Robbie Bell, mother of accused killer George Bell III, was arrested and indicted this week for the crime of Accessory After the Fact in the death of Mr. Bell's girlfriend, Heather Spencer. Although the grand jury indicted Ms. Bell three weeks ago, the indictment was not announced until this week. Ms. Bell turned herself in and was released on a $15,000 bond. Several new facts and allegations have come out this week. Members of the victim's family have stated that Ms. Spencer did not die when beaten by Mr. Bell, which would have been around 6 PM or so that evening but was probably alive until the morning hours, possibly even 6 or 7 AM. It has been established that Ms. Bell was in the house with her son most of the night. Thus, after Heather was raped and savagely beaten with a flashlight by her boyfriend, he and his mother were in the house all night while she slowly died, if the allegations about the time of death are to be believed. If such is the case, Ms. Bell deserves much worse than being charged with Accessory After the Fact. There are several questions that need to be asked in this case.
1. When will the District Attorney's Office release the results of the autopsy? At the very least it should discuss the results of the autopsy with Ms. Spencer's family. It is unconscionable that they are not even told at what time Heather died.
2. What time did Heather die? One hopes after her rape and beating, she died quickly. One shudders at the mere thought of her slowly dying during the night while George and his mother walked through the house all night. What kind of woman allows her son to muder someone and stays in the house with the dead or dying body all night?
3. Why did JPD reduce the charges Heather filed against George for her beating in June from Aggravated Assault to Simple Assault Domestic Violence? There has STILL been no explanation from JPD or the D.A.'s office for this action.
4. Is the JPD investigating whether Robbie helped George stay out of Mississippi until the charges from June were dropped? It is unbelieveable that Robbie had no idea George was at the treatment center in Tulsa. Who paid for the treatment? He was allowed to have a cell phone there since he was a business owner. Heather supposedly visited him several times. Robbie had a family get-together the day after he returned from the treatment center.
The point is, there was still an active warrant for George Bell, III. If Robbie knew where George was the entire time he was in treatment, did she break the law by helping him avoid arrest? If so, one must ask why she is not being prosecuted for helping her son.
5. Did Ms. Bell make any efforts to get Ms. Spencer to drop the charges against her son? Have the JPD obtained Ms. Spencer's bank statements to see if there were any large deposits after early June? Or Ms. Bell's for large unexplained withdrawals? Did Ms. Bell hire Heather? Was Ms. Spencer compensated at the time she tried to drop the charges against Mr. Bell?
6. Who are Ms. Bell's attorneys? It is my understanding that along with her defense attorney, Ms. Bell also has retained former District Attorney Ed Peters. Understandable as Judge James Bell is her former brother-in-law. If this is true, and I stand corrected if it is not and will say so in this post, what does this mean for the prosecution of the Bells? What is Mr. Peters' professional relationship with Ms. Bell and if there is one, should District Attorney-elect Robert Smith prosecute the case or recuse himself as he did recently with the Michael Taylor prosecution due to Mr. Peters involvement with his campaign and transition team?
7. WHY is the Spencer family complaining about a lack of communication from Faye Peterson's office? WLBT reported this week:
Dale Spencer of Florence says he was informed by the media on Tuesday, October 30 that the mother of his niece's accused killer had been indicted... a full three weeks ago. Spencer says the Hinds County District Attorney's office hasn't kept the family informed of anything.
"When you call in, all we were hearing was we can't disclose anything, we can't say anything," he says....
Heather's uncle says it's hard to separate fact from rumor. "I've heard that she was alive between the hours of 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., when he beat her, all the way to 4 or 5 in the morning. Now new evidence is coming out that she may have been alive till 7 a.m.", he says. "That's why I wish the D.A., or I wish whoever is responsible for getting information to the family, would contact us."
Spokesmen for the Jackson Police, who are investigating the murder, and the Hinds County Sheriff's Department, say it's not unusual for an indictment to be served several weeks after the grand jury meets and makes its decision. That's just the grand jury process, they say. .."
http://www.wlbt.com/global/story.asp?s=7293634
additional story: http://www.wjtv.com/gulfcoastwest/jtv/search.apx.-content-articles-JTV-2007-10-31-0014.html
If there is an example needed to show why Faye Peterson was thrown out of office, this is it. It is inexcusable that her office has not contacted the family to discuss the indictment with them. Its nice of JPD to tell the media what the normal process for releasing indictments is. It would have been even nicer if Faye Peterson had gotten off her fat ass ( I would say JPD but its hard for them to talk to the families of murder victims when they are being used as Melton's taxi service ) and had her office explain all of this to them. Instead they have to learn about it from the media. Oh I'm sure Faye Peterson will have a very nice excuse that covers all the bases and makes perfect sense. She is very articulate on tv and well-versed in making excuses. Be that as it may, there is no excuse for Ms. Peterson's neglect of the Spencer family.
Our hearts go out to the Spencer family as they deal with this tragedy. One hopes that the criminal justice system in Hinds County will get its act together and help them get the justice they deserve. One also hopes that the questions raised above are answered as well. Justice demands no less.
Copy of Indictment: http://media.mgnetwork.com/jtv/PDF/robbie_bell_indictment.pdf
Copy of Arrest Warrant: http://media.mgnetwork.com/jtv/PDF/robbie_bell_arrest_warrant.pdf
Related posts on the Heather Spencer murder:
http://kingfish1935.blogspot.com/2007/09/jpd-and-heather-spencer.html
http://kingfish1935.blogspot.com/2007/09/latest-news-on-heather-spencer-murder.html
http://kingfish1935.blogspot.com/2007/09/help-spencer-family.html
http://kingfish1935.blogspot.com/2007/09/what-do-you-say.html
Friday, November 2, 2007
The wheels slowly turn: Robbie Bell Indicted.
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14 comments:
The silence out of the JFP about Peterson's bumbling is telling. Also interesting how little investigation the JFP has done about Robbie Bell in light of her close professional relationship with Ladd.
The first part I will agree with you on.
The second part I won't. Robbie's involvement has been unknown for the most part. The JPD/DA is just now starting to release facts. The editor over at JFP has known some things as have I and others BUT knowing them and verifying them to the point of publishing them are two different things. I'll defend her on that one.
Now if she never says anything about Robbie, different story.
The editor over at JFP has known some things as have I and others BUT knowing them and verifying them to the point of publishing them are two different things.
Sorry, verification has never stopped them. I also don't see the level of effort involved to achieve verification that we've see to confirm the color of socks Melton wore on a given joyride in the mobile command center. Ladd's modus fits a reliable pattern reliably. The Robbie Bell story isn't getting covered because of the professional quasi-personal relationship.
I have always thought from the very beginning that at the very least Robbie Bell should be charged with "accessory after the fact." The problem with the indictment at this time is WHY did it take so long for them to do so? The powers that be knew she had been in the house with him all night. Why wasn't she arrested the same day the body was removed? If Heather died in the wee hours of the morning and could have been helped if medical rescue had been called in a timely manner then perhaps she should be charged with murder in the second degree...
without giving away too much it is because they were still collecting evidence. Difference between "knowing" she was there and proving it.
Robbie Bell needed psychiatric help many years ago. Too bad and too sad she didn't seek help. George isn't the only one with mental problesm.
What is meant by "Ladd's professional and personal relationship" with Robbie Bell?
I wondered about that too. I am sure they have had some contact on a professional basis, which is understandable.
One moron, a Rene Shakespeare, posted on the JFP forums a theory that Robbie was too scared to call for help. Uh huh. George left the house to go kidnap the roomate. Robbie had ample opportunity to do something.She CHOSE not to do so.
I wondered about that too. I am sure they have had some contact on a professional basis, which is understandable.
One moron, a Rene Shakespeare, posted on the JFP forums a theory that Robbie was too scared to call for help. Uh huh. George left the house to go kidnap the roomate. Robbie had ample opportunity to do something.She CHOSE not to do so.
What professional relationship does/can/could exists between Ladd and Bell?
Robbie is an executive at Mississippi Business Journal. Look it up on JFP. Ms. Ladd explains her job over at MBJ.
Robbie WAS with Mississippi Business Journal in advertising. They dropped her immediately after it all happened.
My understanding was that she was on a leave of abssence. I don't think the media has reported she wa fired from there.
Here it is 2009 and it's been so long since I've had a chance to read your blog I never noticed the fact you referred to me as a "moron".
For the record, I offered the theory that it was possible a woman was too terrified to move under horrible circumstances because I have been the victim of a few terrifying ordeals during my lifetime and I'm convinced I'm more qualified than a man who has never been helpless in the face of domestic abuse to form such an opinion. Opinions are always subject to change when exposed to fact. However at the time of these original posts, those facts were not in evidence for those of us who did not have personal relationships with those involved.
I am disappointed in you though Kingfish. I've always read your posts and comments everywhere because I have true respect for what I consider to be well researched and though out opinions and/or presentation of facts. Here though I need to tell you that even though the passage of time has brought much to light I do not apologize for believing a woman could be scared to move under horrendous circumstances. Nor do I take lightly being referred to as a Moron for simply offering an opinion which obviously did not agree with yours at the time. I am sorry my early take on the whole situation didn't meet your standards, but even so I could have understood you referring to the opinion as moronic not the person. That is the type of activity kind sir I normally expect from a Jerk.
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