In 1943, a woman’s body was discovered inside a wych elm tree in Hagley Wood. Her identity was never confirmed. But what truly haunted the case was the graffiti: “Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?” It began appearing soon after the body was found and reappeared for decades.

The Bella mystery is more than a murder. It’s a cultural ghost story. From theories of Nazi espionage to occult rituals, every angle leaves chilling gaps. But one thing remained constant: the graffiti. It resurfaced on walls and obelisks, sometimes altered, sometimes exact—like a whisper from the grave refusing to be forgotten. Who wrote it? Was it someone with knowledge of the crime? Or just a public haunted by Bella’s silence?

In Murder in the Wych Elm, we explore this eerie phenomenon alongside the forensics, folklore, and theories that have kept Bella’s story alive for 80 years.

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He was a doctor. A healer. A trusted friend.
But Harold Shipman killed more than 250 people.

🩺💀Discover how Britain’s most prolific serial killer evaded justice for decades.

Harold Shipman was the epitome of trust—a quiet, well-respected doctor in Hyde, Greater Manchester. But behind the calm demeanor was a calculated murderer. With at least 215 confirmed deaths, and suspicions of over 300, Shipman became Britain’s most prolific serial killer. How did no one notice?

The answer lies not only in Shipman's cunning but in the systemic blind spots of the British healthcare system. For years, he forged death certificates, falsified medical records, and used his authority to silence doubt. Even after early warnings, including a drug conviction in the 1970s, Shipman returned to practice—unmonitored, unchecked, and lethal.

The public inquiry into his crimes triggered sweeping reforms: tighter control over prescriptions, the introduction of independent Medical Examiners, and a complete overhaul of how doctors are monitored. But the question still lingers: could it happen again?

This episode of Peculiar Britain dives into the chilling timeline of Shipman's crimes, the failures that allowed them, and the lessons still being learned today.

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A forgotten cold case. A murdered schoolgirl. The real Little Red Riding Hood who vanished in 1946—and left behind Britain’s most haunting true crime mystery.

Twelve-year-old Muriel Drinkwater was smart, kind, and beloved in her small Welsh village. On June 27, 1946, she set off on her usual walk home from school—singing, wearing her red coat.

She never came back.

Her body was found in the woods. She had been raped, bludgeoned, and shot. The story was so brutal, the media dubbed her the real-life “Little Red Riding Hood.” But this wasn’t a storybook. It was a tragedy that changed her village—and all of Britain.

🧩 The Chilling Parallels
Just ten days later, Sheila Martin, an 11-year-old girl in Kent, was murdered in almost identical circumstances. Both girls were attacked in woodland near their homes. Could the same killer be responsible?

Years later, this case would become a forensic legend. Why? Because in 2008, investigators uncovered a hidden DNA profile from her clothing—making it the oldest usable DNA evidence in a murder case in the world.

🕵️ Still No Justice
Despite the forensic leap, Muriel’s killer has never been identified. And the police files? Still sealed until 2037.

What are they hiding?

Explore the dark legacy of this Welsh cold case in our gripping new podcast episode.

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Two girls. Two woods. Ten days apart. One chilling pattern that haunts Britain’s past.

In this episode of Peculiar Britain, we step into the eerie quiet of post-war Fawkham Green to revisit one of Kent’s most haunting unsolved crimes—the brutal murder of 11-year-old Sheila Martin in 1946. But this isn’t just a story of one small village's grief. Just ten days earlier, 250 miles away, 12-year-old Muriel Drinkwater was murdered in a strikingly similar fashion in the woods of Wales. With haunting parallels and lingering questions, this episode unpacks the terrifying possibility of a serial predator in post-war Britain—and a silence that has lasted nearly 80 years.

Were these connected? Or was something darker stalking post-war Britain?

Police files remain closed. Answers lie locked in archives until 2045. But these two haunting echoes across time continue to raise troubling questions—and demand remembrance.

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