"Who put Bella in the elm tree?": a creepy find in the woods shocked a small town

"Who put Bella in the elm tree?" - this graffiti began to appear everywhere immediately after several boys found a human skull right in the tree. When the police arrived at the crime scene, it was discovered that the old elm tree hides even more terrible secrets.

It was in April 1943 in the British region of the West Midlands, in a town called Stourbridge. A few boys went for a walk in the woods and, carried away by games and chatter, went a little further than planned. They came across a big old elm tree, and one of the friends volunteered to climb the tree to check if there were any bird nests there. The elm tree stood on someone else's land, and the boys from time to time looked around to see if the owner of the land was coming — then they would definitely get it.

But everything worked out. The daredevil climbed a tree and put his hand into a wide recess in the trunk to check if there were any bird eggs there. But there was something else there. In the hole lay a human skull, with teeth and hair. Terrified, the guy immediately put it back, and when he told his friends, they decided it was better to keep silent. After all, this is someone else's territory, and how can I explain to them what they were doing here?

Coroners found out that the skeleton belongs to a woman of 35 years old, she has been dead for 18 months and, most likely, she was put in a tree while still alive or immediately after death, because rigor mortis would not allow placing the body in an elm tree. Judging by the tissue in the mouth of the corpse, the stranger could have died from strangulation.

It was wartime, and the British were constantly moving from place to place in search of a secluded corner where it would be safe. That is why it was almost impossible to find out whether this resident was a local or just a woman who was passing by. The number of missing people in those days was huge.

According to one assumption, the deceased had something to do with espionage: perhaps she was spying for the Germans or, conversely, uncovered someone's conspiracy. And they killed her because she knew too much. The theory was shaky, but, unfortunately, it remained the only one. No matter how the police tried to find out who the body belongs to, it was all in vain. However, someone, apparently, still knew the deceased.

Starting in December, an inscription began to appear on the walls of houses and on other surfaces all over the city: "Who put Lubella in the elm?" It is noteworthy that no one has ever seen the mysterious artist, as if the dead herself prompted from the other world. The name was rare—Lubella.

But none of the locals have heard anything about a woman with that name. Later, the graffiti changed its name, and instead of "Lubella", just "Bella" appeared. But this did not help the investigation either. No matter how much the nameless artist asked, his question has remained unanswered to this day. Later, new graffiti stopped appearing, but Bella remained a local legend.