Larry Gene Bell

Larry Gene Bell (October 30, 1949[1] – October 4, 1996) was an American double murderer in Lexington County, South Carolina, who was electrocuted for the murders of Sharon Faye "Shari" Smith and Debra May Helmick. Bell forced Smith to write a "Last Will and Testament" before he murdered her and taunted her family by telephone.

Larry Gene Bell
Born(1949-10-30)October 30, 1949
Ralph, Alabama, U.S.
DiedOctober 4, 1996(1996-10-04) (aged 46)
Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
Criminal statusExecuted
Conviction(s)2 counts of murder
Criminal penaltyDeath

Background

Larry Gene Bell was born in Ralph, Alabama and had three sisters and one brother.[1] The family reportedly moved frequently, with Bell attending Eau Claire High School in Columbia, South Carolina from 1965-67. The Bells moved to Mississippi, where Larry Gene Bell graduated high school and trained as an electrician. He returned to Columbia, married, and had one son.[1]

Bell joined the Marines 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

Bell kidnapped 17-year-old Sharon Faye "Shari" 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 Shari was fine and to taunt them. In fact, Shari was likely 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.[2][3]

Bell then 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.[3] Bell was also a suspect in two other disappearances: the 1984 disappearance of Sandee Elaine Cornett, who was the girlfriend of one of Bell's coworkers; and that of Denise Newsom Porch, who was last seen in July 1975 and lived in an apartment complex close to where Bell had lived.[4] Both young women vanished in Charlotte, North Carolina, and remain classified as missing.[5]

Arrest and trial

During the largest manhunt in South Carolina history, Bell made eight telephone calls to the Smith family, often speaking with Shari'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][6]

On June 27, 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 FBI to a couple who hired Bell for some work and also had him house sit for them while they were away. Further incriminating evidence was found in a search of Bell's apartment.[7]

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] He claimed to be Jesus Christ until his death.

Execution

Bell chose to die by the electric chair instead of lethal injection. Bell was the last death row inmate in South Carolina executed by electrocution (in 1996) until James Neil Tucker was executed in 2004 for the double murders of Rosa Lee Dolly Oakley and Shannon Lynn Mello.[8]

Media

Docudrama
  • The CBS 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 Shari Smith murder with a focus on the involvement of Shari's sister, Dawn, in the case. Dawn Elizabeth Smith a year after the murder participated in Miss America 1987, placing third.[9][8]
  • 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 victim's sister's (Dawn Smith) perspective.[10][11]

Documentaries

Other

A year after Shari Smith's death, her sister, Dawn Elizabeth Smith, was crowned Miss South Carolina (1986). Now known as Dawn Smith Jordan, she became a Christian singer/songwriter and wrote a book about her family's story throughout the ordeal, Grace So Amazing: A True Story of God's Grace in the Midst of Life-Shattering Tragedy, and also recorded a song, "Sisters", dedicated to her sister.

Murder in the Midlands: Larry Gene Bell and the 28 Days of Terror that Shook South Carolina was written about Bell's killing spree.

Audio pertaining to the murders was sampled on the album Hide the Kitchen Knives by The Paper Chase.

A detailed account of the efforts to create and apply an FBI profile of the then-unknown murderer of Sharon Smith and Debra Helmick appears as a chapter in Mindhunter: Inside the FBI'S Elite Serial Crime Unit, a memoir of former special agent John E. Douglas.

Was also the subject of the Court TV show The FBI Files season 2 episode 3 titled "Cat and Mouse" which aired 5 Oct. 1999.

See also

Notes
  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
  1. 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. Dowling, Paul. "Last Will." Forensic Files. 26 July 2003. Television.
  3. "Forensic Files". forensicfiles.com. FilmRise Television. July 26, 2003. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  4. "Missing Woman's Family Keeps Her House in Order". The Times-News. Associated Press. 30 July 1985. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  5. Good, Meaghan (24 October 2019). "Denise Newsom Porch". The Charley Project. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  6. Beane, Becky. "Left Behind". Prison Fellowship. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  7. 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.
  8. "Man who killed two executed". UPI. United Press International. October 4, 1996. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  9. "Nightmare in Columbia County - Movie". AOL Moviefone. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  10. "Investigation Discovery GO". Investigation Discovery GO. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  11. 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.
  12. "On The Case With Paula Zahn - Season 7 Episodes List - Next Episode". next-episode.net. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  13. "On The Case With Paula Zahn - Original air dates of television shows". originalairdates.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  14. "Serial Killer: Larry Gene Bell". Documentary Addict. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
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