He claimed that he was unaware of the other victims' names. Although he was a longtime suspect, prosecutors said they did not have enough evidence to prosecute him. 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. Parent (s) Elizabeth A. Photo: The injury to the left cheek was from close range, nine to twelve inches away. In interviews with Lise Olsen, Edward Bell denies killing anyone, even Larry Dickens. 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. Scream. Hunter. By Adam Carlson. While she was trying to calm Dickens down, Bell grabbed a rifle from his truck, went up to the wounded man and shot him in the forehead before fleeing. If you are a true crime fan, you have probably heard of the Texas Killing Fields. Join others and make your gift to Houston Public Media today. However, she was happy to know that Bell would be facing justice. Possible serial killer Edward Harold Bell is due to be released from parole in the fall of 2017. The claims were later explored in the 2017 A&E series The Eleven, which followed the efforts of Houston Chronicle investigative journalist Lise Olsen and former Galveston homicide detective Fred Paige as they tried to determine whether there was any truth to the claims. Named Texas' most wanted fugitive in the 1980s, Bell was featured on the T.V. I was going to let the state kill me, he said. Pruns was a surfer who made custom boards out of his shop in the area. Unsolved Mysteries Wiki is a FANDOM TV Community. Bell's first documented arrest occurred in 1966. In January 2013, he became eligible for parole, however, it was denied. Matthew McConaughey in his first-ever role. Police reports showed that in February of 1972, Bell was arrested after flashing a fifteen-year-old and he was driving a 1971 white Ford van. Bell v. State. Edward allegedly endured physical abuse from his father, scout leaders at the Boy Scouts, and one of his cousins. Edward Harold Bell, Alleged 'Eleven in Heaven' Serial Killer, Dies in pg-13 2013. Mystery over 11 missing women after death of accused Texas 'serial According to reports, Harris County prosecutors never looked into the allegations and misplaced the letters from 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. He owned a pasture just a few minutes' drive from the store where they were last seen. Texas killer dies, leaving open questions about 11 slayings He then turned and ran out of the garage. In January 1985, the Texas governor's office released a roster of the state's most wanted criminals. Bell is fluent in German and has worked as a diesel mechanic, tugboat operator, physical education teacher, and traveling salesman. Additionally, he made a purchase at a surf shop they frequently frequented. He was leaning on the washer, and the man was standing next to him with the gun pointed to Larry's head. degree at Texas A&M University, where he played in the Aggie Band. Edward Howard Bell Texas True Crime Blog 11:17 GMT 27 Sep 2011. Harris County, Texas. However, the events of September 6 would test her character in ways she never imagined. She says that he was strong and very special to all of them. In fact, he said, there were seven others, all . His father was an oil field worker who frequently moved his family to various towns surrounding the Houston area. When she returned to the phone, the dispatcher was still on the line. Additionally, he resisted cooperating with the authorities. Harris County prosecutors reportedly never investigated the claims and lost the letters from him. [3], "Deaths in Custody | Texas Justice Initiative", "Texas killer's death leaves unanswered questions in girls' slayings", "Relatives unsure of killer's claim in Texas deaths", "Brutal asesino en serie viol a 15 nias", "Investigators Think They Know Who Killed Eleven Girls Around Galveston In The 1970s", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Edward_Harold_Bell&oldid=1131805328, This page was last edited on 5 January 2023, at 21:17. Was The 'Texas Killing Fields' Killer Caught? Robert Abel & Others Were New A&E Documentary Examines 11 Unsolved Murders of Texas Teenagers Finally, Dorothy got them from Larry and gave them to him. series Unsolved Mysteries. Two viewers recognized Edward Bell and called in with tips when this story aired. Deed records showed that Bell owned a pasture just a few minutes drive from the store. She assumed that he was a first-time burglar. 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. Texas Prisoner Responds To Theory That He's Responsible For Galveston Mrs. Edwards was dying of cancer and had previously discovered her . 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. On June 26, 1978, he exposed himself to two girls riding bikes, aged 11 and 12. O P I N I O N . The State of Texas, Relatives unsure of killer's claim in Texas deaths. 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 went into the bathroom in the master bedroom to finish getting dressed. A Houston Chronicle reporter spoke with Bell in July and September of that year. 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. Search. Texas murderer Edward Howard Bell dies while serving murder sentence She turned toward him, saw that he was holding a large hunting knife and he slashed her with it. He got out and pointed his rifle at one of the officers. 10 Celebrities With Surprising Connections To Horrific Murders Pruns considered Bell a creepy weirdo but knew little of his life. [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. My father tried to brainwash me into killing myself.". Motel Murder. On June 28, 1993, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to seventy years in prison. A large-caliber lead bullet was recovered from the scalp, and four .22 caliber bullets were recovered. Edward Michael Bell was born on 19 March 1935 in the USA. son. HAROLD BELL Obituary (2021) - West Palm Beach, MA - New York Times Holding many offices in the Masons, teaching country western dancing, participating. 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. He's spent more than 20 years in public radio and television and dabbled in minor league baseball, spending four seasons as the public address announcer for the Reno Aces, the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. On August 24, he went out to cut the lawn. Dawna feels that Larry's murder has broken up their whole family. Daily Mail Reporter 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. Mr. Bell an admitted sex offender, convicted murderer and self-described serial killer, has given multiple chilling confessions from his locked prison cell of abducting and slaying teenage and adolescent girls in the 1970s, describing crimes . In 2000, he died in prison without ever receiving a new trial. The identity of the remaining three victims are unknown. Bell continued to demand his keys. She first thought that he was one of Larry's friends looking for their address. He claimed to not know the names of the other victims. 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. Edward was born in Corinth, WV on July 17, 1941, a son of the late Edward Harold and Mary Virginia "Ginny" (Martin) Koontz. However, two victims are believed to be Rhonda Johnson and Sharon Shaw, who vanished from Galveston a few months before Debbie and Maria. Her body was found in a thicket in January 1973. "They wanted me to rape girls and rob banks and rob people. [2] His claims were never conclusively verified, and he died behind bars in 2019, having recanted his previous claims. He also refused to cooperate with the police. Oddly enough, in 1993, Edward Harold Bell was convicted of the murder of Larry Dickens. He claimed that it started with his father, but continued on with scoutmasters, a cousin, and his three ex-wives. He was arrested again in the rape of a Jennie Sealy mental patient he met outside the hospital. The whole incident was very quick. His defense claimed that Larry was a "mean" and "unstable" man who attacked Bell and threatened to kill him. Larry had been shot four times in the chest and once in the head with a .22 pistol. Bell, a convicted killer serving 70 years for a 1978 slaying near Houston and who was . And he claims he was brainwashed to do it. Some detectives asserted that they had long held the conviction that he was a serial killer and had discovered proof to support his allegations. Their bones were recovered in a bayou in 1976 and weren't identified until 1981. Other economic assets include timber (mainly hardwoods), agriculture (livestock, fruit, and truck farming), and lead and zinc mining. At that same moment, Larry came inside and asked what was going on. He had details of how he shot them and was even able to describe the remote bridge where the bodies were recovered. Self's conviction was shrouded in confusion as Edward Harold Bell confessed to killing 11 girls during the 1970s. He allegedly shot them, then dumped their remains close to a deserted bridge. Edward Harold Bell was convicted of murder and sentenced to 70 years in prison. While his wife Allison . Texas killer's claim that he murdered 11 young women under scrutiny in Actor: Gymkata. She went through page after page, but never saw anyone that resembled the intruder. The officers held her back, and she and Dorothy then tried to console each other. She was shocked to see that he was nude from the waist down and masturbating. Resources like these are made possible by the generosity of our community of donors, foundations, and corporate partners. For reasons unknown, the letters were "kept secret" until 2011, when they were discovered by retired Galveston homicide detective Fred Paige. Since the early 1970s, 30 bodies have been uncovered within the area. Missing Since: October 1978. 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. 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 paper reports. 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. Recently added to YouTube. Bell identified another victim as "Pitchford", who was later determined to be sixteen-year-old Kimberly Rae Pitchford. The driver, Bell, then forty, parked and started looking around the area. Extra Notes: Results: Captured. A&E's The Eleven Examines Possible Serial Killer Edward Bell - PEOPLE.com Flasher Convicted of Killing Man Who Tried to Stop Him Apr 20, 2019. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Edward Harold Bell, 82, was being investigated over his . 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Referring to them as the "eleven who went to heaven." She pleaded with him to not shoot Larry, but he did so anyway. Harold Wilmerding Bell. Later, he claimed to journalist Lise Olsen that he killed 11 girls. wife. Advanced Search However the killings he lays claim to started a long time before that. She immediately called the police and reported him. Six of them were murdered in pairs. In the reflection, she saw a man walking into the bathroom. 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. The Subject Of This Netflix True Crime Doc Is Now Guilty Of Murdering His Wife & Son, Morgan Doughty Filed A Lawsuit Against The Murdaugh Family, Heres How To Watch The Alex Murdaugh Trial Live, Sophie Turners Joan Charts The Rise Of A Famous British Jewel Thief, Get Even More From Bustle Sign Up For The Newsletter. son. The man who wrote the letter, Edward Harold Bell, was never questioned by the police. All four girls were known to hang out at a water ski school near Bell's apartment in Offatts Bayou. He named Debbie Ackerman and Maria Johnson, two 15-year-old Galveston "surfing girls" who vanished after hitchhiking, as two of the victims from 1971. Bell claimed that he was "fearful" of Larry and had no way to retreat from the situation.