Killer Kids: Mary Bell

I decided to take it back to the 60’s with today’s case. Mary Bell was only 1o years old, but she was a psychopath and felt no remorse for her crimes.

Background

Mary Bell’s mom, Betty McCrickett, only had her when she was 16 years old. Betty was a terrible mother and would leave Mary at home in Scotswood, England, with God knows who. Betty was also a prostitute and would leave to go on “business trips.” It’s reported that Mary was abused, both sexually and psychically. Sometimes Betty was even present when her daughter was abused, and she definitely knew about it.

Mary had also told people that she was pimped out by her mother, but by the age of ten, Mary was very manipulative, so her family and friends didn’t know if this was true.

Mary’s Obsession

Mary would often play with younger kids, as young as three or four years old. On May 11, 1968, she was playing with a three old boy. He “accidentally” fell from a air raid shelter, his parents also believed it was an accident.

Mary also tried to choke one of daughter’s in that family, so the parents no longer believe it was an accident. The police were called, and Mary pretty much got a slap on the wrist.

Murder of Martin Brown

On May 25, 1968, Mary was playing with a four year old boy named Martin Brown. She strangled Martin in an abandoned house, and then left to go meet her other friend. Martin’s body was found later on, by two other boys.

Martin’s death was ruled an accident, the police found an empty prescription bottle next to his body. He also had small amounts of blood and saliva on his face.

Mary went to Martin’s house a few days later, asking if Martin was home. Martin’s family, believing she didn’t know, said Martin was gone. The family was stunned after Mary asked if she could see his body in the coffin. They immediately became suspicious of her. GOOD FOR THEM, THAT’S WEIRD AF.

Mary’s Confession

A few days after Martin’s murder, Mary and her friend Norma broke in to a school, and wrote notes about being the ones responsible for Martin’s death. The police thought it was a joke, but put in an alarm system. Mary and Norma returned a few nights later and were caught, thanks to the alarm system.

Mary being a pure psychopath told her friends that she killed Martin. However, Mary had a certain reputation and was known for being a liar so no one believed her.

The Murder of Brian Howe

*Brian on the left, Martin on the right.*

On July 31, Mary killed again, this time with her friend Norma. The little boy’s name was Brian Howe and he was three years old. They strangled him, cut his body with scissors, and mutilated his legs and privates.

Brian’s sister, Mary and Norma went looking for Brian when he didn't come home. Mary even pointed out where they actually had hiding the body, under concrete, but Norma told Brian’s sister he probably wasn’t there.

Brian was eventually found. The medical examiner found some interesting clues as to what happened to this little boy. He had the letter M scratched onto his torso, with a razor blade. They also found evidence that a child was probably responsible for this crime.

All Signs Point to Mary

Mary was being looked at closely, because she was now known to be the last person to see Brian that day. She was also seen around Brian’s home on the day of the funeral, laughing and rubbing her hands together when she saw the coffin. I JUST GOT CHILLS WRITING THIS.

Mary was interviewed by police, and she slipped up. She said she saw Brian with an other boy, who was older, and that the boy told her he had a broken pair of scissors. However, the fact about the scissors was not known to anyone but the killer and the police.

Mary’s friend, Norma, confessed that it was Mary. Mary tried to blame Norma. They were both charged with Brian’s murder.

Trial

At Mary’s trial, they said her motive was “solely for the pleasure and excitement of killing.” However, Mary was only found guilty of manslaughter, despite her being called a psychopath. Many people thought because she was young that she didn’t fully know what she was doing when she killed.

Norma was acquitted. Mary was sentenced to be imprisoned “at her Majesty’s pleasure.” This took place in England, and this means that her sentence was to be until someone decided to let her out.

Mary was released in 1980, but still on a strict probation.

Mary after Prison

Mary had to change her name because she was constantly being looked for by the media.

Mary had a daughter in 1984, and then the past caught up with her when her daughter was only 14. She found out who her mom really was, when the media showed up. Mary, her daughter and her husband had to escape by putting bed sheets over their faces.

Mary is now living a life out of prison, with a secret identity and address.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I know this was the 60s, but I think Mary should have stayed in prison a lot longer. She seems to be doing fine now, but I think she had deep issues, probably going back to her childhood.

I also hope her daughter is okay after finding out her mother was a murderer. I hope more than anything, that he daughter is at least protected. I don’t really care about Mary, considering she murdered two little boys who couldn’t protect themselves.

Sources

https://allthatsinteresting.com/mary-bell

https://serialkillershop.com/blogs/true-crime/mary-bell-youngest-serial-killer

https://murderpedia.org/female.B/b/bell-mary-flora.htm