105. The Black Dahlia – Part 1

The Consult: Real FBI Profilers

PodcastOne

True Crime

4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 8 October 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We begin our analysis of one of the most infamous unsolved murders in American history—the Black Dahlia case. In this episode, we focus on the crime scene and autopsy of 22-year-old Elizabeth Short, whose body was discovered on January 15, 1947, in a vacant lot in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. She had been bisected at the waist and subjected to extensive post-mortem mutilation.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	In the consult, we discuss cases involving violence, sexual violence, abduction, and murder. Sometimes the cases we discuss involve children. Listener discretion is consult. I'm Julia Cowley, retired FBI agent and profiler, and I'm joined by my colleagues.
0:38.7	Angela Serser, Susan Costler, Drew, and Bob, Susan, and Angela are also retired FBI profilers,
0:47.1	and we work together in the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit. We have a new case. We're going to be
0:53.0	analyzing, but before we get started,
0:55.8	I want to thank all of our Patreon members who support our show. And if you'd like early and
1:01.2	add free access to our episodes, you can join at patreon.com slash the consult pod. And if you're on
1:08.7	Facebook, there's a Facebook fan page called Unsubs, and it was created by fans for fans of the consult to discuss our episodes and other true crime topics.
1:20.7	Today is part one of our analysis of the Black Dahlia case from 1947, Los Angeles, California.
1:32.5	The case was named after a nickname given to the victim, 22-year-old Elizabeth Short,
1:39.1	before her murder.
1:40.5	She was called the Black Dahlia for her black hair, her preference for wearing black clothing, and likely in reference to the 1946 film, The Blue Dahlia, which had been released just a year prior to Elizabeth's murder.
1:56.7	Once the press adopted the name, it became inseparable from the case.
2:02.6	I wanted to cover this case not only because it's very interesting from a behavioral perspective,
2:08.6	but because we recently examined the 1996 murder of Karina Holmer in Boston, Massachusetts,
2:16.6	who, like Elizabeth Short, was bisected at the waist.
2:21.6	While the comparison between the two is often made, which is understandable, Elizabeth's case is
2:27.7	very different. The behavioral elements alone set it apart, and I wanted to not only explore those differences, but also consider the
2:37.1	possible motive and discuss potential characteristics of the offender. For resources, I am especially
2:45.1	grateful to retired Los Angeles Times reporter Larry Harnish, who generously shared his time and expertise with me.
2:52.6	Larry has been investigating the Black Dahlia case since 1996.
2:57.1	Coincidentally, the very same year, Karina Holmer was murdered.
3:00.7	And when he began his research, he began by interviewing everyone who was still alive, who had
	...

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