Mary Flora Bell is an English woman who, as a juvenile, killed two preschool-age boys in Scotswood, an inner suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, in 1968. Bell committed her first killing when she was ten years old. In both instances, Bell informed her victim that he had a sore throat, which she would massage before proceeding to strangle him.

Benwell and Scotswood is an electoral ward of Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England. The ward encompasses the Benwell and Scotswood housing areas, as well as the Newcastle Business Park, which is located on the banks of the River Tyne and houses offices of companies such as British Airways and the Automobile Association. The population of the ward is 13,759, which is 5.3% of the total population of Newcastle upon Tyne. Car ownership in the area is 45.1%, lower than the city average of 54.7%. The 2011 Census gave a population of 12,694.