Tony, there are a BUNCH of books on Elizabeth Short's murder. Here's the one I chose to read:
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Dahlia-File ... 054&sr=8-8
(Read the Publishers Weekly Review on this web page.)
The ones who wrote books that claim their fathers did it have been disproven in many ways. And the one who did the actual cutting AFTER she was dead was an abortionist, of whom the mob employed many.
A lot of facts have come out in the last few years, surpressed evidence and such, cover-ups, etc. And the theory in this book is Bugsy Siegel did it. The reason is so obtuse and unbelievable as to be nothing BUT believable. But it's the evidence as explained by some surviving investigators that leave little doubt as to what happened.
By the way--around the same time, the great Kirk Douglas may have been aware of and involved in the murder/disappearance of Jean Spangler, an actress, and the cast of players all come from the same groups running and controlling Hollywood then:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Spangler
The mob did they wanted, they paid the police, and the politicians knew all about it. It was an MO repeated many times in Hollywood.
This isn't about conspiracy theories, and althought the book isn't exactly an "easy" read, trying to keep track of all of the names and dates and such, it is incredibly enlightening.
And depressing.
Also, the case has NEVER been closed, but the LAPD can never go into it-- because it was the LAPD in the first place that protected the murderers, and because all of those guys are dead anyway.