192:). Later that night, Mossop said the woman became drunk and passed out while they were driving. The men put her in a hollow tree in the woods in the hope that in the morning she would wake up and be frightened into seeing the error of her ways. Jack Mossop was confined to a Stafford mental hospital because he had recurring dreams of a woman staring out at him from a tree. He died in the hospital before the body in the wych elm was found. The likelihood of this being the correct explanation is questioned because Una Mossop did not come forward with this information until more than 10 years after Jack Mossop's death.
211:. On his person was found a photo purportedly of his lover, a German cabaret singer and actress named Clara Bauerle. Jakobs said that she was being trained as a spy and that, had he made contact, she might have been sent over to England after him. However, there is no evidence that Clara Bauerle was parachuted into England, and several witnesses describe that Clara Bauerle was around 6 ft (180 cm) tall, while Bella was 5 ft (150 cm). In September 2016, it was determined that Clara Bauerle had died in Berlin on 16 December 1942.
22:
93:
80:. Thinking the location to be a particularly good place to search for birds' nests, Farmer attempted to climb the tree to investigate. As he climbed, he glanced down into the hollow trunk and discovered a skull. At first, he believed it to be that of an animal, but after seeing human hair and teeth, he realised that he had found a
187:
A second possibility came from a statement made to police in 1953 by Una Mossop, in which she said that her ex-husband Jack Mossop had confessed to family members that he and a
Dutchman called van Ralt had put the woman in the tree. Mossop and van Ralt met for a drink at the Lyttelton Arms (a pub in
183:
suggested two possible victims. One possible victim was reported to the police in 1944 by a
Birmingham sex worker. In the report, she stated that another sex worker called Bella, who worked on the Hagley Road, had disappeared about three years previously. The name “Bella” (or “Luebella”) suggested
127:
Police could tell from items found with the body what the woman had looked like, but with so many people reported missing during the Second World War, records were too numerous for a proper identification to take place. They cross-referenced the details they had with reports of missing persons
100:
When police checked the trunk of the tree they found an almost complete skeleton, with a shoe, a gold wedding ring, and some fragments of clothing. The skull was valuable evidence, in that it still had some tufts of hair and had a clear dental pattern, despite some missing teeth. After further
84:. As they were on the land illegally, Farmer put the skull back and all four boys returned home without mentioning their discovery to anybody. However, on returning home, the eldest of the boys, Willetts, felt uneasy about what he had witnessed and decided to report the find to his parents.
172:
265:. Since the writing was too high to have been done by boys, they were taken seriously and provided investigators with several new leads for tracing who the victim could have been. Since at least the 1970s, similar graffiti have sporadically appeared on the
117:
in her mouth, suggesting that she had died from suffocation. From the measurement of the trunk in which the body had been discovered, he also deduced that it must have been placed there "still warm" after the killing, as it could not have fit once
269:, near where the woman's body was discovered. The latest, dating from 1999, was modified to 'Who put Bella in the Witch Elm?', favouring the witchcraft theory. Then in 2020, the "Who" in white was overpainted in red with "Hers", surmised by the
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pathologist James
Webster. He quickly established that it was that of a female who had been dead for at least 18 months, placing time of death in or before October 1941; Webster also discovered a section of
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In May 2023, the BBC launched an appeal to museums, to track down the victim's remains with the intention of carrying out DNA analysis. The remains had, until the late 1960s or early 1970s, been in the
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In 1953, another theory surfaced, namely that the victim was a
Dutchwoman named Clarabella Dronkers, and she had been killed by a German spy ring consisting of a British officer, a Dutchman and a
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writer and director
Katherine Vondy in 2019 and produced in 2022. There have also been a number of smaller scale dramatic presentations in Britain, for the most part serving as staged
313:
in March 2018, written and adapted from archive sources by Leah
Francis and director Tom Drayton; a musical of the same title by Ellis Kerkhoven, and score by Adam Gerber, at the
257:
In 1944, graffiti related to the mystery began to appear on the walls of nearby areas. The first, reading 'Who put
Luebella down the wych elm?', was found at Hayden Hill Road,
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throughout the region, but none of them seemed to match the evidence. In addition, they contacted dentists in the area since the dentistry was quite distinctive.
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52:. The body has remained unidentified and the case unsolved since then, prompting many media articles and films, as well as dramas, an opera and a musical.
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or as educational exercises. They include "Bella in the
Wychelm" by David Morris at The Stourbridge Theatre Company in 2007; Tom Lee Rutter's film
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during an occult ritual. Her ideas excited the local press and led investigators to consider another seemingly ritualistic killing of a man,
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159:'s "black museum" at their Tally Ho! training centre. The appeal was made in conjunction with a BBC podcast on the case,
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151:'s "Face Lab", from photographs of the skull. It was commissioned by Andrew Sparke, for his books on the incident.
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agent, he parachuted into
Cambridgeshire in 1941 but broke his ankle when landing and was soon arrested by the
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261:, followed shortly by 'Who put Bella down the Wych elm, Hagley Wood?' on a wall in Upper Dean Street,
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artist, for "knowing too much". Available records and evidence were unable to support the story.
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On 18 April 1943, four local boys (Robert Hart, Thomas
Willetts, Bob Farmer and Fred Payne) were
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459:"Is this the Bella in the wych elm? Unravelling the mystery of the skull found in a tree trunk"
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connected with the discovery in 1943 of the remains of a murdered woman inside a
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investigation, the remains of a hand were found some distance from the tree.
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577:"BBC investigator asks museums for help tracing remains of murder victim"
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Casefile True Crime Podcast - Case 04 - Who Put Bella In The 'Witch' Elm
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the graffiti writer was probably aware of the identity of the victim.
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538:"Does graffiti hold the answer to this 73-year-old murder mystery?"
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695:"Image of Hagley Wood murder victim Bella revealed for first time"
502:"Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?, Series 7, Punt PI - BBC Radio 4"
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in 2019; Francesca Haydon-White's 2021 theatrical documentary in
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with the title "Who put Bella in the Wych Elm?" and libretto by
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293:. A play with the same title was later commissioned from the
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Another theory comes from an MI5 declassified file about
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The skull of "Wych Elm Bella," as retrieved 18 April 1943
917:"Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm" article on Atlas Obscura
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A case review by West Mercia Police was closed in 2014.
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In a Radio 4 programme first broadcast in August 2014,
996:Unidentified murder victims in the United Kingdom
419:"Mystery. Murder. And half a century of suspense"
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273:to be the name of a Birmingham graffiti artist.
68:in Hagley Wood, part of the estate belonging to
16:Unidentified murder victim in the United Kingdom
25:Modern graffiti, photographed in 2006, on the
836:Stourbridge Theatre Company past productions
139:A 2018 episode of the television programme
934:Bella in the Wych Elm- Christmas and Crime
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359:named the species as "wych–hazel", an old
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386:"Murder mystery returns to haunt village"
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321:; and the ME Dance Company's project in
218:, an anthropologist and archaeologist at
199:– the last man to be put to death in the
884:"Review: Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?"
758:Jakobs, Giselle K. (27 September 2016).
675:. Series 1. Episode 4. 6 December 2018.
315:Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
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91:
20:
924:, article from Brian Haughton's website
727:Jakobs, Giselle K. (22 December 2017).
416:
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726:
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548:from the original on 22 September 2018
431:from the original on 24 September 2015
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952:A Dutch podcast series about the case
770:from the original on 24 November 2020
739:from the original on 24 November 2020
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514:from the original on 22 December 2020
760:"Clara Bauerle Finally Laid to Rest"
622:from the original on 2 December 2020
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398:from the original on 12 October 2020
230:after the victim had been killed by
417:Askwith, Richard (18 August 1999).
36:" is the final form of a series of
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971:1941 murders in the United Kingdom
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705:from the original on 28 March 2019
612:"Who put Bella down the Wych Elm?"
14:
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671:"Who Put Bella In The Wych Elm".
597:
560:
536:Jolly, Nathan (23 October 2016).
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481:
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222:, proposed a more radical theory—
693:Holder, Bev (26 February 2018).
469:from the original on 4 June 2020
149:Liverpool John Moores University
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76:, when they came across a large
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457:Vale, Allison (22 March 2013).
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981:20th century in Worcestershire
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307:Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?
145:forensic facial reconstruction
34:Who put Bella in the Wych Elm?
1:
922:Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm
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936:, Confessed Obsessed podcast
729:"Clara Bauerle Declassified"
384:BBC staff (12 August 1999).
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1001:Unsolved murders in England
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220:University College, London
825:National New Play Network
363:for the same kind of elm.
849:, review and interview,
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203:, on 15 August 1941. An
108:by the Birmingham-based
814:Wise Music - classical
733:Josef Jakobs 1898-1941
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157:Birmingham City Police
104:The body was sent for
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29:
991:Female murder victims
764:Josef Jakobs 1898-194
673:Nazi Murder Mysteries
642:"Nazi Murder Mystery"
303:Bella in the Wych Elm
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141:Nazi Murder Mysteries
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24:
941:The Body In The Tree
803:, 30th November 2020
161:The Body in the Tree
147:, undertaken by the
106:forensic examination
44:on the outskirts of
986:Graffiti in England
582:Museums Association
277:Cultural references
175:An ancient wych elm
847:Horrified Magazine
652:on 7 December 2018
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930:- 30 January 2016
677:Yesterday Channel
646:Yesterday Channel
618:. 24 April 2015.
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949:Hoe Bella Stierf
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650:the original
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585:. 2 May 2023
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309:at London's
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66:bird–nesting
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473:27 February
325:(2023) and
295:Los Angeles
285:composed a
110:Home Office
82:human skull
70:Lord Cobham
976:1944 works
960:Categories
889:Palatinate
774:19 January
743:19 January
709:6 December
656:6 December
626:17 January
552:17 January
518:16 January
371:References
299:docudramas
283:Simon Holt
263:Birmingham
247:music hall
224:witchcraft
209:Home Guard
181:Steve Punt
542:NewsComAu
311:The Space
281:In 2003,
214:In 1945,
56:Discovery
768:Archived
737:Archived
703:Archived
620:Archived
546:Archived
512:Archived
467:Archived
429:Archived
396:Archived
391:BBC News
329:(2024).
305:(2017);
259:Old Hill
253:Graffiti
167:Theories
78:wych elm
62:poaching
42:wych elm
38:graffiti
944:podcast
435:30 July
402:30 July
361:synonym
323:Walsall
115:taffeta
319:Durham
205:Abwehr
190:Hagley
46:Hagley
589:2 May
333:Notes
72:near
776:2018
745:2018
711:2018
658:2018
628:2018
591:2023
554:2018
520:2018
475:2014
437:2010
404:2010
507:BBC
64:or
48:in
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