The Black Dahlia Serial Killers

Wondery
The Black Dahlia Serial Killers

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Hollywood and Crime is a ground-breaking true crime series about the most infamous murders in Tinseltown history. In The Black Dahlia Serial Killers, host Tracy Pattin investigates the sensational unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short. Known as the Black Dahlia, Short was a star-struck young woman whose body was found completely severed at the waist in January 1947. Many remember her tragic story, yet few know that more than a dozen other women died in similar circumstances around that same time. Listen to The Black Dahlia Serial Killers ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/hollywood-crime/ now.

  1. EPISODE 1

    Bathtub Murder

    When beautiful young heiress Georgette Bauerdorf was found dead in her luxurious Sunset Strip apartment, police assumed it was just a tragic accident. The housekeepers discovered her body submerged face down in the bathtub with the hot water tap still on. Her father in New York speculated her heart had failed, and she drowned in the bath water. But after a delay of thirty hours, the autopsy report told another story. All episodes are available now. You can binge the series exclusively, and ad-free, on Wondery+ or on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or Amazon Music Unlimited subscription. Join Wondery+ here: https://wondery.app.link/blackdahlia See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    32 min

  2. EPISODE 2

    Generous Georgette

    After young oil heiress Georgette Bauerdorf was found raped and strangled in her Sunset Strip apartment, police turned their attention to the famous Hollywood Canteen, where she volunteered as a junior hostess. A soldier referred to as the Jitterbug Dancer quickly became Suspect #1. But he was just the first of many suspects. Although hostesses were strictly forbidden to socialize with servicemen, it turned out Georgette allowed dozens of men to sleep over and that she'd been generous with both her time and money. Perhaps generous to a fault? All episodes are available now. You can binge the series exclusively, and ad-free, on Wondery+ or on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or Amazon Music Unlimited subscription. Join Wondery+ here: https://wondery.app.link/blackdahlia See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    30 min

  3. EPISODE 3 • WONDERY+ ONLY

    White Gardenia

    Early one morning, a young boy and his dog stumbled upon the body of a woman lying on a golf course. Her name was Ora Murray, and she’d been strangled and mutilated – a white gardenia corsage still pinned to her tattered dress. In Los Angeles to visit family, Ora had gone out dancing one night at the Zenda Ballroom with her sister Latona. There they met a good-looking, friendly man, who offered to take the sisters on a tour of Hollywood in his car. Latona went home to her husband. Ora drove away with the man into the night. It was the last time she was seen alive.

    32 min

  4. EPISODE 4 • WONDERY+ ONLY

    Vampire Slayer

    Two women are found mutilated and murdered in downtown Los Angeles. One woman’s body was lying in the doorway of the closet at the Barclay Hotel. Her leg had been hacked off at the knee; her ankle and foot tossed aside. A few hours later the second woman’s body was discovered at the Joyce Hotel. Her left breast had been severed and she had been sliced open from throat to abdomen. An APB went out for a tall thin man, whom the press would dub the Vampire Slayer – for good reason.

    31 min

  5. EPISODE 5 • WONDERY+ ONLY

    Jane Doe

    January 15, 1947: The body of a young woman was found in a vacant lot south of Hollywood. Mutilated, completely sliced in two at the waist and drained of blood, her face was slashed into the infamous “Glasgow smile.” The head of Los Angeles’ Homicide Squad called her murder one of the most brutal killings in the city’s history. It took a search of FBI fingerprint files to identify her. She was Elizabeth Short, a star-struck twenty-two-year old from Massachusetts. Although not famous in real life, in death she became the most famous cold case of all time.

    29 min

  6. EPISODE 6 • WONDERY+ ONLY

    Black Dahlia

    Homicide detectives and reporters retraced Elizabeth Short’s steps prior to her body being discovered in Los Angeles on January 15th. Her mother, back in Massachusetts, told investigators that “Betty” had been living in San Diego. She was also traced to Long Beach, where regulars at a drugstore called her the Black Dahlia, because of the way she dressed and wore her hair. The Black Dahlia nickname captured the public’s attention and stuck. Betty was last seen on January 8th leaving San Diego with a man named Red. But where was Red now? And was he the killer?

    30 min

  7. EPISODE 7 • WONDERY+ ONLY

    Red Herring

    Police investigators closed in on Suspect #1 in the sadistic murder of Elizabeth Short, the Black Dahlia. The man they sought was Robert “Red” Manley – identified when he used his real name to check into a Pacific Coast Highway motel with Short on January 8th. That was just the first of many mistakes Red made, including lying to his wife. After his arrest, Red was questioned and given two lie detector tests. But was he guilty of more than cheating on Harriette? Police tried to piece together the Black Dahlia’s missing week, January 9th thru the 15th. Was she drugged and held in some secret place – a warehouse, an abandoned building? A torture chamber?

    34 min

  8. EPISODE 8 • WONDERY+ ONLY

    Werewolves

    “Werewolves Leave a Trail of Women Murders in L.A.” Only eight days after Elizabeth Short’s body was found Herald-Express reporter Agness Underwood connected the Black Dahlia with an ever-growing list of high profile cold cases, including those of Georgette Bauerdorf and White Gardenia victim Ora Murray. Then a package arrived at the city post office containing Miss Short’s personal effects and a message made up of words and letters cut out of newspapers. “Here is Dahlia’s belongings. Letter to follow.” Perhaps the killer was getting ready to turn himself in?

    35 min
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About

Hollywood and Crime is a ground-breaking true crime series about the most infamous murders in Tinseltown history. In The Black Dahlia Serial Killers, host Tracy Pattin investigates the sensational unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short. Known as the Black Dahlia, Short was a star-struck young woman whose body was found completely severed at the waist in January 1947. Many remember her tragic story, yet few know that more than a dozen other women died in similar circumstances around that same time. Listen to The Black Dahlia Serial Killers ad-free on Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/hollywood-crime/ now.

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