In January of 1947, a young woman's body was discovered in a vacant lot in Los Angeles,

mutilated, severed in half, and displayed with a shocking precision.

The brutal crime would ignite headlines around the world and turn one woman, Elizabeth Short,

into an enduring legend. They called her the Black Dahlia.

The Black Dahlia. The Black Dahlia. The Black Dahlia.

But before she became a symbol of Hollywood's dark side, Elizabeth Short was a living, breathing woman, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a dreamer.

She was broken by ambition, by circumstance, by the illusions of fame, and perhaps, by the people she trusted most.

This is her story.

I'm Esther Ludlow, host of Once Upon a Crime.

For nearly a decade, I've been researching, writing, and narrating the stories behind some of

the world's most infamous true crimes.

On Once Upon a Crime, I take you beyond the headlines to reveal the why,

not just the what. Each story is deeply researched, carefully written, and told in a storytelling

format that explores the human side of every crime. You'll hear details and insights you won't find anywhere else. With my background

in criminal psychology and a lifelong fascination with true crime history, I've spent years

studying not just what people do, but why they do it. And now I'm taking a deep dive into

one of the most haunting cases in American history,

The Black Dahlia Murder.

In this six-part series, Broken, the Black Dahlia Murder, all attempt to uncover the truth behind Elizabeth Short, the real woman behind the myth.

Who was she? What drove her to Los Angeles? Why did she become known as the Black Dahlia?

And most importantly, why was she murdered and who killed her?

We'll sift through decades of speculation, sensationalism, and conspiracy to uncover the story of a woman

...