This photo provided Sept. 28, 2011, by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Edward Harold Bell. The man ran back to his truck and left. As Dotti Walker, a family member of one of the victims told the Chronicle, "It makes it hard that we don't know if this Bell guy is a nut or if he's telling the truth. They were last seen accepting a ride from a man driving a white van; he happened to own one at that time. Dawna said that the wounds will never heal and the hurt of losing Larry will always be there. By the time of his release, now divorced and forbidden contact with his children, Bell married a 17-year-old female patient and the pair moved a beach house in Galveston. Bell contends in three points that the evidence was legally insufficient to support . He was previously married to Esther Williams. ", Bell believed the "program" to be far-reaching, having allegedly included family members and people he's dated. Mary Livingston Ludlow. Furthermore, he had a trailer near the bayou where their bodies were found. Harold Wilmerding Bell. Results: Unresolved. Their abductor tied them up, stripped them from the waist down and left their bodies in a river. He was caught by police shortly afterwards and interned to await trial on a $125,000 bail bond; however, when the trial date came about, Bell did not appear and was thereafter designated as a wanted fugitive. Bell was a well-known sex offender in the 1970s. Sue went into the bathroom in the master bedroom to finish getting dressed. He was eighty-two years old at the time of his death. Prosecutors in Galveston reopened Debbie and Maria's cases after learning new information through their investigation, and Bell was identified as the "primary suspect." The man grabbed his jeans from the truck, put them on, and then reached back into the vehicle to produce a gun. You can help Serial Killer Database Wiki by expanding it. Gallery. His defense claimed that Larry was a "mean" and "unstable" man who attacked Bell and threatened to kill him. Isaac Bell, III. The whole incident was very quick. It's " where two middle school students, Georgia Geer, 14, and Brooks Bracewell, 12, were last seen in 1974." At just that moment, Larry's seventeen-year-old sister, Dawna, was returning home from cheerleading practice. Bell's first documented arrest occurred in 1966. He was arrested again in the rape of a Jennie Sealy mental patient he met outside the hospital. His confession matched details of the crime scene. "They wanted me to rape girls and rob banks and rob people. Edward Harold Bell (May 26, 1939 April 20, 2019)[1] was an American sex offender, murderer and the first fugitive to be featured in the Texan rendition of America's Most Wanted. Daily Mail Reporter . As Dorothy continued talking to the police, Larry went out and took the keys out of Bell's truck in an attempt to keep him there until the police arrived. She then saw a red-and-white GMC pickup truck driving up near it When Bell climbed out of the vehicle, he was nude from the waist down and walked over to a nearby . However, she did not hit him. The victims were young girls from the Texas counties of Houston, Galveston, Webster and Dickinson. He gave the remaining victims their initials, hair color, and the year they were murdered. Bell, a convicted killer serving 70 years for a 1978 slaying near Houston and who was under investigation in the unsolved deaths of several missing girls has died after collapsing at a Texas prison. They were last seen accepting a ride near an island ice cream shop from a man driving a white van. Dorothy says that their family has missed Larry so much. I believe he took a life precious to me and my life has never been the same since, she said. [8] On February 14, 1993, a joint operation conducted by the FBI and the Panamanian National Police led to Bell's arrest at a yacht club in Panama City. 12-year-old Brooks Bracewell and 14-year-old Georgia Geer, who were last seen in 1974 and discovered in 1976, are thought to be the other two victims. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. According to Special Agent Rolando Moss of the Houston FBI, Bell was prospecting for gold on land he owned near Panama City. At that very instant, the officers heading to the scene recognized his truck. She assumed that he was a first-time burglar. Pictured is the Dickinson pasture owned by Edward Harold Bell in the mid 1970s. Bell claimed that he was "fearful" of Larry and had no way to retreat from the situation. Both confessed to killing women in this area. Sue had always considered herself strong and self-reliant. Hunter. He turned around and began to pursue the vehicle. He got out and pointed his rifle at one of the officers. Journalist Lise Olsen and retired police . Some investigators claimed they long believed he was a serial killer and found evidence to corroborate his claims. Bell worked at Doug's Dive and Surf Shop and lived in an apartment along Offatts Bayou when the girls disappeared. He and Larry began arguing. The two girls were shot as they stood tied up half naked in a river, says Bell. Genealogy for Edward Harold Stibbs (1876 - 1944) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. Lang told her son to give the man back his keys. Elizabeth Edwards "collapsed in a ball" in an airport parking lot and tore off her shirt in a fit of anger, the witness said. There are conflicting reports on Edward Bell's birth date; from what I've been able to gather, I presume the year he was born to be 1937. At this time, it was reported that he worked at a dock in the port town of Cristbal. In Bell's truck, police found the murder weapons and pornography. Adams testified that Bell was very calm and had no marks on his face. Five murders occurred in 1971 and six more occurred from about 1974 to 1977. Age 42. That's what Edward Harold Bell wants us to believe. Desel added that there was no foul . In fact, he said, there . Harold was raised in Kentucky and was drafted into the United States Army wh . After living on a ranch in Terlingua for some time, Bell, who worked as an itinerant pharmaceutical salesman, sold the ranch for an office in downtown Houston. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. June 10, 2021. To employ every one who wants to work in the . After the incident, the police came out and took a report from Sue. Oddly enough, in 1993, Edward Harold Bell was convicted of the murder of Larry Dickens. She also went to the police station and looked through a book of mugshots. ", Bell's letters suggest that he believes that he was "programmed" into becoming a murderer. Real Name: Edward Harold Bell Aliases: Butch Wanted For: Murder, Indecency with a Child Missing Since: October 1978 Details: Bryan, Texas, is the type of place that people have in mind when they dream of escaping the big city. Named Texas' most wanted fugitive in the 1980s, Bell was featured on the T.V. However, the legitimacy of his claims (which he has since denied) has come into question. Daily Mail Reporter, Father who survived Connecticut home invasion walks out of court as coroner describes 'significant pain' suffered by his young daughter, Mom who lost both sons to fentanyl blasts laughing Biden, Two Russian tanks annihilated with bombs by Ukrainian armed forces, Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' Their bones were recovered in a bayou in 1976 and weren't identified until 1981. Finally, a decade-and-a-half after Larry had been gunned down before Dorothy's eyes, his accused killer shuffled past her at the airport, shackled in hand and leg cuffs. Michael Hagerty is the senior producer for Houston Matters. His long criminal record stretched back to 1969 and included aggravated rapes and numerous counts of indecent exposure to children (mainly girls) throughout Texas and Louisiana. [5] On the other hand, other family members and some investigators considered the claims to be credible, as Bell's criminal past, proximity to the crime scenes at the right dates and mentioning details not known to the public made him a viable suspect in their eyes. The show reopened the case to the public and closely followed Paige and Olsen's investigation. In an interview, Pruns said he once visited a property where Bell kept horses, raccoons, various critters, and a travel trailer painted to look like a red caboose. Throughout this time, he made a living through giving dive trips to American tourists and gold panning. As reported by Lise Olsen of the Houston Chronicle, who is one of the central investigators in The Eleven, when Bell had skipped bail, "[He] roamed coastal towns in Mexico and Central America, guiding dive trips, and living aboard a sailboat. Edward Harold Bell was convicted of murder and sentenced to 70 years in prison. Apr 20, 2019. The State of Texas, Relatives unsure of killer's claim in Texas deaths. His actions caught the attention of 26-year-old Larry Dean Dickens, a Marine with a young daughter, who rushed in and got hold of the man's keys in an attempt to prevent him from fleeing. Bell graduated from the City College of New York and led a successful career in real estate development before teaching at GSAPP. However, after his death, many of the victims' relatives stated that they believed he was responsible for their deaths. Bell, a convicted killer serving 70 years for a 1978 slaying near Houston and who was . Edward Harold Bell, who was serving time for the 1978 killing of an ex-Marine, collapsed and died in the Wallace Pack Unit in Navasota at the age of 82. A convicted murderer suspected of killing 11 girls in Texas died Saturday morning in prison, taking any information he may have had about the young girls' deaths with him. Extra Notes: Results: Captured. My father tried to brainwash me into killing myself.". GALVESTON. They placed him under arrest, and the FBI, along with the Panama City Police Department, brought Bell back to the United States. During interviews, Bell blamed his heinous actions on a systematic program of abuse, lies, and brainwashing begun by his father. In 2000, he died in prison without ever receiving a new trial. Bell says he murdered 11 young girls in Houston and the counties of Galveston, Webster and Dickinson - five in 1971 and six more from 1974 to 1977. , updated She feels that it is not right that Bell can be out on the streets, exposing himself to children and doing other bad things, while Larry has been dead this entire time. Bell further asserted that a "brainwashing programme" had pushed him to kill, rape, and expose himself to young girls. Bell identified another victim as "Pitchford", who was later determined to be sixteen-year-old Kimberly Rae Pitchford. All four of the female victims disappeared near Bell's apartment. A convicted murderer serving a 70-year prison sentence died leaving unanswered questions about the unsolved killings of 11 missing girls. He was employed by Greer Industries for many years as an operator for 42 years. Actor: Gymkata. Bell had been on the run for 14 years after shooting Dickens, and was eventually found living at a Panama yacht club in 1993 with a teenage girl. [2] Bell would also claim in later interviews that his father encouraged him to do violent crime, ranging from robbing banks and raping girls, in addition to encouraging him to kill himself. As she pulled closer, they made eye contact. Bell sent prosecutors in Texas letters containing his confession in 1998 but they have remained secret until now. Adams ordered him to stop, and he did. In July and September 2011, Bell was interviewed by a Houston Chronicle reporter. EDWARD HAROLD BELL, Appellant. The injury to the left cheek was from close range, nine to twelve inches away. Murdaugh is heckled as he leaves court, Ken Bruce finishes his 30-year tenure as host of BBC Radio 2, Missing hiker buried under snow forces arm out to wave to helicopter, Hershey's Canada releases HER for SHE bars featuring a trans activist, Insane moment river of rocks falls onto Malibu Canyon in CA, Fleet-footed cop chases an offender riding a scooter, Family of a 10-month-old baby filmed vaping open up. In 1998, Bell wrote several letters to prosecutors in Galveston and Harris county, claiming that he had killed eleven teenage girls between 1971 and 1977. 1,890,000 TO SEEK NORTHWEST JOBS Legion Confers on Post-War Employment Plans. Gloria Gonzales, whose bones were discovered near to Colette's in October 1971, is thought to be another. Dorothy came out and Dawna asked her if he was dead. Lang threw the phone down and ran towards the garage to let Larry inside. Unfortunately, prosecutors could not develop DNA samples or evidence to corroborate his claims in the letters and he was never charged with any of the murders. In 1993, Bell was convicted for the 1978 murder of Larry Dean Dickens, according to The Orlando Sentinel. How many people did convicted murderer Edward Bell really kill? After completing a Houston driver's education course, she disappeared. Real Name: Edward Harold Bell In 1998, Bell wrote several letters to prosecutors in Galveston and Harris county, claiming that he had killed eleven teenage girls between 1971 and 1977. Yet another is speculated to be Suzie Bowers, who vanished from Galveston in 1977. As she pulled up to a stop sign near their house, she saw Bell cross the street to the edge of their driveway. Resources like these are made possible by the generosity of our community of donors, foundations, and corporate partners. Gloria Gonzales went missing in October of 1971 (her body was found near Wilson's). Despite the violent nature of the crime against Dickens, Bell's bond was set at $125,000. With Edward Harold Bell as their number one suspect, investigators Lise Olsen and Fred Paige are determined to find . He claimed that it started with his father, but continued on with scoutmasters, a cousin, and his three ex-wives. Former Detective Paige teamed up with Chronicle reporter Lise Olsen to try and determine whether or not he was responsible.