Mary Bell was a serial killer who gained infamy in the late 1960s for the murder of two young boys in Newcastle, England.
Bell was just 11 years old when she killed her first victim, 4-year-old Martin Brown, in May 1968. She strangled him and then mutilated his body by carving an "M" into his stomach with a pair of scissors. Just a month later, she killed her second victim, 3-year-old Brian Howe, in a similar manner.
After the murders, Bell bragged about the killings to friends and even showed them the bodies. She was eventually caught and charged with the murders, becoming one of the youngest defendants in British criminal history.
Bell was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in December 1968. She served 12 years before being released on parole in 1980, at the age of 23.
After her release, Bell changed her name and started a new life. She had a daughter and worked as a prostitute in the red-light district of Newcastle. In the years following her release, she struggled with addiction and mental health issues.
Bell's story has been the subject of numerous books and films, and she has become a symbol of the damaged and violent childhoods that many young offenders experience. Despite the public outrage over her crimes, she has managed to rebuild her life and stay out of trouble in the decades since her release.