In January 1947, a mother walking through a quiet Los Angeles neighborhood made a horrifying discovery — the bisected body of a young woman posed in a vacant lot.

Within hours, newspapers had a headline that would echo for decades: The Black Dahlia Murder.

In this first episode of BROKEN: The Black Dahlia Murder, host Esther Ludlow revisits the shocking discovery of Elizabeth Short’s body and explores how the media turned one of America’s most brutal crimes into legend.

You’ll learn how police handed reporters nearly unrestricted access to the case, how wild speculation replaced evidence, and how myths — from “party girl” to “femme fatale” — erased the real woman behind the name.

Seventy-eight years later, her story is still broken by rumor and sensationalism.

Now, Once Upon a Crime seeks to restore the truth.

In this six-part series, Esther will uncover the real Elizabeth Short — and tell the story the headlines never did.

About This Series

BROKEN: The Black Dahlia Murder is a six-part Once Upon a Crime original series.

Through extensive research, historical records, and firsthand accounts, Esther Ludlow uncovers the truth behind America’s most infamous unsolved murder, separating fact from fiction to rediscover the real woman behind the myth.

Upcoming episode:

Part Two: Discovering Elizabeth - The true biography of Elizabeth Short: her childhood, her dreams, and how her life led her to Los Angeles.

Release date: October 25th

Sources & References

• Los Angeles Police Department and FBI case archives and reports.
• “Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood” by William J. Mann, Simon & Schuster, (Advanced Reader Copy), Publication date: January 13, 2026.
• “Severed: The True Story of the Black Dahlia Murder” by John Gilmore.
• Historic articles from the Los Angeles Times and The Examiner (1947). (Accessed on Newspapers.com.)

Sponsors:

See a list of our sponsors and discount codes on our website:

https://www.truecrimepodcast.com/sponsors/

Links:

Patreon - www.patreon.com/onceuponacrime

Our Website - www.truecrimepodcast.com

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@OnceUponACrimePodcast

Killer Hearts to Hearts: https://www.killerhearttohearts.com/podcast

Crime Salad: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crime-salad/id1457141569

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In January 1947, Elizabeth Short’s brutal murder shocked Los Angeles — and turned her into the enduring legend known as The Black Dahlia.

In this new six-part Once Upon a Crime series, host Esther Ludlow goes beyond the headlines to uncover the real woman behind the myth. Drawing on her background in criminal psychology and nearly a decade of experience researching and narrating Once Upon a Crime, Esther takes a deep dive into one of history’s most infamous unsolved murders — revealing new insights, hidden details, and the truth behind the legend.

🎧 Broken: The Black Dahlia Murder premieres October 13th.

Don’t Miss Our Other Series

While you wait for the premiere of Broken, you can listen to our full seven-part series, Hanged: Ruth Ellis and the Price of Passion — now available on all podcast platforms and on YouTube. It’s the tragic story of the last woman hanged in Britain, exploring love, obsession, and the ultimate price of passion.

🔗 Subscribe now and follow at truecrimepodcast.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.