The case of Mary Bell : a portrait of a child who murdered : with a new preface and appendix by the author

Review "Gitta Sereny has worked with disturbed children, and her dignified, compassionate book is a mile away from the usual tawdry accounts of sensational murder trials... The story of Mary Bell in all its terrifying detail is told here with fine lucidity, joined to remarkable charity and understanding." (Julian Symons Washington Post) "Accurate and scrupulously fair" (T.C.N. Gibbons New Society) "Gitta Sereny's clear and readable book will help many people to make sense of the story... She also draws out the lessons to be learned both by professional workers, and by society at large." (W.H. Allchin Mind) Book Description What kind of child murders another child? First published in 1972, The Case of Mary Bell still stirs controversy today and is a work of extraordinary and compassionate journalism. In December 1968 Two Girls Who Lived Next Door To Each Other - Mary, Aged Eleven, And Norma, Thirteen - Stood Before A Criminal Court In Newcastle, Accused Of Strangling Two Little Boys; Martin Brown, Four Years Old, And Brian Howe, Three. Norma Was Acquitted. Mary Bell, The Younger But Infinitely More Sophisticated And Cooler Of The Two, Was Found Guilty Of Manslaughter. She Evaded Being Branded As A Murderer Due To What The Court Ruled As 'diminished Responsibility', But She Was Sentenced To 'detention' For Life. Step By Step, Gitta Sereny Pieces Together A Gripping And Rare Study Of A Horrifying Crime; The Murders, The Events Surrounding Them, The Alternately Bizzare And Nonchalant Behaviour Of The Two Girls, Their Brazen Offers To Help The Distraught Families Of The Dead Boys, The Police Work That Led To Their Apprehension, And Finally The Trial Itself. What Emerges From This Extraorindary Case Is The Inability Of Society To Anticipate Such Events And To Take Adequate Steps Once Disaster Has Struck. In December 1968 two girls who lived next door to each other - Mary, aged eleven, and Norma, thirteen - stood before a criminal court in Newcastle, accused of strangling two little boys; Martin Brown, four-years-old, and Brian Howe, three. Norma was acquitted. Mary Bell, the younger but infinitely more sophisticated and cooler of the two, was found guilty of manslaughter. She evaded being branded as a murderer due to what the court ruled as 'diminished responsibility', but she was sentenced to 'detention' for life. Step by step, Gitta Sereny pieces together a gripping and rare study of a horrifying crime; the murders, the events surrounding them, the alternately bizzare and nonchalant behaviour of the two girls, their brazen offers to help the distraught families of the dead boys, the police work that led to their apprehension, and finally the trial itself. What emerges from this extraordinary case is the inability of society to anticipate such events and to take adequate steps once disaster has struck. In 1968, 11-year-old Mary Bell was found guilty of the manslaughter of two young boys. This study asks why one child would murder another, and provides the background to the Bell case. The author also gives her account of the case of James Bulger, now that the debate has tragically re-opened Gitta Sereny. New Ed. - Previous Ed.: London: Eyre Methuen, 1972.