maximus otter
Recovering policeman
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2001
- Messages
- 13,975
A case I'd never heard of arouses interest again on its centennial:
"The Green Bicycle Case was a murder investigation and subsequent trial pertaining to the fatal shooting of a young woman named Bella Wright near the Leicestershire village of Little Stretton on 5 July 1919. Wright was killed by a single bullet wound to the face, and on the evening of her death, she had been seen cycling in the company of an unknown man riding a green bicycle.
Bella Wright
PC Alfred Hall's original map of the murder locus.
Ronald Light, a 33-year-old mathematics teacher, is considered the prime suspect in Wright's murder.
Ronald Light
Light did not come forward in response to an extensive media appeal to trace a man matching his description seen on a green bicycle riding alongside Wright on the evening she was killed, and he is known to have made attempts to dispose of both his bicycle and revolver holster in a canal following her death. Upon his arrest, Light initially denied, then admitted to being in the company of Wright shortly before her death, although he consistently denied killing her. He was defended in court by Sir Edward Marshall Hall KC, who largely based his defence on the lack of a motive for Wright's death. Marshall Hall obtained Light's acquittal.
The Green Bicycle Case would prove to be one of Britain's most celebrated and controversial murder cases of the 20th century, with opinions varying among authors as to Light's guilt and the actual motive behind the crime, should her death not have been the result of misadventure. The case has been described by one author as "The most fascinating murder mystery of the century." "
The Wikipedia article.
BBC article on the case.
My best estimate of the body deposition site based on PC Alfred Hall's sketch map:
1902 OS map from National Library of Scotland:
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/
maximus otter
"The Green Bicycle Case was a murder investigation and subsequent trial pertaining to the fatal shooting of a young woman named Bella Wright near the Leicestershire village of Little Stretton on 5 July 1919. Wright was killed by a single bullet wound to the face, and on the evening of her death, she had been seen cycling in the company of an unknown man riding a green bicycle.
Bella Wright
PC Alfred Hall's original map of the murder locus.
Ronald Light, a 33-year-old mathematics teacher, is considered the prime suspect in Wright's murder.
Ronald Light
Light did not come forward in response to an extensive media appeal to trace a man matching his description seen on a green bicycle riding alongside Wright on the evening she was killed, and he is known to have made attempts to dispose of both his bicycle and revolver holster in a canal following her death. Upon his arrest, Light initially denied, then admitted to being in the company of Wright shortly before her death, although he consistently denied killing her. He was defended in court by Sir Edward Marshall Hall KC, who largely based his defence on the lack of a motive for Wright's death. Marshall Hall obtained Light's acquittal.
The Green Bicycle Case would prove to be one of Britain's most celebrated and controversial murder cases of the 20th century, with opinions varying among authors as to Light's guilt and the actual motive behind the crime, should her death not have been the result of misadventure. The case has been described by one author as "The most fascinating murder mystery of the century." "
The Wikipedia article.
BBC article on the case.
My best estimate of the body deposition site based on PC Alfred Hall's sketch map:
1902 OS map from National Library of Scotland:
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/
maximus otter
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