The story begins one April afternoon in 1943.
In the hollow trunk of the elm they discovered what first appeared to be an animal skull.
But after seeing hair and teeth, the horrified boys realized that it was human.
A severed hand from the body was also discovered buried nearby.
A fragment of taffeta in her mouth established the cause of death as suffocation.
Despite exhaustive searches through dental records, the police could not identify the victim.
The trail eventually grew cold.
The skull of “Wych Elm Bella,” as retrieved 18 April 1943.
The messages were written in chalk in three-inch-tall capital letters, probably by the same hand.
Whether or not Bella was the victims real name became irrelevant.
The name stuck and even the police began to use it.
An anthropologist named Margaret Murray was certain the case was tied to witchcraft.
who was passing information to the Nazis and was executed by her fellow Dutchmen for treason.
Periodically, memories of the macabre murder would be revived by a fresh graffiti.
Even the police havent lost hope.
But with most of the witnesses dead, its unlikely that any new leads will be coming.
The true identity of Bella will perhaps never be found.
Photo credit:A Sibs Oddity/Flickr
The Hagley Monument where the graffiti is painted.
Photo credit:Tony Hisgett/Wikimedia
Sources:www.news.com.au/Brian Haughton/BBC/Wikipedia
