Girl finds death threat in doll's slit throat

AN 11-YEAR-OLD girl has had her Raggedy Ann doll taken from her home, then retued with a death threat stuffed inside its cut throat.

Bella Mastracci found the doll face down and almost decapitated on the porch of her home in Powell, Ohio, along with a note that read: "Bella ... Kill yourself or I will kill you," according to NBC News 4.

Bella then told her mother, Cami Amato, who informed police and contacted neighbours and other nearby parents, who she says couldn't believe the news.

Deputy chief Stephen Hrytzik said police were unable to take fingerprints, but would use "other methods" to find the culprit.

Dear Bella: The threatening note, pictured, was found in the doll's cut throat

"Oh this is a crime, absolutely," he told NBC. "It is a conce to the parents, it's a conce to us. We don't see cases like this very often."

Ms Amato said Bella, who is about to enter grade six, had been bullied before.

Asked if she had a message for the culprit, Bella replied: "Stop bullying. Don't be mean. Don't bully anybody else, because it's hurting them."

Bella Mastracci, the owner of the dolla and the target of the death threat. Picture: NBC News 4