The coroner who examined Elizabeth's tortured body reported that she had a genital defect that rendered her incapable of having standard intercourse.

Her murder also sparked one of the greatest manhunts in California history.Īccording to John Gilmore, author of 'Severed: The True Story of the Black Dahlia Murder,' the rumors about Elizabeth being 'flaky and promiscuous' were fabricated by the press and by those who knew her loosely. The grisly nature of the murder, coupled with rumors about her allegedly promiscuous lifestyle, kept the investigation at the forefront of newspaper headlines for months. The film is a classic amnesia film noir about a Navy vet accused of murdering his wife. The name is borrowed from the movie, The Blue Dahlia, starring Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd, which was released a few years before the murder. Others say the name was concocted by journalists to sensationalize the crime. According to some reports, Elizabeth was known to acquaintances as the Black Dahlia before her murder in January 1947. Her jet-black hair, black lacy clothes and penchant for wearing bright red nail polish and lipstick earned her the nickname, the Black Dahlia.

She was 19 when she arrived and 22 when her pale, nude, blood-drained body, severed in two, was found in a vacant lot in Hollywood. Like many young women before her, Elizabeth Ann Short left her small Massachusetts town for Tinseltown, to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. Take a look at some of the most famous cold cases: (Court TV) - Some cases are never solved - and continue to hold a fascination for the public. Editor's Note: As part of CNN.com's new Crime section, we are archiving some of the most interesting content from.

Cold case files to solve