UK UK - Penny Bell, 43, Ealing, London, 6 June 1991

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Jan 25 2021
Help me find monster who murdered mum 30yrs ago, pleads daughter


Lauren Bell holds up the picture of her murdered mum, Penny BellCredit: Oliver Dixon - The Sun
''Despite a £1.5million investigation, more than 8,000 interviews and a £20,000 reward, the murder of Penny Bell remains unsolved.

And as the 30th anniversary of her death approaches, police have opened a new forensic review.

But Lauren, 39, believes that this is the final throw of the dice — and if the latest investigation cannot yield new information, she may never find out who killed her mother.

She said: “I have no answers and it is becoming increasingly more likely that I never will, and that is a really difficult pain to bear.”

''She is desperate for any new information — no matter how small — which might help the police review team to finally crack the case.

A spokesman for the Met Police said: “No operation is ever closed and any new evidence would be assessed and recorded accordingly.”

Lauren said: “We are a family that needs those answers to heal and complete our grieving pattern.''

“Although we know we will never get my mum back, what is so hard to accept is the not knowing.

“And also that there is somebody still out there who is able to carry out an act of violence to that degree, and is still walking our streets now. So it is really, really important for anybody that may know something, may know a lot. I can’t stress enough how much you would change our lives if you were to come forward.”
 
When you watch the husband being interviewed on the episode of Crimewatch it’s all very matter of fact with very little feeling. Had he returned to dating men behind Penny’s back? Was the chap who entered her vehicle as seen by a witness the husband or an acquaintance of his? As an Estate Agent I assume he was was out of the office a fair amount. The man who came forward and said he was in her car that day (fingerprints confirmed it) friends with her husband? And do we know it was Penny who actually withdrew 8.5K from the joint bank account just days before?
 
Lord Peter Flimsy said:
When you watch the husband being interviewed on the episode of Crimewatch it’s all very matter of fact with very little feeling. Had he returned to dating men behind Penny’s back? Was the chap who entered her vehicle as seen by a witness the husband or an acquaintance of his? As an Estate Agent I assume he was was out of the office a fair amount. The man who came forward and said he was in her car that day (fingerprints confirmed it) friends with her husband? And do we know it was Penny who actually withdrew 8.5K from the joint bank account just days before?
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I had a feeling that the husband was playing away with a man and maybe the money was being used as a bribe?
 
Penny's business partner, a Mr K Flynn took sole directorship of their business "Coverstaff Limited" after her murder, and by the 19th of June he was noted on Companies house as sole director. I wonder how much interest Police have paid to Mr Flynn and any possible involvement there?
 
They have just released a segment on crime watch asking for information regarding penny’s case. I’m from southall/Greenford. So really hoping there’s some answers soon. Fingers crossed the right person has seen it and can come forward and help solve this.
 
The ferocity of the attack suggest either a strong emotional attachment, or someone who clearly deranged. However, the fact that Penny apparently met the attacker and collected him suggest this was not random.

One of the big questions is how did the attacker get away without being seen, it was busy at that time of day, and it’s suggested he would have been covered in blood. One thing comes to mind and that’s a vehicle was parked deliberately next to Penny’s car, maybe taking up 2 spaces initially and them moved by an accomplice when Penny’s car drove in.

By moving quickly from one car to the other you may not been seen, this is especially true if the second vehicle was a van of some kind.

This would make this crime premeditated and well planned. Just a thought.
 
My opinion, not having any deep understanding of this case, is that the murder location was planned. The perp had a vehicle adjacent or very near for getaway. The hedge gave a degree of privacy. He stabbed her ferociously from the passenger seat from the side to kill her but wasn't sure if he'd done a thorough job so came round to the drivers side and stabbed her an excessive amount of times from above to make sure she was dead. He will have determined that she was dead before he left. The motive was not money, or sex, but the elimination of someone known; there was an emotional investment in the overkill. Who benefited? The business partner benefited, but I don't think enough to warrant overkill, and the husband benefited. He had an alibi but it was made known publicly in the investigation that he was gay. Did the Police interview his sexual partners?

I thought about blackmail gone wrong and a professional hit but it is too messy and to much of a frenzy. She knew the person who killed her enough to meet them and let them into her car. The perp will be know to the family and to the investigation.
 
Last edited:
Fede said:
Here is the video of the full interview with Penny´s daughter
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What a lovely lass. I hope she finds the answers she's looking for. The first thing I would be doing is looking again at the husbands alibi on the day and anyone associated with him sexually. As a father of three girls, I find it inexplicable that he would cut her off after she got to 19. That indicates a dark side to me. Someone with a personality worth looking at in terms of the unsolved murder of his wife.
 
Lord Peter Flimsy said:
When you watch the husband being interviewed on the episode of Crimewatch it’s all very matter of fact with very little feeling. Had he returned to dating men behind Penny’s back? Was the chap who entered her vehicle as seen by a witness the husband or an acquaintance of his? As an Estate Agent I assume he was was out of the office a fair amount. The man who came forward and said he was in her car that day (fingerprints confirmed it) friends with her husband? And do we know it was Penny who actually withdrew 8.5K from the joint bank account just days before?
Click to expand...
I was thinking the same. To be honest, in my opinion only, I'd have been focusing on the husband from day one.
 
I’ve not spend a lot of time on this so far as I’m involved with another case. If you can believe the various documentaries the police looked into the husbands past and the fact he was gay, plus partners.

How thoroughly they did this is anyone’s guess, agree it’s not a professional job, as you say it’s messy.

I’d say it’s not about money, maybe she was trying to buy someone off and they’d decided money was not enough. The ferocity of the attack say passion, and this is either one of her lovers or someone connected with her husband. We should say at this point that the husband may not know who the person is, but will most likely have suspicions.
 
I’m unclear about the £8,500. In particular whether she had it with her that morning. Reports say nothing was stolen but others indicate the money was missing. I know it’s unaccounted for but I’m not sure it’s clear if she had it with her that morning. Lauren said it wasn’t unusual for her to withdraw sums of cash. I’d like to know how regularly she did this, had it become more frequent and what the cash was usually used for. Additionally whether £8,500 was similar to previous withdrawals or massively more than normal.

As to how the killer got away. Another car being available seems the probable way to escape. However how did the killer get the car to that car park if presumably he met Penny some distance away to start with. Was there an accomplice? Also I’m surprised that the killer allowed Penny to drive slowly with the hazard lights on and wipers going.
 
davidt said:
I’m unclear about the £8,500. In particular whether she had it with her that morning. Reports say nothing was stolen but others indicate the money was missing. I know it’s unaccounted for but I’m not sure it’s clear if she had it with her that morning. Lauren said it wasn’t unusual for her to withdraw sums of cash. I’d like to know how regularly she did this, had it become more frequent and what the cash was usually used for. Additionally whether £8,500 was similar to previous withdrawals or massively more than normal.

As to how the killer got away. Another car being available seems the probable way to escape. However how did the killer get the car to that car park if presumably he met Penny some distance away to start with. Was there an accomplice? Also I’m surprised that the killer allowed Penny to drive slowly with the hazard lights on and wipers going.
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Perhaps the perp had access to two cars, leaving the first where he was picked up and the second placed earlier in the car park. Could equally be an accomplice, who would then be able to establish a cast iron alibi for the time of the murder. I can't think why he would allow Penny to draw attention to her car as that increases the chances of being caught, unless to stop her doing so would cause the vehicle to stop before reaching the murder site and it was a risk worth taking - she had to be killed that day; there was no way back.

PB was stabbed over 50 times. Do we know how many of these wounds were defensive, how many were superficial, and how many in themselves were potentially mortal?
 
CSIAngus said:
Perhaps the perp had access to two cars, leaving the first where he was picked up and the second placed earlier in the car park. Could equally be an accomplice, who would then be able to establish a cast iron alibi for the time of the murder. I can't think why he would allow Penny to draw attention to her car as that increases the chances of being caught, unless to stop her doing so would cause the vehicle to stop before reaching the murder site and it was a risk worth taking - she had to be killed that day; there was no way back.

PB was stabbed over 50 times. Do we know how many of these wounds were defensive, how many were superficial, and how many in themselves were potentially mortal?
Click to expand...

I’ve not seen anything describing the murder weapon as such. 50 stab wounds is an awful lot and perhaps suggests a smaller instrument being used? If it was fully premeditated you’d have thought the killer would be more prepared. The fact there were 50 wounds also suggests frenzy and loss of control rather than a cold premeditated attack.

If it was one killer with two cars which I considered, he presumably was able to drive away in one and later retrieve the other one.
 
Has there ever been any report as to what Penny was wearing? Since she was running late for an appointment it might be relevant to know if she was dressed business smart, or casual. In 1991 it was still the norm to 'dress up' for the office or to meet clients. I think a lot could be gleaned from her attire. If it was say a wallpaper salesman she might have only worn jeans, intending to return home after and supervise the building work. Was she intending to go into the office afterwards or day off?

Also why was she running late? A reluctance to go or just a hectic morning. One would think the children would have been off to school much earlier, leaving her plenty of time to get ready and be on time.

Have they looked at where she would have been 10 minutes from her house by car for a pick up location at 9:50? That is roughly halfway between home and the leisure centre which is 20 minutes away. (google maps shows the route Google Maps )

I should watch some of the documentaries and appeals to see if any of these questions have been answered. Will do so later.
 
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