Mary Bell Research Papers

Mary Flora Bell (also known as ‘The Tyneside Strangler’) was convicted of murdering two little boys at the age of 11. After conviction police and investigators found out that Mary came from a depressed home and unwell childhood. Though she was never diagnosed as depressed, her teachers at school described her as a chronic liar and disruptive pupil. She was also very self possessed and strangely confident. After conviction court psychiatrists described Mary as "intelligent, manipulative, and dangerous. Mary Bell attacked other children at school, vandalized and frequently stole. Also, she had developed a reputation as a "show off", she frequently stated, "I am a murderer", to her classmates and teachers. On occasion, she told her class her desire to hurt people. She vandalized businesses and houses frequently as well.

Mary’s mother usually left Mary home alone while she was out with other men. Betty Bell, her mother, was a prostitute and her (step) father, Billy Bell, was in and out of jail for theft, drug abuse and armed robbery. When Mary was younger she believed Billy to be her biological father but her actual biological father is unknown. Many of Mary’s family members reported that Betty Bell had tried to kill Mary and make it look like an accident many times as well as force Mary to engage in sexual acts with many different men at the age of only 5. It is believed that Mary acted the way she did because of the way she grew up and her home life, she lashed out at classmates with well fit families and homes, such as the two boys that she