Historical Oddities

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====== Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm? ======

{{ :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>.

===== Discovery =====

On 18 April 1943, four local boys (Robert Hart, Thomas Willetts, Bob Farmer and Fred Payne) were in Hagley Wood, part of the Hagley estate belonging to Lord Cobham<sup>1</sup>. They came across a large wych elm<sup>1</sup>. Farmer attempted to climb the tree to investigate and discovered a skull<sup>1</sup>. At first, he believed it to be that of an animal, but after seeing human hair and teeth, he realised that he had found a human skull<sup>1</sup>. The boys returned home without mentioning their discovery to anybody<sup>1</sup>. However, the eldest of the boys, Willetts, decided to report the find to his parents<sup>1</sup>.

===== Investigation =====

{{ :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>.

===== Theories =====

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>.

===== References =====

<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”