Larry Gene Bell

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Larry Gene Bell (1948[1] – October 4, 1996) was a double murderer in Lexington County, South Carolina, who was electrocuted on October 4, 1996 for the murders of Sheri Fay Smith and Debra May Helmick. Bell was especially infamous because he forced Smith to write a "Last Will and Testament" before he murdered her, and taunted her parents by telephone.

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[edit] Victims

Bell kidnapped Sharon "Shari" Faye Smith at gunpoint from the end of her driveway on Platt Springs Road on May 31, 1985. Her car was found running with the door open. Her body was later found in Saluda County, South Carolina. He then kidnapped nine-year-old Debra May Helmick near Old Percival Road in Richland County, South Carolina. Bell was also a suspect in the 1984 diappearance of Sandee Elaine Cornett from Charlotte, North Carolina. Cornett was a girlfriend of one of Bell's coworkers.

[edit] Arrest and Trial

On June 27, Bell was arrested. Throughout the largest manhunt in South Carolina history, Bell made eight telephone calls to the Smith family, often speaking with Sheri's sister, Dawn. Bell eventually gave exact directions to the locations of both of the bodies and described to the family how he had killed Smith. [1][2] During his 6 hour testimony at his trial, Bell continuously blurted out bizarre comments and carried on nonstop theatrics. He refused to give answers by just rambling on and on. He had made statements indicating he may have been attempting to fake mental illness in order to gain leniency. [3] He claimed to be Jesus Christ until his death.

[edit] Execution

Bell chose to die by the electric chair instead of lethal injection. Bell was the last prisoner in South Carolina executed by electrocution until James Neil Tucker was executed in 2004 for the double murders of Rosa Lee Dolly Oakley and Shannon Lynn Mellon.

[edit] TV movie

The CBS television movie Nightmare in Columbia County portrayed the events of the Shari Smith murder.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Shuler, Rita Y. (2007). Murder in the midlands : Larry Gene Bell and the 28 days of terror that shook South Carolina. The History Press. ISBN 1-5962-9250-4.
  2. ^ Becky Beane. Left Behind. Prison Fellowship. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
  3. ^ Shuler, Rita Y. (2006). Carolina Crimes : Case Files of a Forensic Photographer. The History Press. ISBN 1-5962-9166-4

[edit] External links and sources