Killing of Penny Bell

Ruth Penelope "Penny" Bell (28 February 1948 – 6 June 1991) was a partner in the Kilburn-based employment agency Coverstaff Ltd. She lived with her husband, Alistair Bell, and their two children in Baker's Wood, near Denham, Buckinghamshire. In the weeks before her death the family home was undergoing extensive renovations, and three days before she was killed Penny withdrew £8,500 from the couple's joint bank account, a sum that was never previously withdrawn and has never been accounted for.

On the morning of 6 June 1991, Alistair Bell left home as usual, describing his wife as "bright and chirpy," though he noted she did not wave him off as was her custom. Penny left the house around 9:40 BST in her Jaguar XJS, telling builders working on the kitchen that she was running late for an appointment that was never identified in her diary or papers. A dog-walking witness reported seeing a man get into Bell's car near Fulmer Common Road around 9:50 am, describing him as white, about 5'10", and around 48 years old. Another witness saw the Jaguar being driven slowly with hazard lights flashing on Greenford Road around 10:20 BST. A third witness, who came forward six months later, claimed to have seen Bell mouthing an appeal for help as she drove into the leisure centre car park, which he ignored.

Bell is believed to have been murdered around 10:30 BST and was seen motionless in her car by 11:00 BST, though passers-by assumed she was asleep. Police were alerted at 12:15 BST. She had been stabbed more than fifty times in the chest and arms with a three-to-four-inch blade in an attack police described as "frenzied." Forensic analysis indicated the attacker began stabbing from the passenger seat before moving to stab her from the driver's side.

Investigators found no evidence of robbery or sexual assault, and Bell's handbag was left untouched in the car. Police believed she likely knew her killer but could not establish a motive. By May 1992, some 4,000 people had been questioned. A former neighbour, John Richmond, was arrested in April 1992 after admitting to a newspaper that he was the man seen with Bell that morning and claiming a secret relationship with her; his fingerprints were found in her car, but he was released from bail in July 1992 without charge after the Crown Prosecution Service declined to prosecute. He was interviewed again in December 1994 after alleging Bell had been killed by a paid "assassin." Alistair Bell was also examined by police, given he inherited his wife's estate and a life insurance payout, but he had a verified alibi and no evidence linked him to the crime. In 2008, Robert Napper was interviewed following his conviction for the murder of Rachel Nickell, but he was cleared of any involvement in Bell's case.

In January 2021, Bell's daughter Lauren renewed a £20,000 reward for information ahead of the murder's thirtieth anniversary, and the case was featured on BBC's Crimewatch Live in March 2021. The case remains unsolved.