(photo courtesy of Getty Images)

The Black Dahlia has lived so long in the mainstream consciousness that it is hard to believe it has been only 78 years since Elizabeth Short’s body was discovered. It feels more like an urban myth at this point – something in the same vein as Bigfoot or the Vanishing Hitchhiker.

But Short was very much an Angeleno, in the most tragic of senses. Her story mirrors that of so many dreamers who enter L.A.’s city limits – hoping for something grander, an illusive triumph over the monotony of human existence to transcend into stardom.

The enduring fascination with the Black Dahlia, of course, hinges not just on the brutality of the crime or its beautiful victim, but also its unsolved status. Which is not to say that there are not credible theories as to what exactly led to Short’s murder… but the likelihood of there ever being a conclusive explanation grows dimmer with each passing year.

Short was an L.A. transient – a woman who lived in a scattershot of locations during the 1940s, what would we call a “couch surfer” in today’s slang. She also picked up a variety of gigs and dated a few men. In other words, she was a young woman, trying to live her best life in Los Angeles – a city that promised hope and opportunity to a generation recovering from World War II.

It shocked L.A. when her body was discovered on Jan. 15, 1947, in Leimert Park, haphazardly dumped in an empty lot, neatly severed in half, blood drained and a grotesque, exaggerated smile cut from ear to ear. Nine days later, the Los Angeles Examiner received an envelope that promised to deliver Short’s belongings (using the stereotypical, serial-killer-style cut-out words from advertisements). Sure enough, her social security card, address book, some snapshots and other personal items were sent along soon after. The newspaper assigned Short the moniker, “Black Dahlia,” (according to some accounts, thought up by trailblazing female reporter Aggie Underwood) and subsequent notes to the paper were signed by the “Black Dahlia Avenger.” During this time, murders were often nicknamed, and a recently released film noir “The Blue Dahlia” depicted a plot that was eerily similar to the real-life murder.

Short had last been seen – allegedly – downtown near the Biltmore Hotel on Jan. 9, 1947, at the Crown Grill Cocktail Lounge. She most certainly was dropped off by a gentleman friend soon before that at the Biltmore itself, where she apparently used the lobby telephone.

And after that … nothing. That is, until the body was discovered some six or so miles from the Biltmore. Among the 150 suspects compiled by the LAPD was Robert Manley, the man who had dropped her off – but he passed a polygraph and had an alibi for the hours and days after Jan. 9. A man named Joseph Dumais gave what turned out to be a false confession to the crime.

A shady, very rich Los Angeles doctor named George Hodel has become the most popular suspect in recent years, in no small part due to his own son, Steve Hodel, a retired LAPD officer who discovered his father was a suspect decades after the murder. Through his own research, he became convinced that his father was – at the very least – connected to Short, and – more so – responsible for her brutal death.

The LAPD was so sure that George Hodel might have been Short’s killer that they bugged his house, where he was heard saying, “Supposing I did kill the Black Dahlia, they couldn’t prove it now. They can’t talk to my secretary because she’s dead.”

The evidence connecting him, as presented by his son, would appear to be overwhelming. And with a personal life that with certainty included wild sexual exploits, raucous parties and (likely) incestuous relations with his own daughter, Hodel as the killer would make sense. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, all physical evidence in the Black Dahlia case was destroyed. Why? That’s anyone’s guess.

There are copious resources for further exploration of Short’s murder. Beyond Steve Hodel’s book, TNT did a whole series using the George Hodel theory as a base called “I Am the Night.” The “Black Dahlia Serial Killers” podcast explores the idea that several similar murders might be connected to Short’s death. YouTube videos abound, including a great overview from BuzzFeed’s Unsolved Network. A highly fictionalized film titled “The Black Dahlia” directed by Brian De Palma was released to mixed reviews in 2006.

No matter the number of books, specials and movies produced, Short’s death remains perhaps the preeminent L.A. mystery – like the city itself, salacious, innocent, cinematic and unknowable.