n January 15, 1947, local Los Angeles resident, Betty Bersinger, was walking in Leimert Park with her young daughter. She soon came upon, what she first thought, was a discarded clothing mannequin because the body was so white. However, it turned out to be the body of twenty-two year old aspiring actress Elizabeth Short. Her naked body was found severed at the waist and completely drained of blood. Her face was bruised with gashes cut in the corners of her mouth to create a Glasgow smile, and chunks of flesh were cut from her body. Because of the lack of blood, it was concluded that Short was murdered elsewhere and moved to Leimert Park. Due to her black hair and habit for constantly wearing black clothing, newspapers gave her the nickname “The Black Dahlia.”
According to Short's Hollywood roommates, Elizabeth didn't have close friends and preferred the company of strangers. They said that she was always going out to Hollywood Boulevard with a different man every night. In the last six months of her life, she moved constantly between apartments, hotel rooms, and boarding houses.
The last person to see Short alive was a 25-year-old salesman named Robert Manley. He reportedly noticed Short standing alone on a street corner and he offered her a ride. Short, eventually, got in the car. The pair spent the night in a motel and, the next day, Manley dropped her off at the Biltmore Hotel where Short said she was meeting her sister. After the murder, the police tried questioning Short's father, that left the family when she was young, as well as Short's “boyfriends” but learned nothing new. Due to the fame and reputation of the case, many people were claiming to be the killer, and as much time was spent proving these people...
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...mptuous letters the killer sent to the police and media.
Since I can see no clear reason why someone would want Elizabeth Short dead, I think the killer must have been some mentally unstable person who killed her for no real reason at all. The killer may have attended the same clubs that Short did and may have even spoken with her. Since the body was so sexually violated, I think, Short may have been targeted because of her beauty. The books that have been written by people claiming to be or know the killer, I feel, are people just looking for fame and ways to sell books. The Black Dalhia, like other crimes and tragedies throughout history, captured the imagination of the public because of its sexual and heinous nature. However, as the fickle public moves on to other fascinations the vicious killer of someone's daughter, sister, or friend remains unsolved.
On June 19th of 1990, Robert Baltovich’s girlfriend Elizabeth Bain went missing. Elizabeth told her family that she was going to check the tennis schedules at her school, the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus. She never returned, but her car was eventually recovered. It was found with blood on the backseat, with forensic tests showing that it was Elizabeth’s. With no clear evidence, the “solving” of the case was completely based on eyewitness testimonies, which eventually had Robert arrested for the murder of his girlfriend.
Simone’s body was found half-dressed with her shirt pushed up to around the neck and her shorts were hung off the pelvis with the cords undone. Some of her jewelry and two coins were found next to her body. There was a fireplace and discarded .22-caliber shells were found close by. Simone suffered similar wounds to the previous victims, with multiple stab wounds on her torso.
A horrific murder happened in tiny Skidmore on December of 2004. Lisa Montgomery and Bobbi Jo Stinnett met and found out that they had much in common and became good friends (Nunes 85-86). Surprisingly, Bobbi and Lisa met in an internet chat room. Bobbi was into puppy breeding and she occasionally served as a judge. Lisa lived in Kansas where her close friends were shocked about what she was talking about. Of course, Lisa shrugged it off and she sent an email to Bobbi saying that she wanted to see the puppies (Nunes 85-86). When Lisa met Bobbi Jo she had a fake name which was Darlene Fisher because she didn’t want Bobbi to know her real identity. When Lisa sent Bobbi the email she had a criminal intent on her mind. She was planning to choke Bobbi into unconsciousness and then cut open her womb and steal Bobbi’s unborn baby. When Lisa arrived at the house she threw a rope around Bobbi’s neck and choked her until she was unconscious. That is when Lisa took a knife and started to cut open Bobbi’s stomach. Lisa had to cut through skin, fat, and muscle to get to Bobbi’s uterus. Bobbi’s baby was in eight-month gestation; Lisa cut and tied the baby’s cord. Lisa stole the baby and fled to her house in Kansas. Unfort...
The book itself was hard to follow. It is not the type of book I would normally choose to read. There was not much character development and way too many slimy characters too keep track of. The crimes were plentiful and the relationships between the characters were often unclear. The book seemed to jump around to numerous detailed incidents and crimes that occurred making it difficult to tie them together. The author of the book was a magazine journalist, so this type of writing was out of his comfort zone. Nevertheless, Brown must be given a great deal of credit for putting in years of dedication to investigate this story that police overlooked and possibly participated in. This book needed to be written because, without it, more women could have been murdered. Brown first published an article on the case before witting the book, the day the article came out the body of the last victim was
During the time they were working on the house, one of their neighbors, Bessie Goldberg, was found strangled by her husband, Israel Goldberg. A black man who was cleaning her house
The following day, a fisherman was at the Treeland Blvd. pond when he spotted some stuff floating in the water. Upon closer inspection he noticed it was firefighters gear and figured something must be wrong since firefighters do not just leave their equipment. The police had the pond drained and found a green Chevy truck at the bottom. Inside the truck was a substantial amount of blood; when the blood was tested it was that of Brandy Hall. The amount of blood in the cab of the truck makes it unlikely she will be found alive. The woods around the pond were also searched but nothing more was found.
"The True Story of The Black Dahlia Murder." About.com Crime / Punishment. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014. .
A recurring theme in, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, is Harriet Jacobs's reflections on what slavery meant to her as well as all women in bondage. Continuously, Jacobs expresses her deep hatred of slavery, and all of its implications. She dreads such an institution so much that she sometimes regards death as a better alternative than a life in bondage. For Harriet, slavery was different than many African Americans. She did not spend her life harvesting cotton on a large plantation. She was not flogged and beaten regularly like many slaves. She was not actively kept from illiteracy. Actually, Harriet always was treated relatively well. She performed most of her work inside and was rarely ever punished, at the request of her licentious master. Furthermore, she was taught to read and sew, and to perform other tasks associated with a ?ladies? work. Outwardly, it appeared that Harriet had it pretty good, in light of what many slaves had succumbed to. However, Ironically Harriet believes these fortunes were actually her curse. The fact that she was well kept and light skinned as well as being attractive lead to her victimization as a sexual object. Consequently, Harriet became a prospective concubine for Dr. Norcom. She points out that life under slavery was as bad as any slave could hope for. Harriet talks about her life as slave by saying, ?You never knew what it is to be a slave; to be entirely unprotected by law or custom; to have the laws reduce you to the condition of chattel, entirely subject to the will of another.? (Jacobs p. 55).
The feminist movement sought to gain rights for women. Many feminist during the early nineteenth century fought for the abolition of slavery around the world. The slave narrative became a powerful feminist tool in the nineteenth century. Black and white women are fictionalized and objectified in the slave narrative. White women are idealized as pure, angelic, and chaste while black woman are idealized as exotic and contained an uncontrollable, savage sexuality. Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of A Slave Girl, brought the sexual oppression of captive black women into the public and political arena.
On the morning of July 4, 1954, Marilyn Sheppard was violently beaten in her home in Bay Village, Ohio, on the shore of Lake Erie. She was four months pregnant and had been felled by 35 vicious blows (Quade). Right away Sam Sheppard was accused of being the victim to do this. Sheppard had told investigators that he had been asleep downstairs and was awakened by his wife’s screams. Sheppard said when he went upstairs and entered the room he was knocked unconscious by the intruder. He denied any involvement and described his battle with the killer he described as “bushy-haired” (Linder). After a police investigation, Dr. Sam Sheppard was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. With the hectic media covering it, they were quick in decision that it was him that committed the murder. This was an unfair trial, ruined a man’s life, and gave him no time for a career.
One of three women, whose cases the documentary-markers followed for a year, from the moment emergency phone calls were placed was Sabrina. The second was Helen, who met Lawrence 10 years ago. For a brief period of time he was nice to her and her son, however when her son turned 12, he was having to run for help to stop Lawrence’s beatings. In between those years, there were assaults, promises to change, letters begging forgiveness. Police photographs show the imprint of his shoe on her face. Jemma was punched, dragged and strangled to unconsciousness by Dwayne, who would wait for her to come around each time before he started
When the public heard of the crime, the police perilously needed someone to blame. If a slayer of the 14-year old Mary Phagan were not found soon, public uproar would become uncontrollable. The public needed a victim to blame for the murder of a young white girl. Conditions in Atlanta were favorable for an outburst against the killer of an innocent soul, especially if the accused murder was non-Anglo- Saxon.
This morning October 8th 1965 at about 5:13 am the body of Bob Sheldon was found lying next to the park fountain he was seen to be in a pool of blood. His body had a single stab wound in his back which had pierced his heart, killing him instantly. Supposed eye witnesses say that a small boy who was a member of the "Greaser Gang" attacked and killed Bob and intended to kill the rest of them. Cherry Valance claims that she was walking with Johnny and Ponyboy after the movies when Bob approached them in his car and threatened the two them. Be on the lookout for the two boys with the description of one that has long light-brown hair, green eyes, and is about five feet tall and another has long jet-black hair, large black eyes, and is about four feet six inches. The first one is considered to be Ponyboy and the second one is considered to be Johnny. The two are now on the run they were last seen at a party with Dally. Investigators report that Dally says he has no idea where these two are but he thinks that they are going to Mexico. A woman was taking a walk through the park and discovered the bloody corpse she said “I was hesitant at first because I thought they were watching me, but I gained some courage and called 911” the friends that were their helping Bob bully the 2 said they were there during the homicide, but decided not to call the police because they were drunk and they were scared after seeing him dead. They said, the murderer was a 16 year old boy named Johnny Cade.
“The victims were enjoying the scenery, Doe explains, “the night was warm and beautiful with their dreams ahead of them as big as the stars of that night until the flashlight quickly approached them.” Mike Mageau was attacked in a similar fashion as the first murder: shot once they responded to the killer’s demands of leaving the car; in fact Doe states, “Mageau was certain the man was a police officer, which was the reason he opened the window...to show his ID.” After the shooting an anonymous person contacted the police department, and “He,” Doe explains, “identified himself as being responsible for killing the previous victims, Faraday and Jensen.” However, this one was different since Mageau was alive, though left in critical condition, progress to the investigation could have been substantial enough to identify the killer. Nonetheless, as claimed by Doe, “Progress really was not made” due to the amount of blurred and ambiguous information the police received, which ended up wasting five weeks without making any
It is quite difficult to fully understand the motives behind Emma Bovary’s suicide, however, knowing she never accepted her reality of being part of the bourgeoisie class, one can only infer her to fail in life. Throughout her life she was, in simple words, like a child living with greater imaginations than one could provide for. No antique object, or fine decor, or an affair with a noble man satisfies this woman. Emma spends her whole life searching for fulfillment of her idealistic romantic illusions, which have been embedded in her mind through readings of the 19th century romantic novels. These books falsified her mind, creating a fantasy she desired that would never cease till it was conquered. Instead of appreciating what she has, she despises her husband for being unable to provide for her every desire. In Emma’s life, she believes she is greater than the class she is born in. She aimed everyday to rise higher in the social classes. In result, throughout Gustave Flaubert’s novel, Madame Bovary, Emma builds the path to her own destruction. She creates a falsified world for herself of unhappiness by having two failed affairs, leading her family to