"The Black Dahlia" was a nickname given to Elizabeth Short, the 22 year old who was the victim of a gruesome and much-publicized murder in January, 1947.
The unsolved case, in which a hopeful actress became a victim of a gruesome murder, in which her mutilated, bisected body was found in a Los Angeles park has been the source of widespread speculation, leading to many suspects, and a recent film adaption of her story. One son believes that his father may have committed the act.
New reports that Steve Hodel, the author of "Black Dahlia Avenger," who teamed up with retired police Sgt. Paul Dostie, have discovered new investigations to match his father George Hodel with Elizabeth Short's murder on Friday. In his father's former mansion, they discovered human decomposition with help from a cadaver-sniffing dog named Buster. The soil samples have been sent away for lab testing to determine if there are traces of Short's remains.
NBC Los Angeles reports that Hodel had been the principal suspect, since he had been romantically linked to Short, and their romance had gone sour. Detectives had planted a bug in the house to listen for incriminating admissions, which they have also found found.
The author has been researching the case since his father died in 1999.
Police investigated Hodel as a possible suspect in his secretary's poisoning, but no charges were ever filed. Many suspects, or persons of interest, have been proposed as the unidentified killer of Short. Many theories have been linked, as none has been found to be completely persuasive by experts, and some are not taken seriously at all. In his most recent book, Steve Hodel has also claimed that George Hodel was responsible for numerous other high profile murders, including the Zodiac Killer.
The mystery surrounding the Black Dahlia continues.
