In 1968 the close-knit community of Scotswood in Newcastle was torn apart by the brutal murder of two young boys. What made the killings even more shocking was that their attacker was ten-year-old Mary Bell, herself just a child. So, what turns a child into a full-bloodied killer, and at what age should they be accountable for their actions? Fred Dinenage: Murder Casebook: Mary Bell, CI 2012
Mary started life as an unwanted baby and she would be reminded of this throughout her childhood. ibid.
The two [with neighbour] girls’ behaviour would soon move to petty theft to abuse and violence. ibid.
Mary and Norma were now in custody for the murder of two young boys. ibid.
She was named as both monster and victim. ibid.
The twenty-three-year-old had been detained for twelve years but had now been deemed safe for society. As far as we know Mary went on to lead a normal life in society ... She was given anonymity. ibid.
Are we born good or bad? A product of Nature or Nurture? And ultimately can people change? ibid.
Brian was found covered with grass and purple weeds. He had been strangled. Nearby, a pair of broken scissors lay in the grass. There were puncture marks on his thighs, and his genitals had been partially skinned. Clumps of his hair were cut away. The wounds were bizarre: ‘There was a terrible playfulness about it, a terrible gentleness if you like, and somehow the playfulness of it made it more, rather than less, terrifying,’ said Inspector James Dobson. Brian’s belly had been signed M with a razor blade. This cut would not be apparent until days later. It appeared that someone had imprinted an N, and that a fourth mark was added (by a different hand?) to change the N into a M. Crime Library online
‘Mary’s method was to massage the necks of the boys … her grip tightened and tightened.’ Children of Crime: The Mary Bell Case, rozzer, BBC 1998
In 1968 an 11-year-old girl Mary Bell killed two little boys at Scotswood, a district in the west end of Newcastle … The deaths cause bewilderment and outrage. ibid.
Mary Bell’s childhood had been full of unhappiness. She was neglected. ibid.
She seemed to have a sadistic streak. ibid.
She was exposed to the grim world of her mother’s prostitution and her father’s drunkenness. ibid.
Next door to Mary Bell in Whitehouse Road there lived another girl called Bell who was no relation - she was Norma Bell, two years older than Mary but much less bright. Mary was always the leader. ibid.
After the attack on Pauline the police were called but no further action was taken. ibid.
Martin Brown was taken from the derelict house … His death was blamed on the dangerous conditions in the rat-alley slums. ibid.
‘I murder so that I may come back.’ ibid. note scribbled in school break-in
Brian Howe, a three-year-old … Mary Bell picked him and took him off with Norma … He was never seen alive again. ibid.
The cut marks were naive attempts to leave initials on the body. ibid.
Her case at that time was unique. ibid.
2 Girls Tried in Tot Deaths … 11 year old was ‘psychopath’: Little Mary Bell, at 11, a convicted strangler, began a life of detention today. No hospital and only one prison in Britain would take her as an inmate. The Times 6th December 1968
The murderer is a young girl … Mary Flora Bell was born on May 26th 1957 in Gateshead … ‘Mary never cried during the trial; she never showed remorse’ … Mary Bell is a psychopath … Mary Bell is sentenced to life imprisonment. Killer Kids s1e2: Psychopath Killers, YourTV 2018
Numerous experts are called to testify. Their conclusions are unanimous: Mary Bell is a psychopath. ibid.
BELL, OSMOND: Forensics: Catchiing the Killer TV -
Birmingham: The local residents in the block of maisenettes first noticed a strong unpleasant smell coming from the utilities cupboard owned by the council. Forensics: Catching the Killer s2e12, Sky Crime 2023
Nova Welsh: she had not been seen for a few weeks. ibid.
With so much known about the state of Nova’s marriage, Bell quickly became the focus of the police investigation. Bell was arrested and taken in for questioning. ibid.
Crucial forensic evidence would finally come to light. ibid.
BELLFIELD, LEVI [viz Russell, Lin & Megan & Josie murders & Miscarriages of Justice: Stone, Michael]: Evil Up Close TV - Steve Bird - David Wilson: Killers Behind Bars TV - Born to Kill? TV - Levi Bellfield Left Me for Dead TV - Britain’s Most Evil Killers TV - The Killer in My Family TV - Making a Monster TV - Levi Bellfield: 5 Mistakes that Caught a Killer TV - Faking It: Tears of a Crime TV - The Real Manhunter TV - The Abduction of Milly Dowler TV - The Russell Murders: Who Killed Lin & Megan TV -
He specialised in young victims. His actions brought one of the world’s mightiest news organisations to its knees with the murder of Milly Dowler. Levi Bellfield has issues. Evil Up Close: Levi Bellfield, CI 2012
He forces himself on some of the girls he came across. ibid.
A 13-year-old schoolgirl Milly Dowler goes missing. ibid.
It is three years since the disappearance of Milly Dowler; since then there have been multiple unsolved rape cases in the same area, two murders and an attempted killing. ibid.
Bellfield was a woman-hater. He was bullied at school quite acutely by a number of girls. Steve Bird, journalist
The sadistic killer Levi Bellfield was imprisoned in 2004 for the savage murder of two young women in London. He was later convicted of a horrific crime that would become one of the UK’s most infamous cases: the murder of schoolgirl Milly Dowler. But are there still more victims to be found in the violent killer’s past? Professor David Wilson, Killers Behind Bars: Levi Bellfield, Channel 5 2013
They were dealing with a complex sexual predator. ibid.
More and more victims were emerging. ibid.
In 2002 fear struck the streets of south-west London. A cold-blooded killer who was stalking his prey, striking at defenceless young women. But who was behind these twisted attacks? Was murder his destiny? Was he born to kill? Born to Kill? s6e4: Levi Bellfield, Really 2017
All but a small section of Milly’s [Dowler] walk home was covered by video surveillance. ibid.
Levi Bellfield was no stranger to violence. ibid.
The bus stop killer struck again … A spate of brutal attacks on young women. ibid.
Bellfield would stand trial at the Old Bailey in 2007. ibid.
Levi Bellfield: serial killer, rapist, psychopath … Police believe there may have been more than twenty other victims of rape and assault. This is the story of some of those who got away. Levi Bellfield Left Me for Dead, Channel 5 2017
Attacking women with hammers became a trade-mark of Levi Bellfield. ibid.
Jo was still not free of Bellfield: for the next seven years he stalked her obsessively. ibid.
In February 2003 police were trying to track down a vicious attacker who was targeting young blonde women ... The killer was a man named Levi Bellfield. Even after his incarceration in 2008 he was linked with the shocking murder of a 13-year-old schoolgirl … One of Britain’s most evil killers. Britain’s Most Evil Killers s1e5: Levi Bellfield, Pick TV 2017
By 2002 Bellfield had fathered 11 children with 5 different women. ibid.
In June 2011 Levi Bellfield, a former bouncer from West London, was in court charged with committing one of Britain’s most high-profile murders. Miller Dowler was last seen around Walton on Thames station around 21 March 2002. The Killer in My Family s1e4: Levi Bellfield, Quest Red 2020
‘Levi Bellfield was a domestic abuser, he was a woman murderer, he was a child molester and he was a child killer.’ ibid. Emma Kenny
For over two decades a serial killer named Levi Bellfield prowled these streets in West London. He used this ten-mile square patch as a hunting ground, preying on young blonde victims. After a murderous campaign that saw him brutally take the lives of three young girls between 2002-2004 he was forced to go to ground. Making a Monster: The Bus Stop Killer s1e3, CI 2020
To this day he has refused to cooperate fully with police. ibid.
Fat, loud, bullying, drug-using, promiscuous, cowardly thug. ibid.
The only serial murderer in British legal history to receive two whole-life sentences. ibid.
Mother Fixation … Rejection … Inadequacy … Power & Control … Sexual Sadism … Creature of Habit and Habitat … Victim Group Identification … Rage … Arrogance … ibid.
Milly Dowler’s murder was to remain unsolved for almost a decade. Less than a year later, in February 2003, Bellfield targeted a second victim. ibid.