The Green Bicycle Mystery

Who Was Bella Wright?

Born Annie Bella Wright on 14th July 1897 to parents Mary Ann & Kenus Wright, she was the eldest of her 7 siblings. Her father was an illiterate agricultural worker and the family lived in Stoughton, a small village outside Leicester. The early 1900’s were a time of great change for women – during WWI, women entered the workforce, and in 1918 they won the right to vote. Bella decided not to follow the conventional route into domestic service and instead started working in a rubber factory around 5 miles from her home. Due to this distance, Bella often travelled between home & work and the surrounding villages on her bicycle to visit friends and run errands. The bicycle she used as transport gave her a freedom that may have led to her demise.

The Discovery

Bella was discovered dead just 5 days before her 22nd birthday. She was found by a farmer on the side of the road. Her face was bloodied, so much so that the bullet wound that entered below her left eye and exited the back of her skull went unnoticed. The farmer, Joseph Cowell, had assumed the girl had an accident - either falling off her bicycle or being knocked down by a passing motor vehicle. Cowell reported his discovery to the local policeman, who in turn contacted Dr. Williams. Williams instructed that the body be moved to a local unoccupied house whilst he and the policeman, Constable Alfred Hall, carried out a candlelit inspection of the scene. Hall came across “smears of blood on the top bar of the field gate”, and bird tracks in blood to and from the body. A dead carrion crow was also observed at the scene, thought by Hall to be responsible for both the smears and the tracks. No other evidence was found, and there were no footprints to suggest foul play.

It was not until the next day, when Hall returned to the scene in the early morning that a bullet was found. A single .455 calibre bullet was found planted in the ground just over 5m away from where Bella’s body lay the previous night. The bullet appeared to have been pressed into the ground by a passing horse. Once he learned of this discovery, Dr. Williams undertook a post mortem on Wright’s body, where the bullet wound was finally spotted. It was estimated that the fatal shot had come from a distance of around 6 to 7 feet.

The Investigation

After an inquiry into Bella’s last movements, police found that she had left her mothers house, in which she lived, to post a letter to her fiancé, Archie Ward. Ward was stationed on HMS Diadem in Portsmouth waiting to be sent home after WWI. Bella made it to the post office, posted her letter, and then set off for her uncle’s cottage in nearby village Gaulby. Along the way, she met a stranger, who accompanied her on her journey. There were plenty of independent witnesses who told police they had seen Bella cycling to her uncle’s house, along with a mysterious man who rode a distinctive green bicycle. When her uncle, George Measures, questioned Bella about this strange cycling companion she told him:

“Oh him, I don’t really know him at all. He’s been riding alongside me for a few miles but he isn’t bothering me at all. He’s just chatting about the weather ... I hope he doesn’t get too boring, I shall try and give him the slip”

Undeterred by the fact Bella had told her uncle that the man acted as a “perfect stranger” towards her, Measures informed the police that he didn’t like the look of him, nor the way her acted. He also mentioned that Bella claimed she had only met him that evening, a fact both her uncle and cousin, Agnes, were suspicious of. The pair seemed familiar, they said. Once Bella had left the cottage, the stranger was heard to say “Bella, you have been a long time. I thought you had gone the other way.” The two then rode away together, at approximately 8.50pm, 30 minutes before her body was discovered.

Despite this lead, the trail ran cold. That is until 7 months later, when a bicycle identical to the one described by witnesses was found in a the River Soar, snagged on a passing boat’s tow line. Later, a local labourer came forward and told police he had seen a man disposing of something or somethings in the river a few days previously. Soon afterwards, the canal was dredged uncovering a leather holster, one issued by the army, this holster contained no pistol but it was filled with .455 bullets. Whoever had dumped the bicycle had attempted to file off the serial numbers, but enough remained on the inside of the front fork to finally trace the bike. It had been sold from a shop in Derby 9 years previously, to a man named Ronald Light.

Ronald Light

Ronald Light was born on 19th October 1885. He was born to wealthy parents, and followed in his fathers footsteps when he graduated from the University of Birmingham as a civil engineer. He grew up in a large townhouse complete with staff and attended the elite Oakham School until 1902, when he was expelled because he “lift[ed] a little girl’s clothes over her head”. This pattern of inappropriate behaviour continued into his adulthood when he “attempted to make love to a girl 15 years of age” in his 30s. In 1914 he was fired from his job at the railway when he was accused of drawing indecent images on the lavatory walls, and setting fire to a cupboard. After this he gained employment on a farm, but lost this job when suspected of lighting haystacks on fire. He had, however, become a member of the Buxton territorial company of the Royal Engineers in 1910. He was then commissioned as second lieutenant in 1915 and deployed to the Western Front. His army career was not without its share or troublemaking; he left his post as second lieutenant on the suggestion of his superior and after reenlisting as a gunner in the Honourable Artillery Company, was dishonourably discharged for reasons unclear. Later he returned to England “a broken man” to the news his father had died. Light’s mother suggested his father could not cope with his concerns for his sons safety whilst he was away at war, and this led to his suicide.

In March of 1920, Light began teaching mathematics at Dean Close boy’s school in Cheltenham, a position he managed to keep for two months, until he was arrested for Bella Wright’s murder. The case was a media sensation however many stories were sympathetic towards Light, whereas Bella was reduced to nothing more than a “factory girl”, described in court as an “unfortunate creature”. After troops returned from WWI the men and boys who had risked their lives were revered , meaning that Light’s history of inappropriate behaviour was kept out of the headlines which led to a popular public opinion that he was not guilty.

The Trial

Light’s trial opened in June of 1920 in Leicester Castle, he was defended by “The Great Defender”, Sir Edward Marshall Hall, a man who was notorious for helping the wealthy shake their murder charges. The prosecution was comprised of Norman Birkett, Gordon Hewart, and Henry Maddocks.

The case against Light was mostly circumstantial, with prosecution arguing that Light had acted indecently towards Wright a mile from her uncles, causing her to flee. Bella took an alternate, longer route home to avoid Light, but he caught up with her and laid in wait on Gartree road. He ambushed her and shot her once in the face. He panicked when reports of him and his green bicycle with, its distinctive coaster brake, hit the news and he disposed of it in the best way he could come up with – dismantling it, removing the serial numbers, and throwing it in the canal.

Light readily admitted that he had gotten rid of both the bicycle and the holster, full of bullets, in the River Soar. His explanation was that it was a coincidence he owned these things, stating that the holster and ammunition was army issue and many of the men who served illegally brought back their weapons. He thought it best to discard of these incriminating items so as not to worry his mother, the same reason he gave for initially lying to the police.

Light remained composed during his time in court and did not contradict himself once during his 5 hours of cross examination. His version of events was not able to be contradicted or disproven. Marshall Hall highlighted the lack of motive given to explain why Light would have killed Bella, explaining their brief chance encounter, and there being no evidence of robbery or sexual assault against her. Hall then pointed out his doubts about testimony from the prosecutions ballistic expert witness, Henry Clarke, a gunsmith. He posited that the .455 bullet could have just as easily been shot from a rifle as a revolver, probably from some distance away. To back this theory up, a close range shot from a service revolver would have created much more damage to the face of the victim. Hall introduced the argument that the shot that killed Bella came from an individual shooting birds in an adjacent field, a theory that could explain the crow shot dead that was found at the scene.

Another interesting point brought up at trial was the mention of Bella’s possible second suitor by Mary Wright, Bella’s mother. She testified that Bella had come home one day and remarked that an officer had “fallen in love” with her when they happened upon each other on Braunstone Lane. Light denied ever having met Bella prior to the day of her murder.

Sir Marshall Hall cast doubt over much of the evidence presented by the prosecution, he told the jury that as no one had even seen Light on the road where Bella was found murdered, let alone seen him shoot her, they could not prove that it was indeed Light that killed her. This, along with his alternate stray shot theory and Light’s own testimony was enough to introduce reasonable doubt into the minds of the jury. Light was acquitted on 12th June, after 3 hours of jury deliberation. The not guilty verdict was met with cheers throughout the courtroom before Light himself left the court and returned home, alone.

The Aftermath & Other Theories

A theory which has persisted despite any evidence to confirm, is the existence of a confession, signed by Light, safely tucked away in a Leicester police station. Whilst this is merely speculation, there is a statement, written by Superintendent Bowley in the days immediately after the trial which casts some light upon the case. A statement hidden from the public for decades. This statement outlines a conversation between Bowley and Light, where after some friendly pressure from the superintendent – Light confesses to killing Bella, albeit accidentally.

“I did shoot the girl but it was completely accidental, we were riding quietly along, I was telling her about the war and my experiences in France, I had my Revolver in my Raincoat pocket and we dismounted for her to look at it. I had fired off some shots in the afternoon for practice and I had no idea there was a loaded cartridge in it, we were both standing by the sides of our bicycles, I think she had dismounted on the right of her machine and that the two bicycles were between us. I took the Revolver from my coat pocket and was in the act of handing it to her, I am not sure whether she actually took hold of it or not, but her hand was out to take it when it went off. She fell and never stirred, I was horror struck, I did not know what to do, I knew she was dead, I did not touch her. I was frightened and altogether unnerved and I got on my bicycle and rode away”

An excerpt from the statement of Levi Bowley, 14th June, 1920.

As detailed in the Green Bicycle Mystery (Antony M. Brown, 2017) there are some holes in Light’s account, assuming Bowley’s statement is truthful to begin with. Light never specifies the firearm which fired the fatal shot, as he later told Bowley he disposed of two weapons (detailed in the same statement). A smaller calibre gun could better explain Bella’s smaller head wound. This would also line up with the bullet that was found on the road – a bullet fired from Lights alleged position in the road would have travelled a lot further, perhaps embedding itself in a tree, however it would not make logical sense for it to come to rest where it was found.

The second hole in this story is the lack of explanation of how the gun ‘accidentally’ went off. Light had nothing to say about this other than to suggest it could have been fully cocked before he took it from his pocket. If Light had been shooting in the early afternoon, and shot Bella in the early evening, how could the revolver stay within his pocket unfired whilst he cycled, if “the least touch would fire it” as he said?

Finally, why did Light risk everything by confessing to a police officer just 3 days after his acquittal? This, among other factors, casts doubt on the authenticity of this statement. The statement itself was also queried by writer Bill Donahue whilst he investigated the case. Donahue explored the legitimacy of the document, explaining that all other documents in his case file were “murky [with] dark type” whereas this was “faint, with even type strokes”. He mused of the possibility it was fraudulent, possibly intended to lay the mystery to rest.

The keeper of the Leicester Archives, Robin Jenkins, felt the document was legitimate, confirming that it was “secret until the Leicester Police deposited it with us”. Philip Bouffard, a forensic document specialist from Ohio disagreed – “The alignment is very good. On a 1920 typewriter, you’d typically have a lot of letters off to the left or right a bit, or off up and down. Something’s not right here.” Another expert, Harry C Pears, said “I can find very little evidence that the report wasn’t created in the 1920’s.”

Alison Keay published a short book about the case in 2010, one that rehashes earlier accounts from both Wakefield and East, highlighting where they disagree. Keay posits that ballistic evidence does not match the theory that Bella was shot with a .455 bullet. The entry wound below Wright’s cheek was simply not large enough, a hole that was just large enough “to admit an ordinary pencil” especially for a bullet shot at close range. Keay asserts that Light was innocent and the bullet found at the scene and bullets found in the canal were “red herrings”. She does not offer an alternate hypothesis.

The Green Bicycle Murder (Wendy C. East, 1993) is considered the most thorough about the case. In it, East concludes that Light was guilty. She documents Light’s unpleasant behaviour, especially that towards women. East also considers the ballistic evidence and deduces that a smaller than .455 calibre bullet was fired, and killed Bella. An adaptation to Light’s Webley and Scott revolver is suggested, however East’s book was published before Bowley’s statement was uncovered, where Light clues us in on the presence of a second weapon.

The Green Bicycle Case (Russell H. Wakefield, 1920) was the first published non-fiction book on the case, in it Wakefield deals mostly with the trial despite not having a copy of the court transcript. Wakefield dismisses Hall’s theory that someone was shooting crows and accidentally shot Bella. He believes the bullet found in the road was indeed the one that killed Bella, but it had ended up so close to where the body was found because Bella had been laid on the ground when she was shot. He offers no alternate suspects and states his belief that the perpetrator will always remain a mystery.

Final Thoughts

In my opinion the three most plausible conclusions are; that Bella was murdered by Ronald Light, accidentally killed by Ronald Light, or accidentally killed by someone not otherwise known to the case. If the statement from Bowley is legitimate in regards to the so-called confession, I would deem manslaughter by Light to be the most likely fate of Bella Wright. The motive for Light's (possible) killing of Bella is, and will continue to be, unknown. There are repeated cases all over the world of individuals losing their lives at the hands of another due to rebuffed romantic advances, and as Bella was engaged, it would be likely any advances towards her from Light would have been rejected. However this is not the only explanation. Light's pattern of indecent and objectionable behaviour could be his manner of escalation, starting with assault and property damage, leading to rape and murder. A series of events that would not be considered unique to this one man (or woman!).

It is a tragedy that most, if not all, the physical evidence from this case is lost, prohibiting reexamination and preventing a true verdict to be reached. Key pieces of evidence, such as the green bicycle itself, were sold at auction. Forensic techniques in the 1910's and 20's were... limited, and as evidence no longer exists, further testing to uncover more leads is impossible.

It is the 100 year anniversary of this case this year, and due to that the DMU Heritage Centre, along with Leicestershire Police, have created a travelling exhibit running from July 2019 to June 2020 which will include talks, tours, and activities related to the case. A link for this in case you're interested is here.

Thank you for reading my first post, I really do appreciate it! I thought I would write about something semi-local as I get quite sick of everything I read about being from the US, hopefully I will focus on more UK and international mysteries (unless it's a really juicy one).

If you have any comments or suggestions for this post I would really love to hear them, comment on this post or leave me a private note under the contact section. Also tell me your favourite mysteries (solved or unsolved) and I may feature them in a later post.

M x

Sources

BBC News. (2016). Event recreates 'green bicycle' murder. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-36334481.

Brown, A. (2017). The green bicycle mystery. 1st ed. London: Mirror Books.

Donahue, B. (2010). Bike History: The Green Bicycle Murder. [online] Bicycling. Available at: https://www.bicycling.com/news/a20020235/bike-history/.

Guy, F. (2018). The Green Bicycle Case: The Murder of Bella Wright in 1919 | Crime Traveller. [online] Crime Traveller. Available at: https://www.crimetraveller.org/2015/09/green-bicycle-case-bella-wright-murder/.

Keay, A. (2010). The Green Bicycle Murder and New Evidence. 1st ed. Leicester.

Light, R. and Wakefield, H. (1930). The Green Bicycle Case. London: P. Allan.

Manger, W. (2017). New book on Green Bicycle Murder could explain what happened to Bella Wright. [online] The Mirror. Available at: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/girl-shot-head-dead-crow-10655499.

Wendy East, C. (1993). The green bicycle murder. Phoenix Mill, U.K.: A. Sutton.