Erin ’s Reviews > Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood > Status Update

The murder of Mary Tate did not make headlines. It barely made the newspapers at all. Another reason Elizabeth Short's murder made headlines was that she was "a looker and white" "a reporters dream girl". If she had been "Filipina or a nigger forget it. Wouldn't make the papers."

Elizabeth had not been forced to eat feces before her death. The fecal matter in her stomach was a natural result of her small intestine being severed.

The crime scene was not compromised. Only detectives not even patrolmen were permitted on the grass beside the body. And detectives kept their hands in their pockets.

Her teeth were in a state of advanced decay. The 2 upper central incisors were loose and one lower incisor was loose. The rest of her teeth showed cavities.

When Elizabeth showed up at Glynn Wolfe's apartment, Glynn was separated from his 11th wife and looking for a 12th.

Although detectives had not yet officially determined the case to be a sex crime - classified as violence with a sexual motive - the description seemed obvious from the mutilation that was deemed unprintable.

The killer was an organized offender and had a desire for publicity.

In 1947, most working people knew nothing about air travel.

The number of corpses handled by the coroner had jumped 80% in just under 10 years.

The LAPD laboratory was the oldest in the country, dating back to 1922.