Re: RARA-AVIS: Ellroy's Dahlia

David Yorkin (birdlives@earthlink.net)
Mon, 20 Apr 1998 11:33:46 -0700 This "Dahlia" thread proves that the case still continues to fascinate.
One of the books mentioned was "Severed," written I believe, by John
Gilmore. It was published by a small press in Santa Barbara. I find it
amazing that people don't know about it, because it is the only book
that actually SOLVES THE CASE! And it isn't bullshit, or a rip-off book,
either.

Gilmore's father was a cop, and he had access to the files. Gilmore
writes about the last days of Betty Short, in the present tense, using
the files and interviews available. All the characters Ellroy used are
in there, plus others, like Mark Hellinger, the Hollywood producer.

There were three questions that were asked to the numerous confessors,
to weed out the frauds. In 1960, a man made a "hearsay" confession to
the cops, which is inadmissible, about the death of Betty Short. The
transcription of the confession, which was recorded, is in the book, and
there is no doubt in my mind that this man was the actual killer,
because he's the only one who could answer the three questions. However,
he died before the police got to him.

I won't spoil the details for everybody, but I'm convinced this is the
real deal. The specifics are chilling and haunting, and when you read
about Betty's death, it's a more of a horrendous event than even Ellroy
could concoct. It's one hell of an intense read, and I heartily
recommend it for all you Dahlia freaks out there!

David

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