Mary Bell

Case information

Mary Flora Bell was convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and was detained at Her Majesty's pleasure. She was released in 1980.

She was associated with the killings of Martin Brown and Brian Howe, both small boys in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the Scotswood district.

Timeline

• Saturday 25 May 1968 — Martin Brown, aged four, was found asphyxiated in a derelict house at 85 St Margaret's Road, in the Scotswood district of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
• A couple of days later — A local nursery school was broken into.
• 31 July 1968 — Brian Howe, aged three, was found dead on wasteground off Scotswood Road; he had been strangled and had numerous small cuts.
• 5 August 1968 — Mary Bell and Norma Joyce Bell were arrested; when charged with murder, Mary replied, "That's all right by me."
• December 1968 — At the trial at the Moothall, Norma was found not guilty, while Mary, because of diminished responsibility, was found guilty of manslaughter.
• December 17, 1968 — Mary was convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
• 1980 — Mary was released with a new identity.

The offence

Death of Martin Brown (asphyxiation)

Martin Brown, aged four, was found asphyxiated in a derelict house at 85 St Margaret's Road in Scotswood, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, on Saturday 25 May 1968.

Initially, with no obvious cause of death, it was assumed that Martin had swallowed pills from a discarded bottle found nearby, but later the investigation treated his death as homicide.

Police investigating the incident found four notes, one of which referred to the death of Martin Brown.

Mary and Norma Joyce Bell were linked to the house and to the subsequent school break-in and notes.

Death of Brian Howe (strangulation and injuries)

Brian Howe, aged three, was found dead on wasteground off Scotswood Road on 31st July 1968. He had been strangled and his body had numerous small cuts.

The investigation included the recovery of objects used to cause injuries, including a razor and a pair of scissors recovered at the scene.

Investigation

Police launched an investigation into both deaths.

The investigation involved interviewing twelve hundred children.

As the investigation narrowed, Mary Bell and Norma Joyce Bell were identified through suspicious or evasive answers, and both were questioned several times with their stories changing twice.

Arrest and charges

On 5 August 1968, Mary Bell and Norma Joyce Bell were arrested.

When charged with murder, Mary replied, "That's all right by me."

Detectives later formally charged Mary Bell with the murder of Brian Howe.

The girls were incarcerated at the Newcastle West End police station.

Trial

Court and duration

Mary Bell and Norma Bell were brought to trial at the Newcastle Assizes Moothall in December 1968.

The trial lasted nine days.

Evidence and arguments

The prosecution opened by suggesting that whoever murdered Brian Howe also killed Martin Brown.

The prosecution described the suspicious behavior of both girls at the scene of Martin Brown’s death, how they plagued the mourning family with morbid questions, and how they vandalized the nursery and left notes amounting to a confession.

The trial included handwriting analysis verifying that Norma wrote the note that said, "I murder so THAT I may come back".

The prosecution also asked how Mary knew Martin had been asphyxiated, noting she demonstrated to the Howes how Martin was strangled.

Forensic evidence was presented:

• gray fibers from one of Mary's wool dresses were discovered on the bodies of both victims
• fibers from Norma's maroon skirt were found on Brian's shoes

Tribunal outcome during the trial

Both girls admitted breaking into the school and writing the notes found there.

Norma Joyce Bell was found not guilty after nine days of evidence. Mary was found guilty, because of diminished responsibility, of manslaughter.

Quotations and disputed issues raised during testimony

Norma Bell provided testimony and admitted to agreement with a line of questioning that included a statement:

• Prosecutor Rudolph Lyons asked Norma: "Well, that was a very naughty thing to do, wasn't it, to think of killing little boys and girls and talk about it?"

Mary Bell’s official statement and related notebook entries were treated as part of the evidence.

Mary Bell’s official statement (verbatim)

Mary Flora Bell’s official statement was:

I, Mary Flora Bell wish to make a statement. I want someone to write down what I have to say. I have been told that I need not say anything unless I wish to do so, but that whatever I say may be given in evidence. Signed, Mary F. Bell
Brian was in his front street and me and Norma were walking along towards him. We walked past him and Norma says, 'Are you coming to the shop Brian?' and I says, ' Norma, you've got no money, how can you go to the shop? Where are you getting it from?' She says, 'Nebby' (Keep your nose clean). Little Brian followed and Norma says, 'Walk up in front.' I wanted Brian to go home, but Norma kept coughing so Brian wouldn't hear us. We went down Crosshill Road with Brian still in front of us. There was this coloured boy and Norma tried to start a fight with him. She said, 'Darkie, whitewash, it's time you got washed.' The big brother came out and hit her. She shouted, 'Howay, put your dukes up.' The lad walked away and looked at her as though she was daft. We went beside Dixon's shop and climbed over the railings, I mean, through a hole and over the railway. Then I said, 'Norma, where are you going?' and Norma said, 'Do you know that little pool where the tadpoles are?' When we got there, there was a big, long tank with a big, round hole with little holes round it. Norma says to Brian, 'Are you coming in here because there's a lady coming on the Number 82 and she's got boxes of sweets and that.' We all got inside, then Brian started to cry and Norma asked him if he had a sore throat. She started to squeeze his throat and he started to cry. She said, 'This isn't where the lady comes, it's over there, by them big blocks.' We went over to the blocks and she says, 'Ar--you'll have to lie down' and he lay down beside the blocks where he was found. Norma says, 'Put your neck up' and he did. Then she got hold of his neck and said 'Put it down.' She started to feel up and down his neck. She squeezed it hard, you could tell it was hard because her finger tips were going white. Brian was struggling, and I was pulling her shoulders but she went mad. I was pulling her chin up but she screamed at me. By this time she had banged Brian's head on some wood or corner of wood and Brian was lying senseless. His face was all white and bluey, and his eyes were open. His lips were purplish and had all like slaver on, it turned into something like fluff. Norma covered him up and I said, 'Norma, I've got nothing to do with this, I should tell on you, but I'll not.' Little Lassie was there and it was crying and she said, 'Don't you start or I'll do the same to you.' It still cried and she went to get hold of its throat but it growled at her. She said, 'Now now, don't be hasty.' We went home and I took little Lassie home an all. Norma was acting kind of funny and making twitchy faces and spreading her fingers out. She said, 'This is the first but it'll not be the last.' I was frightened then. I carried Lassie and put her down over the railway and we went up Crosswood Road way. Norma went into the house and she got a pair of scissors and she put them down her pants. She says, 'Go and get a pen.' I said 'No, what for.' She says, 'To write a note on his stomach,' and I wouldn't get the pen. She had a Gillette razor blade. It had Gillette on. We went back to the blocks and Norma cut his hair. She tried to cut his leg and his ear with the blade. She tried to show me it was sharp, she took the top of her dress where it was raggie and cut it, it made a slit. A man came down the railway bank with a little girl with long blonde hair, he had a red checked shirt on and blue denim jeans. I walked away. She hid the razor blade under a big, square concrete block. She left the scissors beside him. She got out before me over the grass on to Scotswood Road. I couldn't run on the grass cos I just had my black slippers on. When we got along a bit she says, 'May, you shouldn't have done cos you'll get into trouble' and I hadn't done nothing I haven't got the guts. I couldn't kill a bird by the neck or throat or anything, it's horrible that. We went up the steps and went home, I was nearly crying. I said, if Pat finds out she'll kill you, never mind killing Brian cos Pat's more like a tomboy. She's always climbing in the old buildings and that. Later on I was helping to look for Brian and I was trying to let on to Pat that I knew where he was on the blocks, but Norma said, 'He'll not be over there, he never goes there,' and she convinced Pat he wasn't there. I got shouted in about half past seven and I stayed in. I got woke up about half past eleven and we stood at the door as Brian had been found: The other day Norma wanted to get put in a home. She says will you run away with us and I said no. She says if you get put in a home and you feed the little ones and murder them then run away again. I have read the above statement and I have been told that I can correct, alter or add anything I wish, this statement is true. I have made it of my own free will. Mary Flora Bell (signed at 6:55 pm)

Mary Bell was described as attentive and self-possessed during the trial, while observers described her courtroom demeanor as emotionally blank at times.

Verdict

• Norma Joyce Bell was found not guilty.
• Mary Bell was found guilty of manslaughter because of diminished responsibility in the deaths of Martin Brown and Brian Howe.

Sentencing judge and remarks

The judge was identified as Mr. Justice Cusack.

The concept of diminished responsibility was addressed in the judge’s explanation:

In 1957 there was an Act of Parliament and it said that . . . 'where a person kills, or is a party to the killing of another, he shall not be convicted of Murder if he was suffering from such abnormality of mind (whether arising from a condition of arrested or retarded development of mind, or any inherent causes, or induced by disease or injury) as substantially impaired his mental responsibility for his acts.'

The judge described Mary Bell as dangerous and posed that she posed a "very grave risk to other children."

Mary was sentenced to be detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure, described as effectively an indeterminate sentence.

Sentencing

Mary Bell received a sentence of Detention for Life / detention at Her Majesty’s pleasure.

A psychiatrist, Dr. Robert Orton, testified about Mary’s mental state, describing:

• "I think that this girl must be regarded as suffering from psychopathic personality,"
• demonstrated by "a lack of feeling quality to other humans," and
• "a liability to act on impulse and without forethought."

Appeals

No appeals were stated in the provided material.

Outcome

Mary Bell was convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and was detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure.

She was released in 1980.

Aftermath

Detention placements and escape

Mary Bell spent time in young offenders institutes and was transferred to Moore Court open prison.

In 1977, Mary escaped from Moore Court open prison with two boys and the escape lasted two days.

After the escape, she was released with a new identity in 1980.

She was initially sent to Red Bank secure unit in St. Helens, Lancashire.

Later life and media attention

In 1998, a biography titled Cries Unheard: The Story of Mary Bell was published.

There was a press controversy when it was discovered that Mary Bell had been paid for her story.

Prison and psychiatric incidents mentioned

In 1970, Mary fabricated charges of indecent assault against one of her warders, but the man was acquitted in court.

In September 1977, she absconded from Moore Court open prison; her penalty was described as a loss of prison privileges for 28 days.

Family and other depicted material (kept as provided)

The provided material included a variety of later biographical and media depictions, including references to books and television/drama adaptations, as well as press coverage about her later anonymity order and reported family details.

Mary Bell’s daughter was said to be born on 25 May 1984, and Mary’s anonymity and her daughter’s anonymity were described as being extended for life after a High Court decision in 2003.

A grandmother status was reported in 2009.