Category Archives: Cold Cases

Black Dahlia: Blogging ‘Black Dahlia Files’ Part 31 — Phoning It In

Posted on March 3, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. I’m blogging in real time as I read Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles.” So far we have seen very … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Blogging ‘Black Dahlia Files’ Part 30 — Tick, Tick, Tick

Posted on March 2, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Page 39 We’re blogging Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles.” Yesterday, one sentence. Today, let’s try to double that, eh? … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Blogging ‘Black Dahlia Files’ Part 27 — The Pinata Collecting Our Thoughts

Posted on February 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. The two-minute executive summary: In analyzing Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles,” we have spent the last week on the … Continue reading →

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Black L.A., 1947: Husband Suspected of Killing Mary Tate

Posted on February 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

  Feb. 27, 1947: Terry Tate, of 123 N. San Pedro Street, is arrested in the death of his wife, Mary, at 107 Weller Street, described by the Sentinel as a rooming house or hotel. Tate was strangled and beaten … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: Blogging “Black Dahlia Files” Part 26 — Missing Man Formation

Posted on February 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Our story so far: I am blogging—in real time—as I read Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files.” It’s been slow going and this is an especially tedious part because I’m examining … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Blogging "Black Dahlia Files" Part 16 — A Moment of Silence

Posted on February 17, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Wednesday was the 61st anniversary of the kidnapping of 6-year-old Rochelle Gluskoter from the frontyard of a home around the corner from where her parents, Abe and Miriam, were preparing to open … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Ritual Sacrifice? Now I Have Heard Everything – And My Hair Is On Fire

Posted on February 14, 2018 by lmharnisch

I thought I had heard every possible crackpot idea about the Black Dahlia case (including comments on the blog that aren’t fit for publication). But ritual sacrifice? As Zippy the Pinhead would say: Yow!

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Black Dahlia: Blogging Donald Wolfe’s ‘Black Dahlia Files,’ an Encore From 2006

Posted on February 1, 2018 by lmharnisch

Starting Saturday, I’ll begin reposting all 88 entries that I wrote in 2006 when I blogged in real time as I read Donald H. Wolfe’s awful “The Black Dahlia Files,” a book that refutes Piu Eatwell’s claim in “Black Dahlia, … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: D.A.’s Final Report Says Elizabeth Short Was Never at Aster Motel

Posted on January 22, 2018 by lmharnisch

The Aster Motel, 2901 S. Flower, via Google Street View. Elizabeth Short was never here, according to the district attorney’s files, regardless of claims made in Piu Eatwell’s “Black Dahlia, Red Rose.”  In response to continuing questions about the Aster … Continue reading →

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Jan. 16, 1947: Eleanor Roosevelt’s Driver’s License Revoked!

Posted on January 16, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project. I never cease to be amazed at the placement of this story on Page 1 of The Times. While the major competing newspapers—the Examiner, Herald-Express and Daily News—are … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: Today Is Jan. 15 — Trim Your Roses

Posted on January 15, 2018 by lmharnisch

Today is Jan. 15, and the Daily Mirror marks the anniversary of Elizabeth Short’s death by pruning back the roses.

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Black Dahlia: ‘Who Is the Black Dahlia?’ Script on Craigslist

Posted on January 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Someone on Craigslist has listed a copy of the shooting script for “Who Is the Black Dahlia?” the TV movie that featured Lucie Arnaz as Elizabeth Short and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Detective Harry Hansen (with an amusing turn by … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1974, 1975, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: 5 Reasons Leslie Dillon Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short

Posted on December 22, 2017 by lmharnisch

Leslie Dillon in an undated photo, probably taken in the late 1940s.   My inbox is exploding with alerts about Piu Eatwell “solving” the Black Dahlia case by attributing it to Leslie Duane Dillon. Here are five simple reasons that … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: The Formosa Cafe and Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on December 20, 2017 by lmharnisch

My inbox exploded this morning with alerts about the Black Dahlia and links leading to an essay in the Los Angeles Times by David Ulin, writing about the Formosa Cafe (which he calls “the Formosa” – a gaffe nobody bothered … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: The Biltmore Hotel, Ghost Hunting and Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on October 31, 2017 by lmharnisch

I think we have found one presumably young and aspiring reporter who apparently believes in doing absolutely no research whatsoever.

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Black Dahlia: YouTube Makeup Tutorials for Halloween – Seriously?

Posted on October 23, 2017 by lmharnisch

Apparently YouTube tutorials on Black Dahlia makeup are a thing. Please reconsider your choices. We think Harley Quinn or Mad Moxxi are much better Halloween costume options rather than dressing up like the victim of a gruesome murder.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: ‘Horror at the Cecil Hotel’

Posted on October 17, 2017 by lmharnisch

Just a quick reminder, since Investigation Discovery aired the first episode of “Horror at the Cecil Hotel” last night. There is nothing to show that Elizabeth Short (“the Black Dahlia”) ever set foot in the Cecil Hotel. She was last … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Downtown, LAPD, Main Street, Television | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: Piu Eatwell’s ‘Black Dahlia, Red Rose’ – A Name to Remember

Posted on October 10, 2017 by lmharnisch

Donald Freed in Piu Eatwell’s “Black Dahlia, Red Rose.” There are many names and many claims in Piu Eatwell’s new book, “Black Dahlia, Red Rose,” but the most important for our purposes is that of Donald Freed, a very pleasant … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Black Dahlia: Piu Eatwell’s ‘Black Dahlia, Red Rose’ – A Bad Beginning

Posted on October 4, 2017 by lmharnisch

Given the brevity of human life, I don’t plan to do a line-by-line debunking of Piu Eatwell’s upcoming book “Black Dahlia, Red Rose.” Longtime readers may recall my labors over Donald Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files,” which lasted for months. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Black Dahlia: Asshats on South Norton Avenue — No. 3

Posted on September 27, 2017 by lmharnisch

And in our continuing coverage of people being asshats at the Black Dahlia crime scene, we have today’s entry. Really, folks, does this seem like a good idea? Also: Black Dahlia: Asshats on South Norton Avenue Black Dahlia: Asshats on … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments