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. And there were some people who would never talk to me because they were afraid of him they were afraid that he might get out.. Her body was found in January 1973. Aliases: Butch Dawna says that everywhere she goes, she sees Bell. Adams ordered him to stop, and he did. The officers held her back, and she and Dorothy then tried to console each other. Investigators Lise Olsen and Fred Paige are on a mission to examine the confessions of inmate Edward Harold Bell. In the A&E series, Bell denied having "killed anybody," including Dickens. [13] According to him, some of the case details found in the letters had not been released to the public. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! In 2017, A&E produced a docuseries called "The Eleven." [2], In spite of these claims, Bell's life was considered enviable by family and friends alike, as he graduated from the Columbus High School in Columbus and later earned a physical education degree at the Texas A&M University in College Station, where he also played in the university's Aggie Band. He was stopped by police at least a dozen times for masturbating and flashing AT girls. This photo provided Sept. 28, 2011, by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Edward Harold Bell. Sue fired at the intruder as he ran down the stairs to the main floor. She lives in fear that he is going to come back for her or hurt someone else. 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. 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. Pictured is the Dickinson pasture owned by Edward Harold Bell in the mid 1970s. If you'd like to sign up now, fill out the form below and we will add you as soon as we finish the transition. Bell's case is far more complicated than it initially may seem. 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. As she got closer, she saw that Larry was lying in the driveway. Robert Edwin "Bay" Tomlinson, 97, of Victoria, Va. went to be with the Lord on February 26, 2023. Edward "Ned" Bell. v. A jury found Edward Harold Bell guilty of murder and assessed punishment at seventy years confinement. Bell said he made it all up for a specific purpose. However, Dawna agreed to do so. In anger, she tried to attack him, yelling, "I hate you! Many believe he was involved the killings. After graduation, he worked as a traveling pharmaceutical salesman and married his first wife in San Marcos. Bell remains the lead suspect at this time and it is very hard for me to believe he is innocent. Per the A&E series, in his first letter, sent to the Galveston County District Attorney in 1998, Bell claimed that he had been brainwashed into becoming a killer. In a prison interview with Houston Matters in 2017, Bell claimed he had admitted to the murders because he had been suicidal. He gave the remaining victims their initials, hair color, and the year they were murdered. Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jeremy Desel told the, In 2011, he wrote the Houston Chronicle claiming to have killed a string of girls he referred to as Eleven who went to Heaven in Dickinson, Houston, Clear Lake and Alvin, Texas, the. The assault victim was given the name "Sue" and was filmed in silhouette to protect her identity. Gloria Gonzales went missing in October of 1971 (her body was found near Wilson's). This photo provided Sept. 28, 2011, by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Edward Harold Bell. 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. Her body was found in a thicket in Brazoria County in January 1973. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. He had been living there with a teenage girl. Three of the girls died in 1971 including 15-year-olds Debbie Ackerman and Maria Johnson, who disappeared in Galveston County while hitch-hiking. Death of Edward . 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. That's what Edward Harold Bell wants us to believe. Real Name: Edward Harold Bell Together with his wife, Judy Bell, they taught over 6000 students collectively. People were afraid of him, Olsen told Houston Matters. [Marriage Licenses - The Dispatch (Moline, Illinois)12 Jan 1927, Wed Page 10] survivors; wife, father Louis, sons Harold T, and James E., daughters Mrs. Betty Jane Weathers and Miss Darlene Feus, sisters Mrs. Harry Talbot and Mrs.. At Bell's trial, the prosecution's chief witnesses were Dorothy and Dawna. In fact, he said, there were seven others, all . However, Galveston prosecutors refused to present his written confessions to a grand jury. She felt that once that happened, they would all be able to go on with their lives. He reportedly called the victims the "Eleven who went to Heaven" and sent letters to prosecutors in Galveston and Harris counties where he would admit carrying out the crimes, according to The Houston Chronicle. wife. She pleaded with him to not shoot Larry, but he did so anyway. Bell's admission of two murders eventually grew to describe "the eleven who went to heaven," meaning that these 11 1970s unsolved murders could have found an answer. When they opened up the back door of the police car, she immediately knew that he was Larry's killer. Ex-homicide detective Fred Paige and Lise Olsen, an investigative journalist for the Houston Chronicle, teamed up to reopen the case of the "eleven who went to heaven." Additionally, he resisted cooperating with the authorities. He also claimed that he did not mean to kill Larry, and that he had accidentally tripped on his rifle when he shot him. Harris County, Texas. Referring to them as the "eleven who went to heaven." People watching The Eleven may wonder who Edward Harold Bell is, and if he is responsible indeed for what he claimed he did. Although some believed that he was a publicity-seeking "kook", others are convinced that he was responsible for the murders. Another victim from 1971 was thirteen-year-old Colette Wilson, who vanished after leaving a band camp. Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jeremy Desel says 79-year-old inmate Edward Harold Bell died Saturday at the Wallace Pack Unit in Navasota. Among other business activities, he was prospecting for gold on land he owned near Panama City. However, the legitimacy of his claims (which he has since denied) has come into question. 2. 0. Bell went on the run for 14 years before being caught in Panama in 1993 and jailed the following year. Her body was found in a thicket in January 1973. Scream. 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. Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jeremy Desel told the Associated Press that no foul play was suspected in Bells death, howeverhe declined to discuss any specifics of how he died due to medical privacy laws. They claimed that they were unable to verify his confessions. Also available on YouTube with Dennis Farina. Edward Harold Bell. He assumed the identity of a dead cousin named Cecil Boyd and told people to call him 'Wally.'". He believes that Bell has changed his name and is living somewhere where the people around him do not know how dangerous he is. 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. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Murderers In Texas: The Shocking True Stories of Killing Out Of . At that same moment, Larry came inside and asked what was going on. The injury to the left cheek was from close range, nine to twelve inches away. . Another six young girls were killed in the area in the mid-to-late Seventies. However, two are believed to be Rhonda Johnson and Sharon Shaw, who vanished from Galveston a few months before Debbie and Maria. Their abductor tied them up, stripped them from the waist down and left their bodies in the bayou. He crashed his truck into a fence. "They wanted me to rape girls and rob banks and rob people. Edward Harold Bell, in prison for murder, responds to a theory from two investigators that he might be a serial killer responsible for numerous murders of young women in and around Galveston in . Unsolved Mysteries Wiki is a FANDOM TV Community. He remained the key suspect in the murders. He claimed to the reporter to have actually committed eleven murders, referring to them as the "eleven that went to Heaven." Desel added that there was no foul . 1902 July 7, 1902. 3. Dawna said that the wounds will never heal and the hurt of losing Larry will always be there. In January 1985, the Texas governor's office released a roster of the state's most wanted criminals. He got out and walked toward the children. Actor: Gymkata. An inventory of his truck produced a loaded rifle and a .22 automatic pistol. April 20, 2019. Journalist Lise Olsen and retired police . She immediately called the police and reported him. Oct. 19, 2017. When asked about the letters he wrote in 1998, Bell said he was suicidal and wanted the state to execute him; he supposedly made it all up. Edward Harold Bell . He also claims his three ex-wives were part of this 'programme'. From the 208th District Court. Lang was still watching from the window and witnessed the man shoot her son five times; Larry staggered back towards the garage. Hunter. 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. Parent (s) Elizabeth A. Bell further asserted that a "brainwashing programme" had pushed him to kill, rape, and expose himself to young girls. Galveston prosecutors reopened the murder cases of two of the girls, Debbie Ackerman and Maria Johnson, in recent years, but never filed any charges against Bell before his death. Additionally, he made a purchase at a surf shop they frequently frequented. 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. Madge is survived by her daughter Joy Boudreau (and husband Greg) from . In fact, he said, there . At this time, it was reported that he worked at a dock in the port town of Cristbal. "I was going to let the state kill me," he said. The pair was able to uncover circumstantial evidence that linked Bell to the crimes, but found no definitive proof. Check out our guides to the best free shows on YouTube and the best sites for watching free movies online. Bell provided the names of four of those girls; Colette Wilson, Debbie Ackerman, Maria Johnson, and Kimberly Pitchford. He claimed to not know the names of the other victims. He owned a meadow not far from the shop where they had been last seen. Two 14-year-olds, Sharon Shaw and Rhonda Renee Johnson, also disappeared from the area at the same time. 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. Dorothy says that their family has missed Larry so much. One girl was the thirteen-year-old daughter of a Lubbock police officer. According to Special Agent Rolando Moss of the Houston FBI, Bell was prospecting for gold on land he owned near Panama City. Harris County prosecutors reportedly never investigated the claims and lost the letters from him. All eleven potential victims linked to Edward Bell were found at the Killing Fields. 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. Bell, 72, is serving 70 years for the 1978 murder of Larry Dickens, a Marine who confronted Bell after he exposed himself and began masturbating in front of a group of girls in Pasadena. Antelope Valley Press Classification 1000 Obituary notices and memorials These ads appeared in the Antelope Valley Press Tuesday, July 4, 2006 BELL, Harold Edward May 14, 1939 - June 29, 2006 Howard Edward Bell is of Cherokee decent. Perhaps, The Eleven's investigations will be able to give these families what they've been waiting for nearly 40 years for: the truth. Two other victims are believed to be fourteen-year-old Georgia Geer and twelve-year-old Brooks Bracewell; they were last seen in 1974 and found in 1976. [10] This argument was disproven, and Bell was subsequently convicted and sentenced to 70 years imprisonment. Bell v. State. Tags artists in Galveston artwork in Galveston galveston Galveston cultural arts commission. At the time, Bell lived in an apartment on a beach and had bought a surf shop that both girls were known to have visited. 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!' Now in excerpts from the letters obtained by the Houston Chronicle, it has emerged that Bell claims a brainwashing 'programme' begun by his father forced him to 'be a flasher', to 'rape girls' and to kill. [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. Fearing for the safety of her child, she instinctively attacked. Bell spent his time in the mental ward baiting underage patients. In The Eleven, when the former D.A. Edward Harold Bell . He was previously married to Esther Williams. When Bell climbed out of the vehicle, he was nude from the waist down and walked over to a nearby . However, one is speculated to be Brenda Jones, who vanished from Galveston in 1971. She told him that the police were coming and pleaded with him to leave. He was an avid hunter and a champion horseshoe player. At that very instant, the officers heading to the scene recognized his truck. She told him to stay still because they did not know where the bullets were in him. 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. Prisoner Edward Harold Bell has retracted his confession. A convicted murderer serving a 70-year prison sentence died leaving unanswered questions about the unsolved killings of 11 missing girls. Then, a few months after his release, he married her, Bell was thirty-one. (Amazon) Neighbours is set to welcome some big names back to Ramsay Street for the soap's reboot, with Ian Smith, Melissa Bell and Annie Jones all joining the cast. In January 2013, he became eligible for parole, however, it was denied. In 1970, he and his new wife moved into an apartment in Galveston. Harold Bell. His marriage finally ended, as did contact with his children. Michael Hagerty is the senior producer for Houston Matters. Prosecutors in Galveston reopened Debbie and Maria's cases after learning new information through their investigation, and Bell was identified as the "primary suspect." Some detectives asserted that they had long held the conviction that he was a serial killer and had discovered proof to support his allegations. Georgia Geer and Brooks Bracewell, aka "the Dickenson girls," both vanished in September of 1974. [5], For the next fourteen years, Bell travelled around various locations in Mexico and Central America using a sailboat, posing as a dead cousin named Cecil Boyd. 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. The man retreated to his truck, and Lang grabbed her son from behind and helped him lie down, then she ran inside to call an ambulance. In Bell's truck, police found the murder weapons and pornography. 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A graduate of Texas A&M University and once a successful businessman, he has eluded capture of almost sixteen years. He wrote: 'I was "Brainwashed" into killing Deby (sic) Ackerman and Maria Johnson in November 1971.'. He came back and put his pants back on. Three years later, Bell, still married to his first wife and working as a traveling salesman, got arrested twice for exposing himself to girls in two different West Texas towns. They were able to determine that Bell often had access to the areas where the crimes were committed and also found that witnesses saw two of the missing girls get into a van that matched the description of one Bell owned at the time, Houston Matters reports. But in September 1984, the illusion of small-town security was shattered for a local couple, "Sue" and "Bill". Wanted For: Murder, Indecency with a Child He loved . He was released on bail less than two months after the murder. Screenshot/A&E. The Eleven, airing Thursday at 9 and 10 p.m. on A&E investigates 11 murders that occurred in rural Texas in the 1970s. Edward Harold Bell was married with three children and secretly following young girls, exposing himself to them for many years before he murdered 26-year-old Larry Dickens on 24 August 1978 in Pasadena, Texas. 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. 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. In 2017, A&E released a documentary series called. He died a suspect in 2019, per the outlet. Larry refused to give him his keys. [12] Despite these gruesome claims, the letters were "kept secret" until 2011, when they were finally revealed by retired Galveston homicide detective Fred Paige to the public in an attempt to uncover any potential leads that could verify Bell's accounts. "One thing they wanted me to do for sure was rape a girl," Bell said to the Houston Chronicle. By Adam Carlson. Most victims were 11 to 16-year- old but he repeatedly avoided arrest and prosecution. Five murders occurred in 1971 and six more occurred from about 1974 to 1977. Harold Wilmerding Bell. Matthew McConaughey in his first-ever role. [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. In 1998, Edward Harold Bell wrote multiple letters to prosecutors in Galveston and Harris counties, confessing to the murders of numerous young women. Bell identified another victim as "Pitchford", who was later determined to be sixteen-year-old Kimberly Rae Pitchford. She then tried to block his exit with her car. This photo provided Sept. 28, 2011, by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Edward Harold Bell. . Both confessed to killing women in this area. He allegedly shot them, then dumped their remains close to a deserted bridge. v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee .