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Larry Gene Bell

(Redirected from Debra Helmick)

Larry Gene Bell (October 30, 1949[1] – October 4, 1996) was an American murderer and suspected serial killer in Lexington County, South Carolina, who was executed by electrocution for the murders of Sharon Smith and Debra Helmick. Bell forced Smith to write a "Last Will and Testament" before he murdered her and taunted her family by telephone.[2] He is also believed to have been responsible for other murders.

Larry Gene Bell
Born(1949-10-30)October 30, 1949
Ralph, Alabama, U.S.
DiedOctober 4, 1996(1996-10-04) (aged 46)
Broad River Correctional Institution, Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
Cause of deathExecution by electrocution
Criminal statusExecuted
Conviction(s)Murder (2 counts)
Kidnapping (2 counts)
Criminal penaltyDeath sentence
Details
Victims2–4+
Span of crimes
May – June 1985 (confirmed)
State(s)South Carolina
(confirmed)
North Carolina
(suspected)

Background

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Bell was born in Ralph, Alabama, and had three sisters and one brother.[1] The family reportedly moved frequently. Bell attended Eau Claire High School in Columbia, South Carolina from 1965 to 1967. The Bell family moved to Mississippi, where he graduated high school and trained as an electrician. He then returned to Columbia, married, and had one son.[1]

Bell joined the United States Marine Corps in 1970 but was discharged the same year due to a knee injury suffered when he accidentally shot himself when cleaning a gun.[1] The following year, he worked as a correctional officer at the Department of Corrections in Columbia for one month. Bell and his family moved to Rock Hill, South Carolina in 1972, and the couple divorced in 1976.[1]

Victims

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Confirmed

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Bell kidnapped 17-year-old Sharon Faye Smith at gunpoint from the end of her driveway on Platt Springs Road in Lexington County, South Carolina on May 31, 1985. Her car was found abandoned at the curb near the mailbox. Over the next few days, Bell called the Smith family regularly from a payphone to tell them that Smith was fine and to taunt them. In fact, she likely was killed within 12 hours of her abduction. Her body was found in Saluda County, South Carolina after Bell called the Smith family and gave them directions to her remains.[3][4] Then, on June 14, Bell kidnapped 9-year-old Debra May Helmick near Old Percival Road in Richland County, South Carolina, killed her, and again called the Smith family to tell them where he had left her body.[4]

Suspected

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On November 18, 1984, Sandee Elaine Cornett, then aged 26, was last seen arriving home at 6:30 p.m. in Charlotte, North Carolina. The following day, when she failed to show up for work, her neighbor reported her missing. The main suspect in Sandee's disappearance is Bell who was reportedly her previous boyfriend's co-worker at Charlotte Douglas International Airport and had attended a party at her home. He denied abducting and killing her but made statements, including drawing a map, that suggested where her body was buried.[5][6]

Bell was also suspected in the disappearance of 21-year-old Denise Newsom Porch who was last seen in Charlotte, North Carolina on July 31, 1975.[7] Seven years after her disappearance, in 1982, her family had her proclaimed legally dead. Bell is a potential suspect in the Porch case since he was a former electrician who, in 1975, resided around 300 yards away from the Yorktown Apartments where Porch worked as a manager. He was never formally charged in connection with her disappearance.[8][9]

Arrest and trial

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During the largest manhunt in South Carolina history, Bell made eight telephone calls to the Smith family, often speaking with Shari's sister Dawn. During one of his phone calls with Dawn, he accidentally let it slip that, "All I wanted to do was make love with Dawn," instead of "All I wanted to do was make love with Shari." Dawn and Shari had a striking resemblance, and so it is thought he mistook Shari for Dawn. Bell's fixation on Dawn only grew as time passed, and made many more calls. During one, Bell eventually gave exact directions to the locations of both of the bodies and described to the family how he had killed Smith.[1][10]

On June 27, 1985, Bell was arrested after forensics was able to find indentations of an incomplete phone number on the stationery of the letter that was sent to Smith's family. Filling in the missing digits led the Federal Bureau of Investigation to a couple who hired Bell for some work and had him house sit for them while they were away.[11] Six hairs "microscopically similar" to Shari Smith's hair were found in Bell's apartment.[12] During his six-hour testimony at his trial, Bell continuously blurted out bizarre comments and carried on nonstop theatrics, rambling continuously and refusing to answer questions. He later made statements indicating that he may have been attempting to fake mental illness in order to receive a more lenient sentence.[1]

Execution

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Bell chose to die by the electric chair instead of lethal injection. Bell died by electrocution on October 4, 1996, at the age of 46. He had no final words. There were no more electric chair executions in the state until 2004, when James Neil Tucker was executed for the double murders of Rosa Oakley and Shannon Lynn Mellon.[13]

Media

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Docudrama

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  • The television movie Nightmare in Columbia County,[note 1] also known as Victim of Beauty: The Dawn Smith Story, aired December 10, 1991. The movie portrayed the events of the Smith murder with a focus on the involvement of Shari's sister Dawn in the case.[14][13]
  • Investigation Discovery's I, Witness, titled "The Smith Sisters", season 1, episode 2, aired on January 4, 2017. This 42-minute docudrama reflects the story from the Dawn Smith's perspective.[15][16]

Documentaries

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The county name is fictitious; the incidents took place in both Lexington and Richland counties in South Carolina in the vicinity of the city of Columbia, South Carolina.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 1-59629-250-4.
  2. ^ "State v. Bell". Justia Law. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  3. ^ Dowling, Paul. "Last Will." Forensic Files. 26 July 2003. Television.
  4. ^ a b c "Forensic Files". forensicfiles.com. FilmRise Television. July 26, 2003. Archived from the original on 2017-02-19. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  5. ^ "Missing Woman's Family Keeps Her House in Order". The Times-News. Associated Press. 30 July 1985. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  6. ^ Good, Meaghan. "Sandee Elaine Cornett". The Charley Project. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  7. ^ Good, Meaghan (24 October 2019). "Denise Newsom Porch". The Charley Project. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Property manager's disappearance still has no answers 48 years later". WSOC-TV.
  9. ^ "Woman's disappearance unsolved after 30 years". eu.starnewsonline.com. Associated Press.
  10. ^ Beane, Becky. "Left Behind". Prison Fellowship. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  11. ^ BOVSUN, MARA (November 15, 2014). "South Carolina serial killer forced girl to write a farewell note and tormented his victims' families after sick spree in mid-80s". NY Daily News. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  12. ^ "Larry Gene Bell: The Murders of Shari Smith and Debra Helmick". Talk Murder With Me. December 27, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  13. ^ a b "Man who killed two executed". UPI. United Press International. October 4, 1996. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  14. ^ "Nightmare in Columbia County - Movie". AOL Moviefone. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  15. ^ "Investigation Discovery GO". Investigation Discovery GO. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  16. ^ Reyes, Traciy (January 4, 2017). "Shari Smith, Larry Gene Bell: Twisted Serial Killer Abducted Teen at Mailbox, Then Killed Her on ID's 'I, Witness'". The Inquisitr News. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  17. ^ "On the Case with Paula Zahn - Season 7 Episodes List - Next Episode". next-episode.net. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  18. ^ "On the Case with Paula Zahn - Original air dates of television shows". originalairdates.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  19. ^ "Serial Killer: Larry Gene Bell". Documentary Addict. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
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