𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐲

13| who put bella in the witch elm?

i first heard about this unsolved murder from the unexplained podcast, which if you like this sort of shit is a great podcast to listen to.

in april 1943, a group of boys found a skull in a tree (the witch elm) in hadley wood in worcestershire, england, leading to the discovery of an entire skeleton that had been decomposing in the tree for a year and a half. soon after the famous graffiti appeared nearby - "who put bella in the witch elm?" they never managed to identify "bella" or how she died.

the boys found the skull and pulled it out with a stick, not realising what they'd found - they thought it was an animal. when they realised what it was, the boys made a pact to keep their discovery to themselves because there were trespassing when they found the skeleton, but the youngest boy told his parents and started a full investigation.

despite extensive detective work and a public appeal the police couldn't identify the body or exact cause of death. then the mysterious graffiti began appearing around the town, asking that ominous question - "who put bella in the witch elm?"

hagley wood is located in worcestershire, a county in the west midlands in england. it was private property - this was why the boys didn't want to report their findings. the boys only found the skull with tufts of hair and missing teeth, and the police found the entire body within the tree. she was around 35 years old and was wearing a gold ring, a shoe, and remains of clothing.

she was missing her right hand, and the bones were later found scattered nearby. it was estimated that she had been in the tree for eighteen months, and there was a fragment of taffeta found in her mouth which suggested she died of suffocation. it was clearly a murder case although the police couldn't identify the victim and it had no suspects. it seemed like a dead end.

that christmas more graffiti was found in the neighbourhood, this time saying "who put luebella in the wych-elm?" variations this graffiti popped up all over town, but they were all asking the same question.

the name "bella" led to reports of a birmingham based prostitute named bella, who went missing in 1941. the only other presented explanation came out in 1953, when una mossop claimed her cousin jack had confessed to putting the body in the tree with the help of a dutchman named van ralt.

the pair were reportedly drinking with an extremely drunk woman at a nearby pub. the dubious tale was further discredited by the fact that jack was confined to a mental hospital some years earlier and died there before the body was found. if he told his cousin this story, why did she wait ten years to report it?

as decades went by the mystery deepened - the missing right arm, the evil-looking witch elm, and the mysterious graffitied messages led to locals spinning it into legend. who was leaving the graffiti around the town and what did they know?

the identity of "bella" was never discovered and no suspects have been charged.

information from news.com.au and buzzfeed.

did you guys like this? should i do more unsolved murders? comment what things you'd like to see more of - true crime, conspiracy theories, creepypastas, rituals, or something else.