Severed: The True Story of the Black Dahlia Murder section with many never before-published photos from the life of Elizabeth Short and from the case, including graphic crime scene and postmortem police photos. The book was well-received upon publication, receiving praise from publisher Larry Flynt, as well as David Lynch, who optioned the book for film rights in 1995; the film eventually fell through. Severed: The True Story of the Black Dahlia Murder Severed: The True Story of the Black Dahlia Murder is a 1994 American historical true crime book by John Gilmore. The book details the life and death of Elizabeth Short, also known as "The Black Dahlia,"
Carrie Brown (murder victim) Carrie Brown (murder victim) Carrie Brown (1834 – April 24, 1891) was a New York prostitute who was murdered and mutilated in a lodging house. She is occasionally mentioned as an alleged victim of Jack the Ripper. Although known to use numerous aliases, a common practice in her occupation, she supposedly won her nickname of Shakespeare for her habit of quoting William Shakespeare during drinking games. She has often been erroneously referred to as Old Shakespeare in later news articles and books. The badly mutilated body of Carrie Brown, a longtime Bowery prostitute, was found in a room in a