George Hodel and Elizabeth Short
To this day, the murder of Elizabeth Short remains a mystery. It has been over 70 years since this incident and the killer remains unknown. However, there is a huge supply of proof that George Hodel is the killer. Let's talk about this and maybe solve this case.
The Black Dahlia Murder is one of the most famous unsolved murder cases in American History. Elizabeth Short was found dead and was cut in half. There were many people blamed for her death, one of them was the director of “Citizen Kane”, Orson Welles (“Orson Welles Killed The Black Dahlia” 1). Some people even thought she was a sex worker (1). So, let’s investigate this ice-cold crime and see if we can figure out who killed her. The detectives know who the killer is. We will use logic to discover the true culprit.
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The murder of Elizabeth Short or the Black Dahlia murder is one of the most well-known unsolved murder mysteries in history. She was found dead on the morning of January 15, 1947. She was cut very badly; however, there was no blood at the crime scene. There are many suspects in this case. One of them being George Hodel. Who is George Hodel? What makes him unique? What suspects him of being a murderer? Let’s discuss who this man is and maybe even learn if he is the killer after all.
George Hodel is a physician born in 1907. He is one of the many suspects in the case of the Black Dahlia murder. Since he’s a physician, that means one thing. That one thing is he’s very smart and clever. This can be backed up with his IQ score. His IQ was a score of 186; that’s higher than Albert Einstein (East 1). He’s a physician and genius. But how does that tie him to Short’s demise? Well, that’s actually a very simple question to answer. He is a physician, so he must have some medical experience. Short was cut and mutilated with no blood at the crime scene. If someone were to pull that off, they would need medical experience. Short’s killer was never caught, so that makes the suspect a genius. What does Hodel qualify as? That’s right, a genius. Hodel was addicted to surrealism, this genre often used material that can be considered pornographic to even violent. It was said in an article that “Hodel enjoyed the darker aspects of the movement” (East 1). Hodel can be considered a disgusting individual just from that one aspect alone.
Next, we need to discuss the people who had relations with Hodel. Out of the many different people, the biggest one is definitely Hodel’s son Steve. Steve Hodel is a former homicide detective for the Los Angeles Police Department. Why is this relevant to Hodel being suspected of killing Elizabeth Short? Well, Steve Hodel is accusing his father of killing Short. Steve has been hooked to learning the truth about who the killer is; even if it is accusing his own father of committing one of the worst crimes a person can commit. Why can we believe what Steve claims? There are a few factors to this. The main factor is that he is a former police officer. He’s not just a police officer, he is a homicide detective! Homicide is the same thing as murder. Steve specializes in these kinds of investigations. So, that makes it fair to take his words as trustworthy. Steve accuses his father in his book Black Dahlia Avenger (Hodel 1). If a person is going to accuse someone of murder, they must have evidence as hard as diamonds. Steve is positive his father killed Elizabeth Short. He was so positive that he called his brother and the first thing that came out of his mouth was, “Our father was a homicidal maniac” (Fitts 1). Even if George Hodel is guilty of killing Short; he cannot be charged since he passed away in 1999. Steve Hodel is a great detective; he keeps digging until he finds a definitive answer; he takes nothing at face value. If he believes something is out of place, he will keep asking questions until he reaches a proper and satisfying conclusion.
Finally, we need to discuss what conflicts Hodel had. Whether it involved someone who had ties to him or even incidents that involved Hodel himself. One of the main ones being the death of his secretary Ruth Spaulding in 1945. Spaulding had a drug overdose and died because of it. What relates Hodel to this? Hodel was with her when she died and even burned papers that belonged to Spaulding. All of this before he even called the police (East 1). There is one question that must be asked. Did Hodel plan Ruth Spaulding’s death? Think about it for a second. Hodel is a physician; physicians have extreme knowledge of medicine. Spaulding died of a drug overdose, that drug being sleeping pills. Something was bothering her, she couldn't sleep. Hodel also has a very close relationship to this woman so he must have noticed something wrong with her. Spaulding had papers that were burned by Hodel when she died. That means he clearly did not want anyone to see them. Spaulding also knew who George Hodel truly was, “Documents have shown that Spaulding knew much of Hodel’s darker side” (East 1). It seems clear that Hodel wanted Spaulding dead because he never knew if she would reveal who he really was. There’s another incident that can relate to Hodel. In 1949, Hodel’s 14-year-old daughter Tamar accused him of rape and said she got pregnant because of it. She also said Hodel performed an illegal abortion on her. This type of abortion is called a back-alley abortion. She also said that she was forced to perform oral sex on him. Not only did Hodel’s own daughter accuse him of this, but she also accused him of killing Elizabeth Short (East 1).
So, in conclusion, there is more than enough evidence to accuse George Hodel of being the person behind the murder of Elizabeth Short. He is a genius physician with medical experience. He also burned papers belonging to a woman he watched die before even calling the police. He was accused of raping his own daughter, getting his own daughter pregnant, forcing his daughter to give him oral sex, performed an illegal abortion on her, and was even accused of murdering the Black Dahlia. Not only was he accused of killing Elizabeth Short, the people accusing him are his own children. Not just one of his kids is accusing him, two of them are accusing him of murdering the Black Dahlia. One of them accused him of rape and the other is a former homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, the city where Short was found dead. It all makes sense now, when Short was found dead, she was cut and mutilated. Not only that, there was also no blood at the crime scene. The person who killed Short must be a genius with medical experience. Who is a genius with medical experience? George Hodel! So, after all this investigating, we must ask the question. Is George Hodel responsible for the death of Elizabeth Short? After all we’ve talked about, the answer is crystal clear. George Hodel killed Elizabeth Short.
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The Black Dahlia is one of the most well-known unsolved murders in history. The victim, Elizabeth Short, was found dead and cut severely. While it was heavily publicized, her killer was never found. There are conspiracies blaming famous celebrities for being the cause of Short’s death. One of them being the director of the famous film “Citizen Kane” Orson Welles. Let’s explore this mystery and maybe even figure out who the real killer is.
First off, we need to know what exactly happened. According to the official government report, “On the morning of January 15, 1947, a mother taking her child for a walk in a Los Angeles neighborhood stumbled upon a gruesome sight: the body of a naked woman sliced clean in half at the waist” (“The Black Dahlia” 1). Even though the victim Elizabeth Short was cut severely, there was no blood at the crime scene. This can indicate a few things. She may have been killed at a different location, the killer is a vampire, or she had no blood to begin with. The first one is the right assumption.
So, we now know what happened to Elizabeth Short and how her body was discovered, but there are still many questions that should be asked. What would be the benefit of killing someone? Who would benefit from killing Short? Why did this case go unsolved for so many years? There are so many questions with so few answers. But before we answer those questions, we need to know who Elizabeth Short is and who had relations with her. Elizabeth Short was an aspiring actress born in Boston. She was not an angel like some people would like to think, “she had been arrested by the Santa Barbara police for underage drinking” (“The Black Dahlia” 1). Short had relations with many people, but the biggest one is definitely Mary Pacios. Pacios wrote Childhood Shadows: The Hidden Story of the Black Dahlia Murder. This book describes Pacios’ relationship with Short and brings a different point of view to the table about who the killer may be.
There are many people who were suspected of killing Short. The most likely suspect is George Hodel. Hodel’s son Steve accused him of being the killer in the book Black Dahlia Avenger (Hodel 1). Hodel is so positive his father is the one to blame that he called his brother and immediately said, “Our father was a homicidal maniac” (Fitts 1). Even if the killer is George Hodel, he cannot be charged with murder because he died in 1999. Steve Hodel is a former LAPD homicide detective, so he has experience with investigating murders. He hasn’t stopped his investigation into Elizabeth Short’s death. That’s what good detectives do, they don’t take anything at face value, they keep digging and asking questions to find the truth.
In conclusion, the murder of Elizabeth Short will most likely stay unsolved. Despite there being a lot of evidence that Hodel is the killer, there’s a solid chance that this case will remain ice cold for many more years. There were many false confessions, accusations, and suspects. The killer must have planned this crime for a long time because of how little evidence was present at the crime scene. There was little to no blood and the investigation hit a dead end. Short’s friend accuses Orson Welles of being the killer, but it isn’t clear as to why he would do that since he is also an actor as well as one of the greatest directors in history (Welles 1). The person who killed Short is most likely George Hodel. His son is very convincing in his accusations because he’s a former detective, he is confident, and he knows his father better than pretty much everyone out there. George Hodel is also a genius, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he was the killer considering how well executed the crime was. Hodel was also a doctor so he has medical experience. That explains why there was no blood at the scene and why Short’s body was cut so severely.
So, is George Hodel responsible for the death of the Black Dahlia? From the evidence we’ve covered, the answer looks pretty clear. George Hodel is the person who killed the Black Dahlia.
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So, in conclusion, we went over many factors as to who killed Elizabeth Short. Our main suspect, George Hodel, is an alleged rapist as well as a genius with medical experience. He was accused of killing Short by his own son and daughter. One of them being a former homicide detective and the other accused her own father of raping her. He burned papers owned by a woman he had close relations with right after she died right next to him. Hodel is a very smart guy who has medical experience. Short’s body was found mutilated severely and no blood was at the crime scene. What kind of person could pull that off? A very smart person with medical experience. So, after all of that, we can finally come up with an answer. George Hodel is the Black Dahlia Killer.
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Works Cited
“Craziest Conspiracy Theories About The Black Dahlia.” Ranker, https://www.ranker.com/list/craziest-conspiracy-theories-about-the-black-dahlia/jenniferlennon. Accessed 28 Sept. 2021.
“George Hodel: Doctor. Genius. Serial Killer: The Story of the Main Suspect in the Black Dahlia Killing.” Front Page Detectives, 27 June 2021, https://www.frontpagedetectives.com/p/george-hodel-california-black-dahlia.
Fitts, Alexis Sobel. “I Know Who Killed the Black Dahlia: My Own Father.” The Guardian, 26 May 2016. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/26/black-dahlia-murder-steve-hodel-elizabeth-short.
“The Black Dahlia.” Federal Bureau of Investigation, https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/the-black-dahlia. Accessed 21 Oct. 2021.
File:George Hodel circa 1950.Jpg - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:George_Hodel_circa_1950.jpg. Accessed 2 Dec. 2021.
File:Elizabeth Short Photo from Police Bulletin.Jpg - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Elizabeth_Short_photo_from_police_bulletin.jpg. Accessed 2 Dec. 2021.