On the early morning of January 15, 1947, a mother taking her child for a walk in Leimert Park, Los Angeles, stumbled upon a deeply disturbing sight: the body of a young, naked woman, cut cleanly in half at the waist.

Black Dahlia's murder scene

The badly mutilated body was lying just a few feet from the sidewalk and was posed in such a way that passersby reportedly thought it was a mannequin.

Investigators standing next to the body of Elizabeth Short

Despite the extensive mutilation and injuries on the body, there wasn't a drop of blood at the scene, indicating that the woman had been killed elsewhere.

Black Dahlia's body covered with a blanket

The reporters from the LA Examiner who were present at the scene offered the LAPD to transmit fingerprints taken from the scene to the FBI via the primitive "Soundphoto" service in exchange for an exclusive reveal of the woman's identity.

Black Dahlia's murder scene

The victim turned out to be a 22-year-old aspiring actress Elizabeth Short, dubbed by the media as the Black Dahlia for her rumored penchant for sheer black clothes.

Black Dahlia's murder scene

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