Killing of Bella Wright

Annie Bella Wright was born on 14 July 1897 in Somerby, Leicestershire, the eldest of seven children of an agricultural labourer. She left school at 12, worked as a domestic servant, and later as a rubber hand at Bates & Co.'s St Mary's Mills in Leicester, cycling regularly between her home in Stoughton and the factory. At the time of her death she was 21 and engaged to a Royal Navy stoker, Archie Ward.

On the evening of 5 July 1919, Wright encountered a man on a distinctive green bicycle near a crossroads while cycling to visit her uncle, George Measures, in Gaulby. The man, later identified as Ronald Light, accompanied her to her uncle's cottage and waited outside. Several witnesses observed the pair together that evening. The two left together at around 8.50 p.m.; Light later testified they parted ways near King's Norton. Approximately thirty minutes later, farmer Joseph Cowell discovered Wright's body on Gartree Road, beside her bicycle, with severe facial injuries. A subsequent examination found she had been shot once beneath the left eye from a distance of six to seven feet, with the bullet exiting the rear of her skull. A spent .455-calibre bullet was later found near the body. An inquest returned a verdict of murder by person or persons unknown.

Police appeals to trace the man on the green bicycle were unsuccessful for months. Light did not come forward, and in October 1919 he dismantled his bicycle, filed off its serial numbers, and disposed of the parts, a holster, and ammunition in the River Soar — actions witnessed by a labourer. The bicycle frame was recovered by chance in February 1920 when a barge's tow-rope snagged it; a faint serial number remained visible, leading investigators to Light. He was arrested on 4 March 1920 at Dean Close School in Cheltenham, where he had recently begun teaching. He initially denied knowing Wright or owning the bicycle before admitting both facts, though he consistently denied killing her. Further items, including his Army-issue holster and matching unspent bullets, were recovered from the canal on 19 March 1920.

Light's trial opened at Leicester Castle on 8 June 1920 before Mr Justice Horridge. The prosecution, led by Sir Gordon Hewart, argued Light had ambushed and shot Wright; witnesses testified to seeing the pair together and to his efforts to destroy evidence. Defended by Sir Edward Marshall Hall, Light testified in his own defence, admitting he had lied to police but denying possession of a revolver at the time and denying the killing. The defence emphasised the absence of any established motive and questioned ballistics evidence suggesting the fatal bullet may have ricocheted or come from a rifle rather than a revolver fired at close range. After three hours of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty.

Wright was buried at St Mary and All Saints, Stoughton, on 11 July 1919. Light lived quietly after his acquittal, later marrying, and died on 15 May 1975. The case remains widely discussed, with authors divided on Light's guilt and on alternative explanations, including accidental discharge of a firearm.