Nearly 80 years after the infamous 1947 killing of Elizabeth Short, widely known as the Black Dahlia, critical evidence, including her full unredacted autopsy report, remains locked away by the Los Angeles Police Department.
A new public petition from Talestorm Productions is urgently demanding the LAPD release these key case files. Noting that the petition is supported and signed by the family of Elizabeth Short.
This push for transparency comes from a five-year investigation that has uncovered substantial new evidence, including confirmation of the actual murder location and a primary suspect that challenges many of the theories that have shaped public understanding of this case. These breakthroughs make the release of the autopsy more critical than ever to ensure accountability and establish the historical truth of this highly talked-about, unsolved murder.
The Justice Cannot Be Silenced Foundation and Talestorm Productions, who is documenting this real-time investigation for a recently announced docuseries called “Deconstructing Dahlia,” are behind this petition.
Statement from Talestorm’s “Deconstructing Dahlia” director Jeff Thomas and producer Kimberly Lupini:
For nearly 80 years, the murder of Elizabeth Short has existed in a fog of speculation, misinformation, missing evidence, and unanswered questions. Over the past five years, our Deconstructing Team has conducted an extensive independent investigation alongside forensic experts, former law enforcement personnel, and retired homicide detectives, uncovering substantial new evidence that we believe fundamentally changes the understanding of this case.
What we’ve found made one thing unmistakably clear: critical evidence tied to Elizabeth Short’s murder is still being withheld by the Los Angeles Police Department.
That evidence includes Elizabeth Short’s complete autopsy report, believed to be the only autopsy in Los Angeles history withheld from the public for nearly eight decades despite being a public record. During formal meetings with our team, the LAPD agreed to release key portions of the case file, only to later reverse course without explanation.
For five years, our investigative team has worked on building a factual, evidence-based record, one that challenges many of the assumptions and theories that have shaped public understanding of this case for nearly 80 years. As our investigation has progressed, it has become increasingly clear that key narratives accepted by the public do not align with the evidence we’ve uncovered.
But there is only so far any investigation can go while key records remain locked away.
We are launching this petition because time is running out. Despite our team’s repeated requests and efforts to work cooperatively with the LAPD over the last four years, critical evidence tied to Elizabeth Short’s murder has remained blocked from both our Deconstructing Team and the Short family. During that time, witnesses and former investigators passed away, and Elizabeth Short’s surviving sisters died without ever receiving answers. The continued withholding of these records has obstructed our efforts to fully uncover the truth behind this case.
This is not about reviving another Black Dahlia theory. It is about accountability, historical truth, and finally giving Elizabeth Short and her family the answers they have been denied for nearly 80 years. If the LAPD has nothing to hide, then release the file.
