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Solving the Black Dahlia cover art

Solving the Black Dahlia

By: Douglas Laux
Narrated by: Douglas Laux
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  • Summary

  • In 1947, a young woman named Elizabeth Short was murdered in Los Angeles. The killer bisected her body and placed it on the side of a busy street six miles southwest of downtown. The LAPD questioned an endless line of suspects, some of whom claimed to be the killer. But none proved to know certain critical details about the crime scene. Desperate for a lead, a rogue LAPD team even kidnapped a suspect from Florida and interrogated him to no avail. Police could not identify the killer.

    Fast forward 75 years.

    Former CIA case officer Douglas Laux boards a bus in Los Angeles for the Black Dahlia tour. Doug, in his early 30s, is whisked to locations around LA related to Elizabeth Short’s murder. He knows virtually nothing about her case. He also isn’t sure why Short’s identity and name have been replaced by a mostly fictional Hollywood narrative of a tragic ingenue called the Black Dahlia who was murdered after visiting the Biltmore Hotel. But the fact that an unsolved murder from 1947 is still popular enough to support its own bus tour tells him there may be a lot of conflicting history to uncover. He’s surprised to discover that there are still many passionately argued different theories about who killed Elizabeth Short. But only one theory can be right, or they are all wrong. Doug decides to find out.

    Like many before him, Doug becomes fixated on the case. For eight years he leverages his CIA skillset to try and solve the Black Dahlia murder. Now, he believes he has.
    ©2022 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2022 Audible Originals, LLC
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Episodes
  • Solving the Black Dahlia Trailer

    Solving the Black Dahlia Trailer
    Jan 12 2022
    In 1947, a young woman named Elizabeth Short was murdered in Los Angeles. The killer bisected her body and placed it on the side of a busy street six miles southwest of downtown. The LAPD questioned an endless line of suspects, some of whom claimed to be the killer. But none proved to know certain critical details about the crime scene. Desperate for a lead, a rogue LAPD team even kidnapped a suspect from Florida and interrogated him to no avail. Police could not identify the killer.

    Fast forward 75 years.

    Former CIA case officer Douglas Laux boards a bus in Los Angeles for the Black Dahlia tour. Doug, in his early 30s, is whisked to locations around LA related to Elizabeth Short’s murder. He knows virtually nothing about her case. He also isn’t sure why Short’s identity and name have been replaced by a mostly fictional Hollywood narrative of a tragic ingenue called the Black Dahlia who was murdered after visiting the Biltmore Hotel. But the fact that an unsolved murder from 1947 is still popular enough to support its own bus tour tells him there may be a lot of conflicting history to uncover. He’s surprised to discover that there are still many passionately argued different theories about who killed Elizabeth Short. But only one theory can be right, or they are all wrong. Doug decides to find out.

    Like many before him, Doug becomes fixated on the case. For eight years he leverages his CIA skillset to try and solve the Black Dahlia murder. Now, he believes he has.
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    Less than 1 minute
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  • Episode 1: Photo Evidence

    Episode 1: Photo Evidence
    Jan 13 2022
    When former CIA case officer Douglas Laux takes a Hollywood bus tour about the unsolved 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short, aka the Black Dahlia, he knows virtually nothing about the victim, the crime, and the investigation. But when Doug learns just how many different theories there are about who did it, he decides to leverage his CIA skillset to try and solve it once and for all. The first person Doug seeks out is former LAPD detective, Steve Hodel, whose scandalous and personal theory about the case has become a Hollywood sensation.
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    46 mins
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  • Episode 2: Ok, But…

    Episode 2: Ok, But…
    Jan 13 2022

    Doug and Steve Hodel meet in Griffith Park near the infamous Sowden House, Steve’s childhood home and where he believes Elizabeth Short was murdered in the basement. Steve shares a wealth of information with Doug. In spite of some loose ends and question marks in the decades old case, Doug finds the retired LAPD detective’s story believable, if not entirely verifiable. It seems clear to Doug that no one knows more about this case than Steve Hodel, until Doug talks with former LA Times reporter, Larry Harnisch, who is ready to blow a hole right through Steve’s theories.
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    25 mins
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True Crime
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What listeners say about Solving the Black Dahlia

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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    39
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    4 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for simon

Great

it was a very informative listen. Easy to follow, well narrated. I could have listened for longer.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for K8
  • K8
  • 01-04-22

Good listen

this is very interesting. Lots of information about the case.
I had heard of the black dalia before but didn't know the details

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for PaddyM

Mesmerisingly Methodical!

An absolutely phenomenal piece of work by Douglas Laux and obviously a labor of love. Douglas leaves no stone unturned (well…what stones there *are* still available to turn, he certainly lifts and looks under here). His methodical approach to this infamous murder that still shocks almost a century later is to be admired, and if anything was needed to be said to back-up just how good his work is in this regard, it is neither sensationalist or economical with the facts, as such I feel it can proudly stand as a testament to Elizabeth Short - which is certainly something that no other previously published work on this awful incident can claim - well-intentioned or not.

I guarantee you’ll be hard-pressed not to binge your way thru this in one sitting, it’s THAT good - if you’re looking for a 21st Century Digital Gumshoe, Douglas Laux is your guy!

Five stars from me all down the line.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Emma

Interesting but leads no where

I know this is still an unsolved case, so knew it would probably lead nowhere when I started it, however if just goes around in circles and ends up more as a personal argument with two 'experts' on the case. 1 blames his father and sounds reasonable when you hear his reasons, the other calls the first an fantasist and shows why... leaving you in knots.

Solving the Black Dahlia... more like the fight around it.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Samantha m.

Great storytelling

loved it. could have listened for longer. wish there was more. definitely worth the listen.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Chrissie Ann

Muddled

Found this a muddled rendering of the terrible Black Dahlia incident. No logic used, no explanation oof anything.

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  • AJ
  • 14-02-23

Interesting

Really not sure why there's so many bad reviews for this podcast. The description states that this will be told from Douglas's point of view so if you wanted a monotonous fact overview, then you're better off reading the wikipedia page for the murder case. If you want something more narrative, then this is great.

I don't see why some people have an issue with Douglas reading books about the murder and any theories - it happened some 70+ years ago! He can't travel back in time. He even mentions in ep 5 that he's frustrated that all he can go off of is anecdotal evidence and books/reports. I also just find the fact that people have sneered at him reading books about the murder a moot point, to be honest. How do you think journalists research their topics? Do they have all the answers magically beamed into their brain or do they read books, articles, reports, papers and then interview people in that field and then have to come to their own conclusions? Exactly.

People who complained it was confusing, I just don't think were paying attention as I did not find this. Either that or they listened to a different thing entirely. Looking at some of the reviews I think a lot of people may have listened to something else!
Douglas never claims to solve the case. Not sure why some people think he has? I, admittedly only know little about the case so found it interesting that he spoke to different people with their own theories. But I knew he wasn't about to break the case, I think of it akin to Jack the Ripper; no one's going to solve it any time soon but people continue to explore it and I don't see anything wrong with that.

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Profile Image for Mark cameron

very in trein

I jove this pod cast very in trestin and very esay 2 get in 2 and very in trestin

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Phoebe vW

Disappointing

After each of the first episodes, I was left confused and thinking I must have missed the actual point. Then the last episode gave the "resolution" and the former episodes felt as if they had been merely filler.. The "facts" were no more convincing than the theories discarded during the series and sadly did not warrant the optimistic title.
For the amount of times Mr Laux said Elizabeth was forgotten and only the Black Dahlia remembered, he missed the perfect opportunity to tell is who she was and how she should be remembered.

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1 person found this helpful

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Profile Image for Lee

On balance ...

It seems likely that Dr Bayley was Elizabeth's killer, though this will sit uncomfortably with many people. As discussed (briefly), in the final episode, humans are simply not built to accept the unknown (pp.) We want everything presented all neat and tidy, but life is seldom like this. While Bayley doesn't check every box, he checks enough of them to distinguish himself as the person who killed this young woman all those years ago.

I, for one, am convinced!

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