Who put Bella in the Witch Elm?

[Abby Normal]

Would you believe it? I was going to start a thread on the same subject but Mr Normal has beaten me to it.

I was reminded of this case by Al a few days ago and so while I’m waiting for a book on the Shark Arm case to arrive I ordered ‘Who Put Bella In The Wych Elm’ volume one by Alex Merrill who was 15 at the time of writing (helped by his father)

Its only a slim volume (119 pages) and cost around £8 but well worth it in my opinion. It came today and I read it straight through. As this is volume one it mainly presents the facts of the case (although it touches on a theory or two) Police reports, medical reports, photographs and a facial reconstruction from the skull. Hats off to a 15 lad whose obviously fascinated by the case. I’ve just ordered volume 2 for around the same price. Volume 3 hasn’t appeared yet.

There doesn't appear to be many books on the case. There’s one by a woman called Coley but I can’t see a copy for sale at the moment. Donald McCormick also wrote a book on the case with a suggested witchcraft connection but the only copy I can see is going for £99!

Im looking forward to reading more. I might visit the location which isn’t to far from me.

No theory is confirmed. Was she a prostitute? No one knows but one graffito said ‘Bella was no pross.’

It appears to be believed that the first 2 or 3 graffito might have been written by the same person. It’s also interesting to me that some graffito called her Lubella.

Theres a podcast or two I might track down. It’s the kind of case though where it’s difficult to see anyone getting near to the truth unless some new evidence shows up. Certainly interesting though.

yeah whata bizzarro case. i mean who would think of hiding a body in a tree? someone must have known about that tree beforehand, which is why i said i would be looking at people on or near tje estate.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Would you believe it? I was going to start a thread on the same subject but Mr Normal has beaten me to it.

I was reminded of this case by Al a few days ago and so while I’m waiting for a book on the Shark Arm case to arrive I ordered ‘Who Put Bella In The Wych Elm’ volume one by Alex Merrill who was 15 at the time of writing (helped by his father)

Its only a slim volume (119 pages) and cost around £8 but well worth it in my opinion. It came today and I read it straight through. As this is volume one it mainly presents the facts of the case (although it touches on a theory or two) Police reports, medical reports, photographs and a facial reconstruction from the skull. Hats off to a 15 lad whose obviously fascinated by the case. I’ve just ordered volume 2 for around the same price. Volume 3 hasn’t appeared yet.

There doesn't appear to be many books on the case. There’s one by a woman called Coley but I can’t see a copy for sale at the moment. Donald McCormick also wrote a book on the case with a suggested witchcraft connection but the only copy I can see is going for £99!

Im looking forward to reading more. I might visit the location which isn’t to far from me.

No theory is confirmed. Was she a prostitute? No one knows but one graffito said ‘Bella was no pross.’

It appears to be believed that the first 2 or 3 graffito might have been written by the same person. It’s also interesting to me that some graffito called her Lubella.

Theres a podcast or two I might track down. It’s the kind of case though where it’s difficult to see anyone getting near to the truth unless some new evidence shows up. Certainly interesting though.

[Azarna]

In March 2018 I read an article by Cathi Unsworth, from Fortean Times, and was very intrigued. The article was called "Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?". There is something about those words.

I believe the granddaughter of Joseph Jacobs (incidently, the last man to be executed in the Tower of London) was writing a book about her grandfather, and his claimed involvment in the life of "Bella".

[Abby Normal]

Hi Abby,

Glad you picked it up. It's a proper mystery. No one's solving it any time soon.
It's probably better remembered in Britain because of the graffiti it inspired in later decades.

thanks al
just from reading the wiki entry it looks like Bella was a prostitute who had disapeared about 2-3 years earlier. the other stories are a bit far fetched.

also, It seems the grafitti writers were different people because the first writer wrote it Wych and the subsequent ones were spelled witch.

im not sure how far the tree was from a road, but id be looking at people who lived on the estate or very near it.

[Al Bundy's Eyes]

Hi Abby,

Glad you picked it up. It's a proper mystery. No one's solving it any time soon.
It's probably better remembered in Britain because of the graffiti it inspired in later decades.

[Abby Normal]

taking this from another thread. i had to google this case as ive never heard of it before. how bizzaro. does anyone have any insight to this mystery?