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He was arrested again in the rape of a Jennie Sealy mental patient he met outside the hospital. The outlet reported: Bell reportedly responded by shooting Dickens five times, per witnesses. The Hoseins' original plan was to kidnap Murdoch's wife, Anna, and hold her for ransom, but the Murdochs happened to be in Australia that particular week. r . Results: Unresolved. [1] According to his claims, his father, an oil field worker, frequently moved the family to various towns surrounding the Houston area, and allegedly suffered physical abuse both from him, his scoutmasters at the Boy Scouts and one of his cousins. After his confessions, he told the Houston Chronicle reporter that he would provide proof to back up his claims only if he was given immunity from prosecution. Edward Harold Bell says he has killed as many as 11 girls. Lang told the man that he better leave because the police were on their way. However, the legitimacy of his claims (which he has since denied) has come into question. As she got closer, she saw that Larry was lying in the driveway. The assault victim was given the name "Sue" and was filmed in silhouette to protect her identity. In a prison interview with Houston Matters in 2017, Bell claimed he had admitted to the murders because he had been suicidal. These unverifiable claims and allegations introduced doubt into these alleged confessions, but many investigators and detectives involved reportedly believe that Bell is responsible for what he claims to be. I didn't want statutory rape on top of the flasher charge." 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. Edward Harold Bell . Despite these claims, Bell was not investigated until 2011. As she opened up the newspaper one morning, she saw a picture of the intruder. In 1998, Bell wrote several letters to prosecutors in both Galveston and Harris counties, claiming that he had killed seven teenage girls in their jurisdictions between 1971 and 1977. This template will categorize articles that include it into Category:Stubs. . Bell further asserted that a "brainwashing programme" had pushed him to kill, rape, and expose himself to young girls. Hunter. 2. On April 20, 2019, he died in prison from undisclosed causes at age eighty-two. Bell identified another victim as "Pitchford", who was later determined to be sixteen-year-old Kimberly Rae Pitchford. 2. In the reflection, she saw a man walking into the bathroom. They moved to West Texas and had three children. In July and September 2011, Bell was interviewed by a Houston Chronicle reporter. He might have claimed a second victim that afternoon, but the rifle suddenly jammed. Edward Hunter Ludlow (1810 - November 27, 1884) was an American physician and real estate broker. He was fifty-two. 1902 July 7, 1902. All eleven potential victims linked to Edward Bell were found at the Killing Fields. Five weeks later, he shot Larry Dickens while masturbating in front of five Pasadena girls. This photo provided Sept. 28, 2011, by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Edward Harold Bell. After completing a Houston driver's education course, she disappeared. [10] This argument was disproven, and Bell was subsequently convicted and sentenced to 70 years imprisonment. The State of Texas, Relatives unsure of killer's claim in Texas deaths. Despite the violent nature of the crime against Dickens, Bell's bond was set at $125,000. Adams took Bell back to the scene where Dawna and Dorothy identified him. 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. Although Bell was not forthcoming in his A&E interviews, perhaps the show will be able provide answers for the families of the deceased whether things lead back to Bell or someone else. There was no tangible proof linking him to the other crimes. He was only convicted of one murder from 1978. The whole incident was very quick. Private investigators are investigating his written confessions of "The Eleven who went to Heaven"; which was the term Bell gave his alleged victims in a written . . Adams ordered him to stop, and he did. Crime Stoppers: Texas Most Wanted Fugitive #1, Police nab slaying suspect after 14 years, Flasher Convicted of Killing Man Who Tried to Stop Him, Edward Harold Bell vs. Edward Michael Bell was born on 19 March 1935 in the USA. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Perhaps, The Eleven's investigations will be able to give these families what they've been waiting for nearly 40 years for: the truth. As she pulled up to a stop sign near their house, she saw Bell cross the street to the edge of their driveway. Although he was a longtime suspect, prosecutors said they did not have enough evidence to prosecute him. In some cases he remembers the colour of their hair. He agreed to report to another in-patient treatment program at the University of Texas Medical Branch to avoid prosecution. "When I'm a free man out in the street, I can tell you about [the letter]," he said in a recent sit-down for the docuseries. After learning of his admissions, some detectives went back and looked at their evidence in those cases. Paradise Lost. Prosecutors in Galveston reopened Debbie and Maria's cases after learning new information through their investigation, and Bell was identified as the "primary suspect." But was he really their killer? As she pulled closer, they made eye contact. Dawna feels that Larry's murder has broken up their whole family. Edward Harold, 1838 - 1891. Also available on YouTube with Dennis Farina. In fact, he said, there were seven others, all . The victims were all teenage girls, and each . BELL--Harold, age 94, died peacefully at home, surrounded by his children. Photo: HAROLD BELL OBITUARY. She told him that she was going to call an ambulance, and not to move again. Marias death impacted my life more than any other single event. Dorothy ran in to help him. Many believe he was involved the killings. Furthermore, he had a trailer near the bayou where their bodies were found. She forced the intruder from the bathroom and then drove him out of the house at gunpoint with a gun from her nightstand. The new nonfiction limited series, The Eleven, follows investigators as they reexamine the murders of eleven teenage girls after discovering a confession letter from current inmate and convicted murderer Edward Harold Bell.Throughout the 1970s, the cities in and around Galveston County, Texas were haunted by the brutal murders of eleven teenage girls. [13] According to him, some of the case details found in the letters had not been released to the public. An inventory of his truck produced a loaded rifle and a .22 automatic pistol. People were afraid of him, Olsen told Houston Matters. He claimed that he was responsible for the 1971 murders of Debbie Ackerman and Maria Johnson, and provided details as to where their bodies were dumped and how they were killed, according to The Houston Chronicle. All four girls hung out close to Bell's apartment. Gloria Gonzales, whose bones were discovered near to Colette's in October 1971, is thought to be another. He is an actor and writer, known for Gymkata (1985), The Greatest American Hero (1981) and Vindication. 3. "My father thought if he beat you real bad, it would send chemicals into your bloodstream," Bell said. Wanted For: Murder, Indecency with a Child 11:17 GMT 27 Sep 2011. On August 24, 1978, Dorothy Lang looked out her kitchen window while washing dishes and saw a man park his red and white GMC truck across from her house. Crime News is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. In a 1985 episode of America's Most Wanted, he was named as Texas' most wanted fugitive, bringing further attention to his case and reinvigorating the search for him. A jury found Edward Harold Bell guilty of murder and assessed punishment at seventy years confinement. At this time, Bell was eighty-years-old, frail, and pasty. Yet another is speculated to be Suzie Bowers, who vanished from Galveston in 1977. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. The City of Galveston is putting up $70,000 for a project in the downtown cultural arts district and another $30,000 for a project that could go anywhere in the city. Bell is currently considered a suspect in the murders of several young women near Galveston in the 1970s. Columbia GSAPP sadly shares the loss of Professor Emeritus Harold "Hank" Bell, who passed away on May 26, 2021, at the age of 94. Lang was still watching from the window and witnessed the man shoot her son five times; Larry staggered back towards the garage. Dawna said that the wounds will never heal and the hurt of losing Larry will always be there. Oct. 19, 2017. Edward Harold Bell, 54, was found guilty of murder Monday in the 1978 slaying of Larry Dean Dickens, a 26-year-old oil field roughneck. He also invested in a surf shop that they were known to visit. It was there that Bell met Doug Pruns through a mutual friend. Fearing for the safety of her child, she instinctively attacked. My father tried to brainwash me into killing myself.". He was stopped by police at least a dozen times for masturbating and flashing AT girls. Lena Madge Crain crossed the divide to her Heavenly Home on Saturday, February 25th after several months of home health care. pg-13 2013. Five murders occurred in 1971 and six more occurred from about 1974 to 1977. Other articles where Harold Bell Wright is discussed: Ozark Mountains: industries, was given impetus by Harold Bell Wright's novel The Shepherd of the Hills (1907), which romanticized the Missouri Ozarks. NAVASOTA, Texas (AP) A man serving 70 years for a 1978 slaying near Houston who was also under investigation in the unsolved killings of several missing girls has collapsed and died in a Texas prison. When they opened up the back door of the police car, she immediately knew that he was Larry's killer. Bell sent prosecutors in Texas letters containing his confession in 1998 but they have remained secret until now. The Good, Bad, and Ugly of the week, Rumors abound about HISD takeover (March 2, 2023), The Full Menu: Houston's best places for chicken. 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. The cases of all eleven girls remain open and unsolved. Mrs. Edwards was dying of cancer and had previously discovered her . [7], On December 2, 1992, the television show Unsolved Mysteries aired an episode about the murder of Dickens. However the killings he lays claim to started a long time before that. In 1972, two middle school students, Georgia Greer and Brooks Bracewell were last seen at the Dickinson store. I was going to let the state kill me, he said. His numerous accomplishments include the founding of Modular . 27 November 1884 (aged 73-74) Spouse (s) Elisabeth Ludlow. Additionally, he resisted cooperating with the authorities. He and Larry began arguing. Harris County medical examiner's records and newspaper archives show Kimberly Rae Pitchford, a 16-year-old who lived near Hobby airport, never returned home after taking a driver's education class at Frank Dobie High School in Houston. Dickens ran outside and grabbed the keys from Bell's . 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. Nothing can take her memory away.. Enter Edward Howard Bell, a convicted killer serving a 70-year prison term for a murder of a Marine who tried to stop him when he exposed himself to a group of young girls. v. A jury found Edward Harold Bell guilty of murder and assessed punishment at seventy years confinement. 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. Bell continued to demand his keys. Bell went on the run for 14 years before being caught in Panama in 1993 and jailed the following year. However, one is speculated to be Brenda Jones, who vanished from Galveston in 1971. 1. However, she was happy to know that Bell would be facing justice. During interviews, Bell blamed his heinous actions on a systematic program of abuse, lies, and brainwashing begun by his father. One, nevertheless, is thought to be Brenda Jones, who went missing in Galveston in 1971. He claimed to not know the names of the other victims. He died a suspect in 2019, per the outlet. Dorothy had him lay on the ground in their driveway. As Dawna crossed the street, she saw the man lean over and shoot the gun at something on the ground. He and Judy retired and spent the last 20 years in the . Senior investigators in Galveston have believed for a long time that Bell was behind more crimes but prosecutors have not pressed charges because they do not believe they have enough evidence. 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. degree at Texas A&M University, where he played in the Aggie Band. In interviews with Lise Olsen, Edward Bell denies killing anyone, even Larry Dickens. Investigators Lise Olsen and Fred Paige are on a mission to examine the confessions of inmate Edward Harold Bell. By Adam Carlson. Edward Harold Bell. [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. Most victims were 11 to 16-year- old but he repeatedly avoided arrest and prosecution. Bell's case is far more complicated than it initially may seem. He could have gone on to kill many more young women and continued to flash his junk at innocent children. He was living under the name of his deceased cousin, "Cecil Boyd". He told the reporter that he was actually responsible for eleven murders, calling them the "eleven that went to Heaven". His confession matched details of the crime scene. Bell died after collapsing at the Wallace Pack Unit, a prison in Grimes County, according to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman. On February 18, Panama police and the FBI brought him back to the United States. She lives in fear that he is going to come back for her or hurt someone else. 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. mother. Suzie Bowers went missing from Galveston in 1977. Credit: Texas Monthly The Eleven: On the trail of a serial killer. As he walked toward Larry, Larry backed up toward the house. Larry refused to give him his keys. Through the mid-to-late 1970s, Bell was repeatedly arrested for flashing and masturbating in front of young girls in Lubbock, Pasadena, Plainview, Bacliff, Houston and Gretna, Louisiana, but was either never charged or the cases were dropped altogether. If you are a true crime fan, you have probably heard of the Texas Killing Fields. Russian Roulette. He then began to flee on foot. Reports revealed that Ackerman and Johnson's abductor tied them up, stripped them from the waist down, and left their bodies in the bayou exactly as Bell had claimed. , updated April 20, 2019. 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. On February 14, 1993, Panama police located Bell at a yacht club in Panama City and placed him under arrest. The Great Gatsby. The victims were young girls from the Texas counties of Houston, Galveston, Webster and Dickinson. He said he was "brainwashed" into killing Debbie Ackerman and Maria Johnson in the letters. However, no charges were ever filed against him in theirs or any other cases. Why did you kill my brother?!" When he was interviewed for the documentary The Eleven in 2017, he claimed that he had made up his confessions in order to get the death penalty. Jeremy Desel, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, said that inmate Edward Harold Bell, 79, collapsed Saturday at the Wallace Pack Unit in Navasota. He stated that it began with his father and spread to his three ex-wives, scoutmasters, and a cousin. Harold, or Hank, as his friends called him, was the husband for over 68 years of his beloved wife . He has yet to stand trial for the shocking murder that took place on August 24, 1978. She immediately called the police and reported him. But in September 1984, the illusion of small-town security was shattered for a local couple, "Sue" and "Bill". But in September 1984, the illusion of small-town security was shattered for a local couple, "Sue" and "Bill". According to Investigator Larry Boucher, Bell is not leaving a paper trail. Search in titles only Search in Other Serial Killers only. He owned a pasture just a few minutes' drive from the store where they were last seen. He was 79 years old. Michael Hagerty is the senior producer for Houston Matters. She was discovered in January 1973. Since the early 1970s, 30 bodies have been uncovered within the area. Madge is survived by her daughter Joy Boudreau (and husband Greg) from . Especially since, as seen in the A&E series, he later denied everything he wrote years ago. His name was Edward Bell, and he was wanted for murder. [9] At his June trial, Bell's attorneys attempted to argue that the killing was done in self-defense, claiming that Dickens was an "unstable" who had threatened to kill him in the name of Jesus. [2], On August 24, 1978, while driving his red and white GMC truck around Pasadena, Bell stopped in front of a group of young girls, pulled down his pants and began masturbating in front of them. Colette's bones were found in a reservoir along with those of a missing Houston girl, Gloria Ann Gonzales, 19. I have not killed anyone.". Kim Pitchford went missing in January of 1973. Three of the girls died in 1971 including 15-year-olds Debbie Ackerman and Maria Johnson, who disappeared in Galveston County while hitch-hiking. In 1993, Bell was convicted for the 1978 murder of Larry Dean Dickens, according to The Orlando Sentinel. It's " where two middle school students, Georgia Geer, 14, and Brooks Bracewell, 12, were last seen in 1974." Shockingly, Bell was not done; he went back to his truck and retrieved his high-powered M1 rifle. He crashed his truck into a fence. Self-described serial killer Edward Harold Bell died in the Texas prison Saturday, leaving unanswered questions about the unsolved murders of 11 girls he claimed to have killed . He claims to be responsible for the killing of young girls including 15-year-olds Debbie Ackerman and Maria Johnson who disappeared while hitch-hiking in Texas in 1971. Now serving a 70-year sentence for murdering a Houston-area Marine vet in 1978, Bell has come forward asking for immunity and ready to plead on the murders of as many as 11 young girls in the Houston-Galveston area in the early to mid 1970s. Georgia Geer and Brooks Bracewell, aka "the Dickenson girls," both vanished in September of 1974. The man who wrote the letter, Edward Harold Bell, was never questioned by the police. [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. They commanded him to pull over, but he kept driving. Edward Harold Bell. 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. Sue fired at the intruder as he ran down the stairs to the main floor. Bell remains the lead suspect at this time and it is very hard for me to believe he is innocent. Through their diligent efforts, they came up with the following list of potential victims: Collette Wilson went missing from Alvin, Texas, in June of 1971. Dorothy finally felt that she would be able to face him in court and say, "We finally got you in custody, and I hope they throw the book at you, because you deserve it." Holding many offices in the Masons, teaching country western dancing, participating. According to reports, Harris County prosecutors never looked into the allegations and misplaced the letters from him. Years after their deaths, the series reports that a man named Edward Harold Bell penned a letter to authorities claiming that he had allegedly been brainwashed into killing two of the girls. Edward was born in 1805, in Thrandeston Suffolk England. Deed records showed that Bell owned a pasture just a few minutes drive from the store. Nearly 20 years ago, in letters he wrote to local prosecutors, Texas murderer Edward Harold Bell claimed the Marine he'd shot and killed in 1978 was not his only victim. However, two are believed to be Rhonda Johnson and Sharon Shaw, who vanished from Galveston a few months before Debbie and Maria. "One thing they wanted me to do for sure was rape a girl," Bell said to the Houston Chronicle. Meanwhile, Dawna Dickens, Larry's sister, was returning home from cheer practice and saw the man walk from her garage to his truck, get a rifle, and walk back up her driveway. After the airing of the episode a man recognized Bell as someone he had recently conducted business with in Panama City. Resources like these are made possible by the generosity of our community of donors, foundations, and corporate partners. 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. Harold Bell, in his eighth decade, continues to lead a unique life. Lang saw that he was naked from the waist down as he stepped out masturbating and approached a group of children playing in the street. He claimed that he was unaware of the other victims' names. The man grabbed his jeans from the truck, put them on, and then reached back into the vehicle to produce a gun. Desel added that there was no foul . He was an avid hunter and a champion horseshoe player. Another man was convicted of their murders, but some investigators now believe he is innocent. Harold was raised in Kentucky and was drafted into the United States Army wh . He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Betty A. Tomlinson; his daughter, Darlene S. Richardson (Steve) and grandson, Chris Richardson (Kathleen) all of Victoria. The killer says he murdered Debbie and Maria in the letters. Bell's first documented arrest occurred in 1966. Edward allegedly endured physical abuse from his father, scout leaders at the Boy Scouts, and one of his cousins. Just three months after Ackerman and Johnson disappeared from Galveston, so did two fourteen-year-old Webster girls named Sharon Shaw and Rhonda Johnson. In 1970, he and his new wife moved into an apartment in Galveston. Bell spent his time in the mental ward baiting underage patients. Harris County prosecutors reportedly never investigated the claims and lost the letters from him. . Self was denied parole in 1994 and eventually exhausted his appeals. The victims were all teenage girls, and each of their murders have remained unsolved for decades. His father was an oil field worker who frequently moved his family to various towns surrounding the Houston area. Some detectives asserted that they had long held the conviction that he was a serial killer and had discovered proof to support his allegations. He turned around and began to pursue the vehicle. 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. He claimed that it started with his father, but continued on with scoutmasters, a cousin, and his three ex-wives. With Edward Harold Bell as their number one suspect, investigators Lise Olsen and Fred Paige are determined to find . In fact, he said, there . Edward Howard Bell collapsed at the Wallace Pack Unit in Navasota on April 20, 2019. She first thought that he was one of Larry's friends looking for their address. Another viewer claimed that Bell had lived in Panama for several years. "I was going to let the state kill me," he said. He died a suspect in . As The Houston Chronicle reported, "Bell blamed the crimes and carnage in his life on a systemic program of abuse, lies and brainwashing [allegedly] begun by his father. He allegedly shot them, then dumped their remains close to a deserted bridge. Galveston surfer girls Debbie Ackerman, 15, and Maria Johnson, 15, went missing after hitch-hiking on November 15, 1971. Following his capture in Panama City, Panama in 1993, he was extradited, convicted and sentenced to a 70-year term for the murder of a Marine in 1978, and later confessed to killing eleven girls during the 1970s. ", Bell's letters suggest that he believes that he was "programmed" into becoming a murderer. Detective Fred Paige and Lise Olsen's excellent investigation work uncovered a generous amount of circumstantial evidence linking Bell to the crimes but found no definitive proof. As Newsweek points out, Edward Harold Bell confessed to 11 girls, but like Hedrick, he was never charged due to a lack of evidence. [2] After spending some time in treatment, he was released, only be rearrested for a similar charge in 1969 after he exposed himself to the 13-year-old daughter of a Lubbock policeman.