Black Dahlia
1947 unsolved killing
Black Dahlia is the nickname given to Elizabeth Short, a young woman whose brutal 1947 murder in Los Angeles became one of America's most infamous unsolved crimes.
Her body was found severed at the waist and drained of blood, and the case generated intense media coverage that has never fully subsided.
The name, which evokes both film noir aesthetics and the dahlia flower, has become shorthand for glamorous Hollywood tragedy and unsolved mystery.
The case inspired countless books and films about the Black Dahlia.
Deliberate unlawful killing
- homicideCausing another's death
- unsolvedNot yet figured out
- cold caseUnsolved crime, investigation suspended
- investigationFormal examination of facts
detective · evidence · forensics · autopsy · coroner · victim · suspect · crime scene
Something hard to fathom
- unsolvedNot yet figured out
- whodunitCrime fiction identifying perpetrator
- cluesHints toward answers
- secretsConcealed information
speculation · theories · suspects · intrigue · unknown · cryptic · obsession · true crime
Descriptive informal name
- monikerInformal designation for someone
- posthumousOccurring after death
- tabloidSensationalist newspaper format
- sensationalizedMade more shocking than warranted
infamous · tragic figure · Beth · Hollywood · 1940s · Los Angeles · morbid curiosity · grisly
Stylish, shadowy crime drama
- hardboiledTough, cynical fiction style
- Los AngelesSouthern California metropolis
- femme fataleTreacherous enchantress
- shadowsDark areas from blocked light
underworld · cynical · corruption · seduction · betrayal · nightclub · private eye · suspense
murder
Deliberate unlawful killing
- homicideCausing another's death
- unsolvedNot yet figured out
- cold caseUnsolved crime, investigation suspended
investigation · detective · evidence · forensics · autopsy · coroner · victim · suspect · crime scene · LAPD
enigma
Something hard to fathom
secrets · speculation · theories · suspects · intrigue · unknown · cryptic · obsession · true crime · podcast
sobriquet
Descriptive informal name
- monikerInformal designation for someone
- posthumousOccurring after death
- tabloidSensationalist newspaper format
sensationalized · infamous · tragic figure · Beth · Hollywood · 1940s · Los Angeles · morbid curiosity · grisly · mysterious
film noir
Stylish, shadowy crime drama
- hardboiledTough, cynical fiction style
- Los AngelesSouthern California metropolis
- femme fataleTreacherous enchantress
shadows · underworld · cynical · corruption · seduction · betrayal · nightclub · private eye · suspense · neon
petals
Colored bloom segments
- bloomFlower or flourishing state
- gardenCultivated plant area
- ornamentalFor beauty, not function
cultivar · varietal · tuber · perennial · florist · bouquet · horticulture
- FMV GamesPhantasmagoria, Erica, Fahrenheit, Ripper, D
- mysteriesmystery, enigma, enigmas, puzzle, riddle
- thrillerssuspense, thriller, nail-biter, page-turner, cliffhanger
- criminalsmurderer, thief, burglar, criminal, killer
- Famous DeathsAbraham Lincoln, Julius Caesar, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Black Dahliacase closed
Matter finally resolved
Son of Sam · justice served · BTK Killer · conviction · caught red-handed
black, blacken, blackened, blackening, blackness, blacker, blackest, blackish, blacks