The gruesome discovery of Elizabeth Short's body in a Los Angeles vacant lot in 1947 presented police with a uniquely horrific crime. The 22-year-old, posthumously dubbed the "Black Dahlia," had her corpse surgically severed at the torso, completely drained of blood, and her mouth carved into a grotesque smile. Adding to the sensational nature of the case, an individual claiming to be the killer mailed a package to a newspaper containing some of Short's personal identification. Even with one of the most extensive investigations in the city's history that involved hundreds of officers and produced dozens of confessions, the identity of the person responsible for the brutal murder has never been established.