"Wych Elm Bella" was the nickname given to a woman whose skeleton was found in a wych elm tree in 1943 in England. The name "Bella" originated from mysterious graffiti associated with the case. The circumstances of her murder are still unknown.
Case[]
On April 18, 1943, four teenage boys were poaching in Hagley Wood. One of the boys climbed a wych elm tree to find bird eggs, when he discovered a skeleton inside the tree. The boys returned home and vowed never to speak of it again, but one of them alerted the discovery to their dad, who called authorities.
The victim had been dead for over a year, and a piece of taffeta was found in her mouth, suggesting she had died from suffocation. Her hand had been cut off, and it was found a few meters from the rest of the skeleton.
In 2018, a reconstruction of her face made by a Dundee University professor was released.
The whereabouts of her remains and her autopsy report are unknown, though a 2023 campaign hopes to find her remains and utilize DNA technology to identify her.
Gallery[]
Sources[]
- Wych Elm Bella on WikipediaPOSTMORTEM WARNING