As a young girl, I would spend some of my play time with my Barbie. I would dress her up, take her on bike rides and she would visit my BFF, Kim, who had a lovely pink townhome and swimming pool for all of our dolls to enjoy.
This past weekend, while out shopping, Corbin and I picked up a new Barbie to bring home. Only this time, Barbie is not Barbie. She is Elizabeth Short and even though she is dressed for a fun day at the beach, her beautiful life will soon change. She will come victim to a horrendous crime.
Corbin is taking a course in Forensic Science at high school this year. This is the first year the school is offering this course and it is the perfect starting point for his college career in Forensic Chemistry. The first assignment was to reconstruct a famous crime scene and include elements of evidence. He chose the murder of Elizabeth Short or The Black Dahlia, as she is worldwide known. Elizabeth was murdered in California in 1947. Her body was cut in half, completely drained of blood and organs, she was washed and dumped in a vacant lot behind a subdivision only a few feet from a street and sidewalk. The most bizarre fact from her murder was that the killer cut her cheeks in such a way that she appeared to be smiling. Over 200 people were interviewed for the crime and 50 actually confessed to doing it! Because of the lack of evidence, no one was ever charged for this crime.
There are a lot of details, crime scene photos and interviews that can be found on the internet. Elizabeth was a beautiful young lady who, by all accounts, was a "good-girl" and wanted a career as an actress. There are so many unanswered questions that maybe could have been answered if our modern day technology was available back then. This is what my son wants to do with his life. He wants to gather evidence, analyze it and be a voice for the victim. I am very proud of his decision to pursue this passion he has as a career.
Elizabeth, may you forever Rest In Peace!
9 comments:
I think this is an amazing career choice. Good on him.
Have you read 'Above Suspicion - the Red Dahlia' by Lynda La Plante? It tells the story of a ficticious copycat killing and refers back to the Black Dahlia for the details. An excellent read. It was also made into a film for TV here in the UK. Irene xx
I think he's done a really great job with his project and it will be a fantastic start to learning more and more about his chosen career path!
Wow, I am so impressed that the high school is offering that course--it must be so interesting!
I agree with Siobhan, it is really cool that his high school is offering that course. I don't blame you for being proud of his choice of careers. Not only does it speak for the victims, it also requires a lot of intelligence and logic. Congratulations to your son.
What an interesting career choice. My DS would love that, but they don't do courses like forensic science in high school here.
What a great career choice he has made. I have always found it fascinating. Good luck to him.
Great job Corbin! He will do great in this career he has chosen! you should be proud!
What a great career choice for Corbin and what an interesting course to have offered. He did a super job with his 'Elizabeth Short crime scene'.
I can relate to this on a lot of levels:
-I'm taking a forensic science class
-it's the first time the school is offering it
-my first assignment was to create a mini crime scene
-I chose Elizabeth Short
If you're interested in seeing the Barbie doll I transformed, give me you're email and I'll send you pictures! Mine looks really cool maybe your son would be interested in seeing it!
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