The Case Of Mary Bell: A Portrait of a Child Who Murdered [Paperback]

Sereny has produces a fascinating account of the case. She is an excellent writer and as a consequence the book is very readable and her theories clear and easy to follow. Sereny was present throughout Mary's trial and subsequently visited Mary in her detention centre. She has also talked to the the vast majority of the parties involved in the case, from the police to the families of both perpetrator and victims. Her research was clearly very thorough, her presentation of events is clear and it would seem very accurate.

Sereny's examination of Mary's character and possible motivations is fascinating and she does not attempt to either condemn her as evil or diminish her responsibility for her crimes. Her opinions on Mary and her co-defendent Norma Bell (no relation to Mary) are interesting, well argued and fair. The examination of the relationship between Mary and Norma was in my opinion particularly interesting as it was key to the case. It was fascinating to read how such a young child could so manipulate an older girl and indeed the adults around her for her own ends. At the time this book was originally written, the 1970s, not much was really known about Mary's background, but Sereny has gathered as much information as she could and produces some good reasoning on what made Mary kill as a result. Her family is looked into in depth, at least as much as the family was willing to reveal at the time. The first hand information they provide is very valuable in understanding the whole case. Interviews with those in the community as a whole also provide a fascinating insight into how these crimes affected a whole community for many years and still affects it, I believe, today.

Sereny also discusses the way the justice system treats children who kill and again produces some interesting thoughts on this. While it is clear Sereny has sympathy with Mary and Norma, and does not like the way the system treats such children, her analysis is both fair and constructive. Her examination of the trial process is thorough and I also found it fascinating to see how children are interviewed by the police in such matters.

The book, though written some time ago, is still highly relevant today in our increasingly violent and disillusioned society. In this new edition Sereny has added a short but interesting and thought provoking section on the Bulger case from the 1990s which presents some interesting theories and also shows how little has changed in the years between the two cases, both in society as a whole and the attitude towards such children, and also in the justice system. Indeed it seems little has changed even today and another such killer could well be in the making now. Overall this is an excellent and important text in our modern culture and a must for those interested in true crime and psychology.

Essentially, Mary Bell murdered two small boys at the age of eleven in 1968, and in the second case the boy was evidently throttled, before having the initial "M" carved into his stomach after death with a razor blade, and his face sprinkled with flowers. What is most remarkable and distressing is the extent to which Mary sought attention and boasted of her crimes in notes she and her cohort, Norma Bell (no relation, acquitted of charges of murder and manslaughter), left in a nursery which they broke into, and displayed aberrant and classically psychopathic behaviour after the incident.

What is essential is that this case study is approached with an open mind, for it is a liberal social study which lays much of the blame of society for the "cries unheard", the title of the follow-up to this study. It is fair and humane, as well as perceptive and informative. As Sereny herself would say, it is compassionate without being sentimental.

An essential read for those troubled or concerned by child psychopaths and the reform of the social security and welfare system in the U.K..