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| ====== Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm? ====== | ====== Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm? ====== |
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| “Who put Bella in the Wych Elm?” is a graffito that appeared in 1944 following the 1943 discovery by four teenagers of the skeletonised remains of a woman inside a wych elm in Worcestershire, England<sup>1</sup>. The phrase is also used to refer to the unsolved case of the circumstances of her death<sup>1</sup>. | {{ :9ti35qt35sb91.jpg?200}}“Who put Bella in the Wych Elm?” is a graffito that appeared in 1944 following the 1943 discovery by four teenagers of the skeletonised remains of a woman inside a wych elm in Worcestershire, England<sup>1</sup>. The phrase is also used to refer to the unsolved case of the circumstances of her death<sup>1</sup>. |
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| ===== Discovery ===== | ===== Discovery ===== |
| ===== Investigation ===== | ===== Investigation ===== |
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| When police checked the trunk of the tree they found an almost complete skeleton, with a shoe, a gold wedding ring, and some fragments of clothing<sup>1</sup>. The skull still had some tufts of hair and had a clear dental pattern, despite some missing teeth<sup>1</sup>. After further investigation, the remains of a hand were found some distance from the tree<sup>1</sup>. The body was sent for forensic examination by the Birmingham-based Home Office pathologist James Webster<sup>1</sup>. He quickly established that it was that of a female who had been dead for at least 18 months, placing time of death in or before October 1941<sup>1</sup>. Webster also discovered a section of taffeta in her mouth, suggesting that she had died from suffocation<sup>1</sup>. | {{ :bella-crime-scene-police-sketch.jpg?400}}When police checked the trunk of the tree they found an almost complete skeleton, with a shoe, a gold wedding ring, and some fragments of clothing<sup>1</sup>. The skull still had some tufts of hair and had a clear dental pattern, despite some missing teeth<sup>1</sup>. After further investigation, the remains of a hand were found some distance from the tree<sup>1</sup>. The body was sent for forensic examination by the Birmingham-based Home Office pathologist James Webster<sup>1</sup>. He quickly established that it was that of a female who had been dead for at least 18 months, placing time of death in or before October 1941<sup>1</sup>. Webster also discovered a section of taffeta in her mouth, suggesting that she had died from suffocation<sup>1</sup>. |
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| ===== Theories ===== | ===== Theories ===== |
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| The case became one of Britain’s greatest unsolved mysteries<sup>2</sup>. Some locals believe the killing was ritualistic and points to witchcraft, while others insist the woman was a German spy who was murdered when her mission behind enemy lines went wrong<sup>2</sup>. The theories as to what may have happened are as bizarre as the local legend is enduring<sup>2</sup>. | The case became one of Britain’s greatest unsolved mysteries<sup>2</sup>. Some locals believe the killing was ritualistic and points to witchcraft, while others insist the woman was a German spy who was murdered when her mission behind enemy lines went wrong<sup>2</sup>. The theories as to what may have {{ :bella_graffiti.jpg?200}}happened are as bizarre as the local legend is enduring<sup>2</sup>. |
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| ===== References ===== | ===== References ===== |
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| <sup>1</sup>: “Who put Bella in the Wych Elm? - Wikipedia”\\ | <sup>1</sup>: “Who put Bella in the Wych Elm? - Wikipedia”\\ <sup>2</sup>: “Unravelling the 80-year-old mystery of the woman found in a wych elm in Hagley Wood - ABC News” |
| <sup>2</sup>: “Unravelling the 80-year-old mystery of the woman found in a wych elm in Hagley Wood - ABC News” | |
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