Many Black Dahlia suspects, or persons of interest, have been proposed as the unidentified killer of Elizabeth Short, nicknamed the "Black Dahlia", who was murdered in 1947 in Los Angeles, California.
Short was born in 1924 near Boston, Massachusetts. She relocated to California in 1942, hoping to reconnect with her estranged father but she soon distanced herself from him after a series of arguments. For the next few years Short lived a somewhat unstable lifestyle, moving between different lodgings and employment. She lived in Florida for a period, but moved back to southern California for the final six months of her life.
The final confirmed sighting of Short was in Los Angeles on January 9, 1947. Her body was found on the morning of January 15 in an empty lot in the middle-class area of Leimert Park, Los Angeles. The autopsy found that she was killed with a blow to the head and bleeding from severe cuts to her face. After death, Short's body was mutilated: she was drained of blood and carefully bisected at the waist in a manner that led investigators to believe the killer or killers had medical training. She had been killed about 10-12 hours before discovery of her body. Later in January, someone claiming to be the killer mailed some of Short's personal belongings to the Los Angeles Examiner, including her birth certificate and an address book.
Many suspects and conspiracy theories have been advanced, but none have widespread acceptance and some are not taken seriously at all. The murder investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) was the largest since the murder of Marion Parker in 1927, and involved hundreds of officers borrowed from other law enforcement agencies. Sensational and sometimes inaccurate press coverage, as well as the gruesome nature of the crime, focused intense public attention on the case. As the case continues to command public attention, more people have been proposed as Short's killer, much like London's Jack the Ripper murders. LAPD Sergeant John "Jigsaw John" St. John, an LAPD detective who worked the case until his retirement, stated, "It is amazing how many people offer up a relative as the killer."Reppetto, Thomas A. (2013). American Police, A History: 1945–2012: The Blue Parade. Vol. II. Enigma Books. ISBN 978-1-936274-44-4, p. 154
Suspects identified by police The following suspects were questioned or screened by LAPD police, and/or mentioned in a 1951 police memorandum by Lt. Frank Jemison. The Jemison list includes about 25 persons of interest in the Short case, but author William J. Mann notes contemporary police files indicate not all 25 were considered strong suspects and some names were listed to show the thoroughness of investigation.
Cleveland Torso Killer In the 1930s, there were a series of murders in the Cleveland, Ohio region known as the Cleveland Torso Murders. At least ten victims were killed, and their bodies dismembered and cleaned. There were several suspects but nobody was ever convicted in these crimes.
Cleveland public safety commissioner Elliot Ness received a letter in December 1938, written by someone who claimed to have been the Torso Killer. This letter was postmarked in California, and said the killer had moved to that state where he had killed a woman. The letter's author referred to himself as a "DC", or Doctor of Chiropractic.
This letter led to investigation of possible connections between the Short case and the Cleveland murders, especially given the similarities of dismemberment and detailed cleaning of the victims' bodies.James Jessen Badal (2010). Though Murder Has No Tongue: The Lost Victim of Cleveland's Mad Butcher. Black Squirrel Books and Kent State University Press. ISBN 1606350625 However, no proof was found linking the crimes and Short was not decapitated as were most of the victims in Cleveland.
This suspect was considered by police, but not included on the Jemison list.
Carl Balsiger Balsiger met Short when he was stationed at Camp Cook with the US Army, where she worked in the commissary. Balsiger and Short were at least acquainted and his name was listed in her address book, but he denied any serious relationship between them.
He came under suspicion due in part some evasive or inconsistent answers, and was interviewed by police several times. But LAPD found no firm evidence tying him to Short’s murder. Balsiger was identified on the Jemison list.
In the 2025 book Sisters in Death, author Eli Frankel makes a case that Balsiger killed Short.Eli Frankel. Sisters in Death: The Black Dahlia, the Prairie Heiress, and Their Hunter. Citadel, ISBN 0806543760 Balsiger was also a suspect in the 1941 murder of Leila Welsh near Kansas City, Missouri, a crime which shared similarities to the Short murder. Los Angeles police attempted to obtain records of the Welsh murder from Kansas City but were never able to do so due to miscommunication and limitations of technology of the era. Had LAPD investigators received the Welsh file, Frankel believes Balsiger would've been arrested for the crimes against Short.
Leslie Dillon In 1949, former mortician Leslie Dillon came under suspicion after writing letters to the Los Angeles Police Department blaming the crime on a friend named Jeff Connors. Dillon's background in embalming and anatomy raised suspicions because Short's body had been surgically mutilated, and some of his answers to police questions were considered indicative of guilt or severe mental disturbance.
Police psychiatrist J. Paul De River became preoccupied with Dillon and believed he was the culprit. De River also believed Dillon suffered from multiple personality disorder and Connors was actually an alternate identity for Dillon.
The situation became controversial when internal LAPD disputes and corruption surfaced in relation to the Dillon accusations. Dillon was eventually arrested on unrelated charges in Kansas, but no solid evidence linked him to Short's murder. Dillon was one of many attention-seeking and/or mentally unstable persons who made false confessions in the Short case.
Mark Hansen Hansen was a nightclub owner who had personal contact with Short: they met socially and she briefly stayed at his house on two occasions. He came under suspicion after Short’s friend Ann Toth alleged Short spurned his romantic advances. Hansen had a history of befriending young women who were down on their luck, and supporting them financially in exchange for sexual favors. Hansen was mentioned on the 1951 Jemison list.
He was cleared as a suspect after LAPD found no solid evidence linking him to the crime.
George Hodel Dr. George Hill Hodel Jr. came under police scrutiny in October 1949, when his 14-year-old daughter, Tamar, accused him of molesting her. Despite three witnesses testifying that they had seen Hodel having sex with Tamar, he was acquitted in December 1949.Nelson, Mark; Sarah Hudson Bayliss (2006). Exquisite Corpse: Surrealism and the Black Dahlia Murder. New York: Bulfinch Press. Pg 26. The trial led the LAPD to include Hodel, a physician specializing in sexually transmitted diseases, among its many suspects in the Dahlia case.
In 2003, it was revealed in notes from the 1949 grand jury report that investigators had wiretapped George Hodel's home and obtained recorded conversation of him with an unidentified visitor, saying: "Supposin' I did kill the Black Dahlia. They couldn't prove it now. They can't talk to my secretary because she's dead. They thought there was something fishy. Anyway, now they may have figured it out. Killed her. Maybe I did kill my secretary." Hodel was mentioned on the 1951 Jemison list. However, LAPD investigators ultimately cleared Hodel as a suspect after a month-long investigation and they were not able to prove Hodel and Short ever met. George's son Steve Hodel, a former LAPD detective, has written books explaining his belief Short was a mistress of his father, and that his father killed Short and several other victims including those attributed to the Zodiac Killer.
In 2004 author James Ellroy, who wrote a 1987 novel fictionalizing the Short case, endorsed Steve Hodel's theory that George had killed Short. In 2026, author William J. Mann argued against George Hodel as a suspect, noting there was no convincing evidence Hodel had ever met Elizabeth Short. There was a period of about six to eight weeks where Hodel and Short were both in Los Angeles, and police managed to create a nearly comprehensive timeline of her activities and whereabouts in the city, which Mann believed argued against Short being a secret paramour of George Hodel.William J. Mann (2026) Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood (2026) Simon & Schuster, ISBN 1668075903
Robert "Red" Manley Manley came under suspicion as he was one of the last people known to have seen Short alive when he drove her from San Diego to Los Angeles on January 9, 1947. He dropped her at the Biltmore Hotel, and later claimed to have picked up Short (who he considered attractive) to test his loyalty to his wife. Manley was mentioned on the 1951 Jemison list.
LAPD eventually dismissed Manley as a suspect after parts of his story were corroborated, no evidence linking him to the crime could be found, and he passed several polygraph exams.
Marvin Margolis Marvin Margolis was identified by LAPD investigators as a key suspect, as he was one of Short's known boyfriends during her time in Los Angeles. Margolis and his friend Bill Robinson happened to meet Short and her female friend. The group struck up a conversation, and Margolis went on a few dates with Short. Additionally, Short lived for about two weeks at the Guardian Arms apartments, the same building where Robinson lived.
Born in 1925, Margolis was an aspiring medical student who served in the US Navy medical corps during the invasion of Okinawa. He worked as a surgeon's assistant and handled the corpses and limbs of dead and injured soldiers, which contributed to his severe mental health problems. He was discharged from the Navy as 50% disabled, and was described in military records as having a history of instability and potential for violence. Marglolis did not advance to higher rank in the military, which he attributed to discrimination against his Jewish background. While dating Short, he was a pre-medical student at University of Southern California (USC).
Margolis was mentioned as a suspect on the 1951 Jemison list. He was later eliminated as a suspect after his wife, whom he had recently married, provided an alibi. Author William J. Mann believes a close reading of police files indicated at least some LAPD investigators continued to view Margolis with suspicion in the Short case.
Mann believes Margolis is the most plausible suspect, as Margolis was the only known person who fit the following criteria: he had known contact with Short; he had medical training in anatomy sophisticated enough to account for Short's bisection; he had a history of severe mental disturbance and deep resentment potentially strong enough to motivate the shocking crime; and he had access to a facility where she might have been severed and the blood drained from her body. As a medical student, Margolin could use the USC medical lab, which routinely held cadavers for medical students. Additionally, USC students were on a brief vacation during part of the time Short disappeared and was murdered.
Patrick S. O'Reilly