Her Name Was Elizabeth Short
She became one of the most famous murder victims in the English speaking world. Not by her name, but as the Black Dahlia.
It’s likely more people have seen her mutilated, naked body than have seen this snapshot of her when she was alive. When her friends and family called her Betty.
She was more than a titillating story. She was more than a ghastly crime scene. She was more than a catchy nickname for the headlines.
She was a romantic, and a bit of a fantasist. She had lifelong respiratory issues and a tenuous relationship with her family. She loved makeup. She loved movies.
She loved men in uniform, maybe too much. She was in need of dental care and struggling to keep herself afloat financially. She was a woman with demons and trauma and dreams. All of which were taken from her just a little more than a week after her 22nd birthday.