I12DT - Dossiers of the Deranged

[Narrator]

Sam would find a manila envelope sitting on her desk from Muir Island along with a note.

Since Prisoner Bell is here under your authority we are sending copies of all available records to you.

All things considered the envelope is suspiciously thin.

[Samantha McManus]

Samantha frowned, and opened the envelope to start going over the records.

[Narrator]

First is everything she already knows. Day to day reports on a nearly catatonic Melpomene, her surrender in Maldon, her previous imprisonment. A couple of pages all in all. And then it gets sparse. A handful of reports about her 'business' but it's spotty at best despite being Interpol records. No evidence, only a couple of sightings and suspicions through official channels. These files list a couple of fake names she's used but no mention of 'Mary Bell' in any of them. After that it just stops and the only page tacked on to the end is the report of Maldon Police Department's half-assed attempt at a background check. Long story short, Mary Bell does not exist between a couple months ago and 1968. And even then it is just a single court record of being convicted. No birth certificate, no birthday, no parents, no juvie hall records.

[Samantha McManus]

"Now did you do that?" She murmured, bringing up her computer to cross-reference a few things.

[Narrator]

Apparently not entirely by herself. Though she can't find anything relating to this case in particular the UK does seem to have a way of expunging juvenile crimes from records. That appears to have been established in 1980. No precedence is listed.

[Samantha McManus]

"How many people did you use to pull that off?"

She frowned, and decided to try a different tactic. Missing girls in the area during the times Mary was free.

[Narrator]

There are about 60 open cases for missing women in the United Kingdom since 1980.

[Samantha McManus]

Going out on a limb, Samantha narrowed it down to ginger girls.

[Narrator]

Narrowing it down to ginger girl no older than their mid-twenties at the time of disappearing it still comes up with a disturbing 19 cases, 17 since the late nineties.

[Samantha McManus]

"That can't all have been you... can it?"

She started going through the cases.

[Narrator]

It's hard to tell just from the missing person reports but at least some seem to be cases of kids running away from home and others had bodies found later that suggest muggings gone wrong or other 'normal' crimes and while technically still open they are classified as street-crime. That still leaves 8 cases though. For 5 of them corresponding bodies have been found that left the cases open as homicides.

1. Betty McCreed went missing Jun 1992 near Gloucester - found dead Nov 1992

2. Mara Slawson went missing Apr 1993 near Birmingham - presumed dead

3. Annabella Hemming went missing Sep 1993 near Birmingham - found dead Nov 1995

4. Desiree Lower went missing Dec 1995 near Cambridge - found dead Jan 1996

5. Irene Berkeley went missing May 1996 near Leeds- found dead Oct 1999

6. Norma Joyce went missing Mar 1999 near Newcastle upon Tyne - presumed dead

7. Savannah Lathers went missing Nov 2000 near London - found dead Jun 2008

8. Ashley Wymer went missing Apr 2002 near London - presumed dead

[Samantha McManus]

"Too quick for her tastes," she mused on the first one, but still going over each case in detail, looking for patterns.

[Narrator]

Going down the list it seems the times between them going missing and showing up dead seem to be generally getting longer. Either that's a coincidence (it is only a handful of samples afterall) or someone was getting better at hiding the bodies. As for the time between the disappearances and the estimated time of death, it's hard to tell. It might be getting longer as well, but there are outliers. Some just seemed to last longer than others. Now, with how long the victims went before being found there isn't much to be found in the autopsy reports and at a glance there doesn't seem to be much of a connection, which is the conclusion the police drew as well. Fractured skull, broken neck, multiple stab wounds. The analysis of the wounds turns up suspected killers ranging from weak stabs by a ~5"3' woman to that of an over 6 foot tall male. However, they seem to be getting progressively 'worse'. Betty McCreed died from a crushed wind-pipe and/or a broken neck. Savannah Lathers had several broken bones, presumably several lacerations that left marks on the rib-cage and shoulder-blades and was probably missing her eyes.

One thing that seems off is that according to what little information Interpol had is that around 1998 Melpomene was presumed to be operating out of Madripoor and only returned to London in early 2000.

[Samantha McManus]

"So you don't fit..." she said, looking over Norma Joyce's case.

[Narrator]

There is very little to it. She was on her way back from the pub one night and never made it home. Witnesses supposedly saw her get on a bus at 2:30 am and sit in the back. She reportedly never got off the bus but when it pulled into the depot at the end of the night she was gone.

[Samantha McManus]

"Were you back already?" She sighed. "Too damned good at covering your tracks."

[Narrator]

It's impossible to tell for certain, especially for someone who was commanding the kind of funds Mel had been at the time. The Interpol records would indicate that she was in Madripoor at the time, but she certainly could have taken a plane under any number of names. Still, it doesn't quite want to sit right with Sam. She'd been in Mel's head and had almost trapped her through the woman's aversion to her hometown. It'd seem strange that she would go out of her way to return there.

[Samantha McManus]

"So damned afraid of being ordinary," she mused.

[Narrator]

It's certainly anything but ordinary. Then again, even back in Newcastle she'd obviously never been quite right. And hadn't there been something about a Norma being involved in that mess?

[Samantha McManus]

Her memory nagging at her, she looked back at the other files.

"Norma Joyce... how did I bloody miss that? Her friend..."

[Narrator]

The term used in the files is accomplice. But yes, she was acquitted in the trial and the records expunged. Though not quite as thoroughly since they were only sealed as juvenile criminal records. In her files the trial is described as somewhat chaotic and many reports and comments made in the courtroom were described as 'erratic'. It wasn't until they separated it into individual hearings for everyone involved that things calmed down and the court came to the conclusion that Norma, despite being the older one, clearly wasn't exactly a bright child and it must have been Mary that talked her into it. The fact that Mary had committed the previous murder by herself compounded that conclusion.

[Samantha McManus]

"And it might not even have been talking her into it," she murmured, going over any photos she could find of the girl.

[Narrator]

Most of the images are in black and white. The missing person report has a more recent picture of her though. She had thin, red hair and a haggard face. She was never exceptionally pretty judging by the pictures of her as a child, but years of alcohol abuse didn't help. Looking into her files brings up the fact that she spend a lot of time in and out of therapy pretty much her entire life. First court mandated counseling, then as a young adult for depression and anxiety and finally for substance abuse. None of it really ever seemed to stick.

[Samantha McManus]

"Just ruined her..."

[Narrator]

Anything else about the trial or what followed is, sadly, expunged. Though the records of Norma's court mandated counseling are available through the right channels and show that she was often asking about Mary and even names the prison facility Mary was send to. Red Bank secure unit in St. Helens, Lancashire.

[Samantha McManus]

With that new bit of information, she began looking up the facility.

[Narrator]

It's a prison with a high-security juvenile unit (as well as regular ones, but those aren't of interest to us) that is used to detain children not deemed safe for their mates (or even adults in some cases) until they can either be rehabilitated or transferred to the adult block of the facility. Most people there are under a sentence of being detained 'at her Majesty's pleasure'. The few that do make it out have their records sealed and a new identity is provided to them. It seems Mary was the precedence for this and a majority of the records were lost. If they still exists in the prison's archives somewhere there certainly is no indication about it anywhere.

[Samantha McManus]

Noting the number for the facility's administration, she dialed.

[Narrator]

"Warden's office, how may I help you?" a secretary answers the phone.

[Samantha McManus]

"This is Samantha McManus, calling on behalf of X-Corporation. We have a former inmate in our care, and we were hoping you could help in completing their records to better help in treatment."

[Narrator]

"X-who? Oh, oh yes the frea---mutant-squad, yes. Occasionally we have to deal with cases like that. Who is that you're talking about?"

[Samantha McManus]

"An old case. Mary Bell."

[Narrator]

"Mary Bell, Mary Bell... Ah yes, I'm afraid those files are sealed, Ma'am. I don't have access to them."

[Samantha McManus]

"I'm afraid the very nature of Ms. Bell's pathology is presenting rather a challenge. I don't suppose there are any still on staff who worked with her?"

[Narrator]

"I can take a look... This is confidential information though."

The sound of typing.

"Okay, there are two guards who still work here and one of the psychiatrists from back then. I don't know if he worked with her specifically though."

[Samantha McManus]

"Does it really make sense to keep things confidential from her current caregivers? We can send someone over for interviews."

[Narrator]

"Certainly. You'll understand we can't give out these kinds of information over the phone. Would you care to arrange an appointment?"

[Samantha McManus]

"I would. How soon would there be availability?"

[Narrator]

"The guards have the morning and afternoon shift respectively and Doctor Sunderland is here during business hour and then some. We can arrange a visitor's pass whenever you'd like."

[Samantha McManus]

"Aye, let's do that."