Further Reading for Mary Bell & Lisa Steinberg
Mary Flora Bell: The Horrific True Story Behind An Innocent Girl Serial Killer
Lisa, Hedda & Joel: The Steinberg murder case
What Lisa Knew: The Truth and Lies of the Steinberg Case
Info
Take a look at the picture for this article. Dead eyes, right? The empty stare of a psychopath. It’s a classic look. That’s Mary Bell. She’s a textbook case of how to make a killer.
There’s a lot of conjecture about behavior being crafted by nature or nurture. It’s one of the keystones of psychology. But let’s face it. One way or the other, a child is a blank slate and while they may be born with certain innate qualities, how they’re going to interact with the world is based on the cues that they learn from parents and peers, and Miss Bell was one of those kids that didn’t stand a chance. Postscript: This isn’t to say that all kids born to misfortune are going to be cold-blooded killing machines. Combination of nature and nurture. Remember that.
Mary’s mother was a prostitute who may or may not have tried to murder her own daughter on several occasions. She never knew who her father was, but believed that he was a small time criminal, as well. In May of 1968, at eleven years old, Mary lured a four year old boy to an abandoned house in her neighborhood and strangled him to death. A few months later, she and a friend lured a three year old boy to a similar location and strangled him to death, this time mutilating the body.
Episode: 26
Episode Link