator's obsession. Welles applied for his passport on January 24, 1947 the same date the killer mailed a packet to Los Angeles newspapers. Welles left the country for an extended stay in Europe ten months after the murder. According to Pacios, witnesses she has interviewed say that both Welles and the victim frequented Brittingham's restaurant in Los Angeles during the same time period. Welles was never a suspect in the original investigation. Pacios now maintains a web site containing a great deal of information and official documents about the Black Dahlia case, but only a short section on Welles' supposed involvement. [http://blackdahlia.info]

===Orson Welles===

---

*'''[[Orson Welles]]''': In her 1999 book, Mary Pacios, a former neighbor of the Short family in Medford, MA, suggested filmmaker Orson Welles as a suspect.[http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2000/08/16/dahlia] Pacios bases this theory on such factors as Welles' volatile temperament and his obsession with cutting-in-half as indicated by the visual clues Pacios claims can be found in the crazy house set he designed for scenes that were later deleted from a film Welles was making around the time of the murder. Pacios also cites the magic act Welles performed to entertain soldiers during WW II. She believes that the bi-section of the body was part of the killer's signature and an acting out of the perpetrator's obsession. Welles applied for his passport on January 24, 1947 the same date the killer mailed a packet to Los Angeles newspapers. Welles left the country for an extended stay in Europe ten months after the murder. According to Pacios, witnesses she has interviewed say that both Welles and the victim frequented Brittingham's restaurant in Los Angeles during the same time period. Welles was never a suspect in the original investigation. Pacios now maintains a web site containing a great deal of information and official documents about the Black Dahlia case, but only a short section on Welles' supposed involvement. [http://blackdahlia.info]

*'''Jack Anderson Wilson''' (also known as '''Arnold Smith'''): Wilson was a life-long petty criminal and alcoholic who was interviewed by author John Gilmore while Gilmore was researching his book ''Severed''. After Wilson's death, Gilmore named Wilson as a suspect due to his alleged acquaintance with Short. Prior to Wilson's death, however, Gilmore made an entirely different claim to the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner in a story appearing [http://lmharnisch.com/herex_820117.html Jan. 17, 1982]. While ''Severed'' says that homicide Detective John St. John was about to "close in" on Wilson based on the material Gilmore provided, St. John told the Herald-Examiner in the same article that he was busy with other killings and would review Gilmore's claims when he got time. As reliable sources of information about the case, such as the FBI files and portions of the Los Angeles district attorney files, have become publicly available, statements about Short and the murder attributed to Wilson in ''Severed'' and supposedly tying him to the crime have not been borne out as accurate. ''Severed'' also claims Wilson was involved in the murder of Georgette Bauerdorf.[http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/famous/dahlia/suspect_6.html?sect=7] ''Severed'', and many other sources based on ''Severed'', erroneously claim that Short and Bauerdorf knew each other in Los Angeles, supposedly because they were both hostesses at the same nightclub. In reality, by the time Short arrived in Los Angeles in 1946, Bauerdorf had been dead for two years and the nightclub had been closed for a year.

===Jack Anderson Wilson===

Some crime authors have speculated on a link between the Short murder and the [[Cleveland Torso Murderer|Cleveland Torso Murders]], also known as the Kingsbury Run Murders, which took place in [[Cleveland]] between [[1934]] and [[1938]].[http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/unsolved/kingsbury/index_1.html]. The original LAPD investigators examined this case in 1947 and discounted any relationship between the two, as they did with a large number of killings that occurred before and afterward, well into the 1950s.

'''Jack Anderson Wilson''' (also known as '''Arnold Smith'''): Wilson was a life-long petty criminal and alcoholic who was interviewed by author John Gilmore while Gilmore was researching his book ''Severed''. After Wilson's death, Gilmore named Wilson as a suspect due to his alleged acquaintance with Short. Prior to Wilson's death, however, Gilmore made an entirely different claim to the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner in a story appearing Jan. 17, 1982.

Other crime authors have suggested a linkage between the Short murder and the [[1945]] murder of 6-year-old Suzanne Degnan in [[Chicago]], who was also dismembered (and Short's body was discovered near Degnan Boulevard in Los Angeles). However, the so-called [["Lipstick Killer"]] [[William Heirens]] confessed to the Degnan murder and was in jail when Short's body was discovered, although some have contended that Heirens was innocent of the Degnan murder.[http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial4/heirens/]

*'''Jack Anderson Wilson''' (also known as '''Arnold Smith'''): Wilson was a life-long petty criminal and alcoholic who was interviewed by author John Gilmore while Gilmore was researching his book ''Severed''. After Wilson's death, Gilmore named Wilson as a suspect due to his alleged acquaintance with Short. Prior to Wilson's death, however, Gilmore made an entirely different claim to the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner in a story appearing [http://lmharnisch.com/herex_820117.html Jan. 17, 1982]. While ''Severed'' says that homicide Detective John St. John was about to "close in" on Wilson based on the material Gilmore provided, St. John told the Herald-Examiner in the same article that he was busy with other killings and would review Gilmore's claims when he got time. As reliable sources of information about the case, such as the FBI files and portions of the Los Angeles district attorney files, have become publicly available, statements about Short and the murder attributed to Wilson in ''Severed'' and supposedly tying him to the crime have not been borne out as accurate. ''Severed'' also claims Wilson was involved in the murder of Georgette Bauerdorf.[http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/famous/dahlia/suspect_6.html?sect=7] ''Severed'', and many other sources based on ''Severed'', erroneously claim that Short and Bauerdorf knew each other in Los Angeles, supposedly because they were both hostesses at the same nightclub. In reality, by the time Short arrived in Los Angeles in 1946, Bauerdorf had been dead for two years and the nightclub had been closed for a year.

''Severed'', and many other sources based on ''Severed'', erroneously claim that Short and Bauerdorf knew each other in Los Angeles, supposedly because they were both hostesses at the same nightclub. In reality, by the time Short arrived in Los Angeles in 1946, Bauerdorf had been dead for two years and the nightclub had been closed for a year.

Some crime authors have speculated on a link between the Short murder and the [[Cleveland Torso Murderer|Cleveland Torso Murders]], also known as the Kingsbury Run Murders, which took place in [[Cleveland]] between [[1934]] and [[1938]].[http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/unsolved/kingsbury/index_1.html]. The original LAPD investigators examined this case in 1947 and discounted any relationship between the two, as they did with a large number of killings that occurred before and afterward, well into the 1950s.

Other crime authors have suggested a linkage between the Short murder and the [[1945]] murder of 6-year-old Suzanne Degnan in [[Chicago]], who was also dismembered (and Short's body was discovered near Degnan Boulevard in Los Angeles). However, the so-called [["Lipstick Killer"]] [[William Heirens]] confessed to the Degnan murder and was in jail when Short's body was discovered, although some have contended that Heirens was innocent of the Degnan murder.[http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial4/heirens/]

Author [[James Ellroy]], who wrote a fictionalized account of the murder, has publiclly endorsed at least two mutually exclusive solutions to the crime. Whenever confronted with this seeming contradiction at public appearances or by TV interviewers, Ellroy now refuses to discuss theories about the case. He now says the case is unsolved.

==I risvolti mediatici del caso==

==Books, films and other media==

A [[1975]] [[TV movie]] about the case, ''Who Is the Black Dahlia'' [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073897/ ''Who Is the Black Dahlia ''] by [[Robert Lenski]] and starring [[Lucie Arnaz]] is a highly fictionalized version of the murder. Many details were changed because several people, including Short's mother and Red Manley, who brought Short from [[San Diego, California|San Diego]] to Los Angeles, refused to sign releases for the studio.

[[John Gregory Dunne]] used the murder as a point of departure in his [[1977]] novel ''True Confessions,'' which was made into the [[1981]] film [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083232/ ''True Confessions''] starring [[Robert Duvall]] and [[Robert De Niro]] with a screenplay by Dunne and his wife, [[Joan Didion]].

Riga 101 ⟶ 109:

A [[1988]] episode of the TV detective thriller ''[[Hunter (TV)|Hunter]]'' depicts Rick Hunter and Dee Dee McCall discovering a case similar to the Black Dahlia murder when a [[skeleton]] that has been cut in half is found during demolition of a building constructed in 1947. Hunter and McCall are joined by a [[retirement|retired]] detective who worked on the Elizabeth Short case.

[[Take 2 Interactive]] published the [[Computer and video games|computer game]], ''Black Dahlia'', in [[1998]]. The puzzle-based adventure game tied Elizabeth Short's murders to [[Nazism|Nazis]] and [[occult]] rituals which the player had to investigate. The game features [[Dennis Hopper]], whose son-in-law was one of the company's owners, and [[Teri Garr]].

[[Max Allan Collins]] combined The Black Dahlia and [[Cleveland Torso Murderer|Cleveland Torso Murder]] in his Shamus Award-winning [[2002]] novel, ''Angel in Black'', featuring his character, private investigator Nathan Heller.

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In 2002, rock star and artist [[Marilyn Manson (person)|Marilyn Manson]] created a series of water color paintings based upon the murder.

Bob Belden's [[2001]] [[CD]] ''Black Dahlia'' draws inspiration from the case for a moody, noir [[film score|score]] divided into 12 sections depicting her life, on a par with [[Jerry Goldsmith]]'s score for ''[[Chinatown (1974 movie)|Chinatown]]'' and David Shire's music for the film ''[[Farewell, My Lovely]]''.

Musician [http://www.lisamarr.org/ [Lisa Marr]] also mentions the Black Dahlia in her song "In California" from the album ''4 AM''. This song was later covered by her former [[Cub (band)|Cub]] bandmate Neko Case.

The [[Metal music|Death Metal]] band [[The Black Dahlia Murder]] takes its name from this infamous murder.-->

[[William Randolph Fowler]], a reporter at the scene of the crime, included the Black Dahlia case in his 1991 autobiography, "Reporters: Memoirs of a Young Newspaperman."-->

==Bibliografia==

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'''Nota''': Il sito dell'FBI riporta erroneamente il nome ''Elizabeth Ann Short''. In realtà, la vittima si chiama semplicemente ''Elizabeth Short''.

[[Categoria:Biografie|Short, Elizabeth]]

[[en:Elizabeth Short]]

[[fr:Elizabeth Short]]

[[de:Elizabeth Short]]