Nature vs nurture has long been the question when it comes to our children and how they turn out. “Was I too strict?” or, “Did I love them enough?” are questions commonly asked by parents of troubled kids. Are bad kids born, or made? In the case of Mary Bell, it’s up to you to decide.
On May 26, 1957, 16 year old Betty McCrickett, a prostitute in Northumberland, England, gave birth to her first daughter, Mary Bell. Instantly Betty took a dislike to her daughter, telling doctors to “take that thing away from me” the moment she laid eyes on her. As if that wasn’t enough, Betty made it a point to stay away, often going on long “business” trips to Glasgow. But those absences were actually good news for Mary. When she was around, Mary would often have “accidents.” These included accidentally “falling” from a window, and an “accidental” overdose on sleeping pills. On one occasion, Mary’s aunt had to rescue her, after Betty had given her away to a woman who had been unable to adopt a child herself.
When it came to the accidents, some believe Betty simply wanted to rid herself of Mary, as evidenced when she gave her away. Others believe she suffered Munchausen syndrome by proxy, and enjoyed the attention she received whenever another “accident” befell Mary.
Betty specialized in the role of dominatrix, and Mary was, no doubt, witness to this mix of violence and sex. At the tender age of four, Betty began to prostitute Mary out.
Mary became hardened, withdrawn, manipulative. It didn’t help that when she had been witness to her five year old friend get run over and killed by a bus. Mary teetered toward violence.
Some say Mary started acting strangely in the weeks that led up to May 11, 1968. On that day a young three year old boy fell from the top of an air raid shelter while playing with Mary. The boy was badly injured, and the parents considered it nothing more than an accident. But the next day, three other mothers in the area went to police, reporting that Mary had tried to choke their young daughters. Police followed the lead, but ultimately came out empty handed.
On May 25, 1968, just one day before her eleventh birthday, Mary took things a step farther. Playing in an abandoned house in Scotswood, England, Mary strangled four year old Martin Brown to death. She left and returned with her friend, thirteen year old Norma Bell (no relation). But Mary was too late, two other local boys had gotten there first and found the body of young Martin. When police arrived they found a little blood and saliva on the boy’s face, and an empty bottle of painkillers on the floor near his body. With no obvious signs of violence, police ruled his death accidental.
But then something odd happened. Just days after Martin’s death, Mary Bell showed up on his family’s doorstep. She asked to see Martin. Delicately, Martin’s mother explained to her that he was dead, and Mary’s response was unnerving to say the least. She said she knew he was dead, she just wanted to see his body in the coffin. Martin’s mother slammed the door in her face.
Not long afterward, Mary and Norma decided to break into a nursery school. There they vandalized it with notes claiming responsibility for the murder of Martin, and promised to kill again. Police assumed the notes were just a sick joke, and took no action. The nursery school installed an alarm system, as this had not been their only break-in. This alarm system caught Mary and Norma outside of the nursery school just days later, but police took no action as they had just been loitering outside. But Mary wanted the attention, she needed people to believe her. She started telling her classmates that she had killed Martin Brown, but no one took her seriously as she had a reputation for being a liar and a show-off.
A short two months later, on July 31, Mary killed again, this time with the help of her friend Norma. This time the victim was three year old Brian Howe. He was strangled, then mutilated with scissors, scratching his thighs and butchering his penis. They stuck around, and when Brian’s sister went looking for him, Mary and Norma offered to help. THey searched the who neighborhood, and Mary even pointed out the concrete blocks that were the hiding place for his body. But Norma said he wouldn’t be there, and they moved on, looking elsewhere.
When his body was finally found, fear swept the neighborhood. Police interviewed local children, but had no leads, that is until the coroner’s report came back. Once the body of young Brian had cooled, a telling mark appeared on his chest. The letter “M” had been scratched into his torso with a razor blade. When questioned, Norma exhibited excitement, while Mary was evasive, especially once police pointed out that she had been seen with Brian on the day of his death.
On the day of Brian’s funeral, Mary lurked outside of his house. She laughed and rubbed her hands together in excitement when she saw his coffin. Police took her in for a second interview. This time she had more to say. She claimed she had seen an eight year old boy strike Brian on the day he died. She claimed this boy had been carrying a pair of broken scissors. This tipped off the police, knowing they had not told anyone about the mutilation of the body with scissors.
During further questioning, both Mary and Norma finally gave in. Norma cooperated with police and implicated Mary. Mary in turn claimed to be present during Brian’s murder, but claimed it was Norma who had committed the act. Both girls were charged.
In the news, Mary was referred to as “evil born” and the prosecutor claimed her reason for killing was “solely for the pleasure and excitement of killing.” At her trial, the jury agreed that Mary Bell had committed the murders, and she was found guilty. But she was convicted of Manslaughter, not Murder as the court psychiatrists were able to convince the jury that Mary Bell showed “classic symptoms of psychopathy” and could not be held fully responsible for her actions.
Norma was considered an unwilling accomplice who had fallen under the influence of Mary. She was acquitted.
Mary was deemed a dangerous person and a serious threat and was imprisoned “at Her Majesty’s pleasure,” A British legal term that denotes an indeterminate sentence.
Mary was able to prove she was reformed, and was able to be released in 1980 after serving only 12 years. She was released on license, which means that she was still serving her sentence, but was able to do so while living in the community under strict probation.
Mary Bell was given a new identity so she could start over, and was still hounded by tabloids and newspapers, who always found a way to track her down. Things got worse after Mary gave birth to her daughter in 1984. Her daughter didn’t know about her past until she was fourteen, and when she was once again tracked down, journalists camped out in front of her house
Today, Mary is in protective custody, where she and her daughter are both protected under court order to this day.
Mary Bell is just one of a few child killers. Have you heard of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables?
Mary Bell, proof that children can be rehabilitated.
Unfortunately that’s not true in all cases (i.e. Jon Venables), but I’m proud of Mary Bell.
True! But many are rehabilitatable. As for Venables, I can’t believe they keep releasing him and giving him a new identity! Blows my mind!
Agreed!