who canBella in the Wych-Elm - A Midlands Murder Mystery

[Doppelganger]

In April 1943, four young boys were exploring the woods near England's Wychbury Hill when one climbed a large wych hazel in search of birds' nests.

To his horror, inside the hollow trunk he found a human skull, hair and teeth. Investigation showed that the tree contained a nearly complete human skeleton, a shoe and some fragments of clothing. A human hand was found buried nearby.

The war effort prevented the English authorities from making a full investigation, but a pathologist estimated that the woman had been asphyxiated 18 months earlier and that her body was still warm when it was entombed in the tree.

But that's as far as they got. The woman's identity — and that of her killer — remain unknown.

have any of you heard of this murder ,theres not a lot of sites out there that don`t get bogged down with crazy conspiracy theories ,the germans did it ,a witch did it ,ect.

[Graham]

Hello Doppelganger,

Strange indeed! This is well-known in the West Midlands and still occasionally gets a mention in local papers, usually because someone has found a new bit of graffiti somewhere. Yes, incredibly people still chalk up graffiti about 'Bella', which I suppose shows how deeply embedded she is in the local consciousness.

Did you know that someone called Simon Holt wrote a short operetta about this case?

The woman had apparently given birth shortly before she died, so there was a theory that she was bumped off by a shocked relation, or that she killed her own baby and then the father killed her in revenge. Also, that she was on the game and upset someone. Then there is the story that she was involved in espionage and was done in by whatever side she wasn't working for.

To add insult to injury, her skeleton was stolen from Birmingham University Medical School and never seen again...

Weird.

Graham

[sdreid]

I remember reading about this case in some book I have around here somewhere, I believe several years ago. It is a weird case indeed. I need to try to find that account and refresh my memory.

[Graham]

Stand and DG,

There's a very good description of the case in a book called (I think) "Black Country Murder And Mysteries", which I've lent to someone and can't remember who...

The Black Country is the former coal-mining and iron-making area to the west of Birmingham.

Cheers,

Graham

[sdreid]

Hi DG and Graham,

Ah yes, it's in a book called Forces From Beyond by Brian Lane. The entry is about 3 pages long under the title Hagley Wood Corpse. According to this account, a fairly extensive effort was made involving dentists to identify the woman by her teeth. It doesn't give an approximation of the woman's weight which I think could have been estimated by the size of the clothes found with the skeleton. This would have to be one of the classic unsolved murder cases.

[Mike Covell]

It is an interesting case, but I have no doubts that it has nothing to do with witches, black magic, white magic or paganism. It sounds like a simple murder. People often cite the removal of fingers as signs of devil worship or the black arts.

Some useful links,
Simon Holt's musical, http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2003...a.artsfeatures

Another account

http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/post/35094/weblog/

http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=175

SKELETON IN A TREE - The Hagley Wood Murder

In April 1943 three young boys were playing in Hagley Wood located in the Worcestershire area when one of them climbed a large tree truck which proved to be hollow. Inside he saw what he first thought was the skeleton of a dog. Upon closer examination he saw that the skull appeared human. The three boys ran and got help. The boy who made the discovery fell ill and died soon after.

So what has this got to do with Fred West? Here I quote from “Murder By Witchcraft” by Donald McCormack (Arrow, 1969): ‘But the most bizarre feature of this crime was that some of the smaller bones of the skeleton, including those of the fingers of one hand, were found buried at some distance from the body. This fact not only complicated the police's enquiries, but it also suggested this was a most unusual crime.’

Professor Margaret Murray, an eminent Archaelogist and Professor of Egyptology, became involved. Dr. Murray, as she was known, was also the leading authority on witchcraft, not only in Britain but Western Europe also. McCormack says,

‘I have no doubt at all that this clue [the missing finger bones] being buried separately caused Dr. Murray to believe that the crime was linked with witchcraft. For in Devil worship the hand of an executed person was greatly coveted by devotees of the cult.’

McCormack emphasises that the history of Satanism is littered with mentions of the “magic hand” where finger bones are buried near the newly sacrificed victim for the purpose of enchantments, etc.

[Chris Scott]

There is also an account at

http://www.btinternet.com/~orionmoon/MYSTERY.htm

but in this version it was two girls, not three boys, who found the remains

Best version Ive found is

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/preformmystery-murder-and-half-a-century-of-suspenseppreform-745330.html

but this time the finders were "four teenagers"!

[halomanuk]

Blimey,we are only talking 1943 here.

There must be some reliable source to gain information from,at least as to what sex,age and amount of kids found the skeleton.

[Diddles]

Interesting and spooky murder-case. Apparently the police of the area won't disclose any documents as the case is still open.

Found another link to a murder from a couple of years later also connected to witch-craft. Very interesting article:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/coventry/features/weird-warwickshire/1945-witchcraft-murder.shtml

[D'Onston]

Margaret A. Murray

Hey All, Even though up through the early 1960s, Dr. Murray was widely considered an expert on witchcraft and it's history in Western Europe, her work has been totally discredited by all major historians now working in this field. Her methodology was faulty, she hand picked only the evidence that suited her thesis, and applied English, and late Scottish records to earlier time periods on the continent where the were totally inapplicable. No one in the field takes any of her theses seriously any more. Her value as an "expert" on witchcraft is nil.

The only possibility that her opinions on the case "may" have some validity is if a twisted reader of her books were responsible for the murder and "acted out" some of her theories in committing the murder.

All the best, Mike