It's January of 1947 and a mother and daughter are walking down a neighborhood street in Los Angeles. It was a normal day, it seemed, until they stumbled across a naked woman in the front yard of a residence.

She was cut in half.

The mother claimed that she thought it was a mannequin at first, due to the body's position. But, in fact, it was the body of aspiring Hollywood actress, Elizabeth Short. Her body was cut with such precision that no bone or organ was disturbed. Her face had also been cut from her mouth to her ears to create a "smile".

There was no blood on the ground, proving that the body had been moved there. Also, there was a letter created from magazine and paper clippings to introduce Elizabeth's belongings and that there would be more contact to follow. Those belongings and the letter were all flooded with gasoline to remove any fingerprints. (The Chilling Mystery of the Black Dahlia - Buzzfeed Unsolved)

The name "Black Dahlia" gained traction through her wardrobe of sheer black clothes. It was also inspired by the movie "Blue Dahlia" that was out in that time. (The Black Dahlia - FBI)

Another letter came, claiming the murderer was going to turn his/herself in, stating that "I've had my fun with police". However — no shock here — no one came forward.

Short was checked in to the Biltmore Hotel with the help of a man named Robert Manley. While people think Short was last seen at the Biltmore, it is said that she left and went to the Crown Grill Bar, leaving this as the true place she was last seen.

There are several suspects considered, including Manley, the guy who helped Short check into the hotel. She seemed to spend a significant amount of time with him. While he was cleared of suspicion through a polygraph test, a lot of people still consider him a suspect because of his commission into a mental hospital for hearing voices.

Another suspect was Joseph Dumais, an Army Corporal who falsely confessed to her murder.

The final and most damning suspect is George Hodel. He had a secret room where his kids weren't allowed to go. George's son, Steve Hodel, was five at the time of the murder. He grew up to be an LAPD detective and began to study the Black Dahlia case during his time on the force. After his analyzation of the files and his retirement, he was convinced that his father had killed the Black Dahlia. (The Chilling Mystery of the Black Dahlia - Buzzfeed Unsolved)

His father studied surgery in medical school and ran the town's venereal disease clinic. This proposes the idea that he could cut Short's body with the surgical precision required. Steve Hodel apparently found photos of what looked like Elizabeth Short in his dad's office. While initially the faces didn't match, in 2014, facial recognition technology proved that it was 90-95% her. Steve Hodel also believed the Dahlia murderers and his father's handwriting were similar. His sister also reported that George Hodel sexually assaulted her, but he was found not guilty. (The Chilling Mystery of the Black Dahlia - Buzzfeed Unsolved).

At one time, the police did suspect George Hodel of the murder and planted bugs in his house to listen in on his conversations. There is a recording where he says, "Supposing that I did kill the Black Dahlia, they couldn't prove it now. They can't talk to my secretary anymore because she's dead."

His son also discovered that there was a witness claiming that both George Hodel and Elizabeth Short knew each other. (The Chilling Mystery of the Black Dahlia - Buzzfeed Unsolved).

Her murderer was never determined due to the corruption of the LAPD at the time. Most of the evidence for this case has, of course, disappeared, thus leaving this mystery as L.A.'s oldest and most famous cold case. Steve Hodel brought search dogs onto the property within the recent years and determined that there are remains buried. While the Dahlia was not buried, this could suggest that Dr. George Hodel has killed before.

However, with the lack of evidence (heavily debated that Dr. Hodel paid off the police), this case cannot be solved unless new evidence surfaces.