An 11-year-old girl shocked the world with her haunting handwritten confessions after she committed murders of two young children. At just 10, Mary Bell strangled four-year-old Martin Brown, leaving his lifeless body in a derelict house’s upstairs bedroom in Newcastle, UK. Shortly after turning 11, Mary took another life, this time of three-year-old Brian Howe.
The community was alarmed when Brian was last seen in the company of Mary, her 13-year-old neighbor and accomplice Norman Bell, one of his siblings, and their family dog. After a distressing search on that July afternoon in 1968, Brian’s body was tragically discovered hidden between two large concrete blocks, a grim effort by Mary to conceal her crime.
Unlike Martin, Brian’s murder was even more gruesome as Mary mutilated his body with scissors, inflicting wounds on his thighs and horribly mutilating his genitals.
Prior to Brian’s murder, Mary had shockingly confessed to her previous killing in notes. These notes were found by nursery workers after Mary and Norma had broken into and vandalized a nursery. Among the disturbing messages left behind, one read: “WE did murder martain brown f**kof you bastard.”
Another eerie note written by Mary stated, “I murder SO That I may come back.” Despite the alarming nature of these notes, they were initially dismissed by the police as a dark joke.
As the investigation unfolded, both Mary and Norma were found to be involved in the deaths of Brian and Martin. The case took a turn as they accused one another, with Mary attempting to pin the blame on Norma, and Norma reciprocating the accusation.
Ultimately, both girls were charged with manslaughter. However, only Mary was convicted at the trial. Prosecutors argued that she killed “solely for the pleasure and excitement of killing,” as reported by BBC at the time. Described as a “very grave risk to other children,” Mary was sentenced to detention.
Mary Bell served almost 12 years in prison and was released in 1980 at the age of 23, subsequently granted anonymity. To this day, her current whereabouts and identity remain protected and unknown.