Not sure how reliable this information is (take it with a BIG grain of salt) but according to something I read on another site, it sounds as if Bell is claiming he wasn't at fault for Larry's death:

"Bell said he was scared because he couldnt run away; so he pointed gun at Larry's head, and said, "Don't hit me again." He alleged that Larry then hit him while Bell was firing shots while demanding his keys; Bell stated he didnt point the rifle at Larry when he tripped and the rifle went off. Bell said it was all an accident"

Yeah, and I'm Jesus Christ too. Sure. Whatever. That sick bastard shouldn't even be allowed to talk. He was one of the worst ever profiled on UM and what he says should have zero relevance.

Yeah, and I'm Jesus Christ too. Sure. Whatever. That sick bastard shouldn't even be allowed to talk. He was one of the worst ever profiled on UM and what he says should have zero relevance.

EB had two legs and could have ran. He was busted either way. Killing LD was inexcusable and just morally wrong. There is no way he can justify that and the fact that he is trying to just shows how sick his mind really is.

EB had two legs and could have ran. He was busted either way. Killing LD was inexcusable and just morally wrong. There is no way he can justify that and the fact that he is trying to just shows how sick his mind really is.

What baffles me is why he didn't get the death penalty? I mean, this did happen in Texas. Folks down there aren't afraid to let anyone fry, especially scum such as EHB.

I would give anything to slug Edward Harold Bell's fat face.

Well, to be honest, the death penalty wouldnt have done any good here. So I am glad Bell didnt get it. Hopefully he lives to a ripe old age and serves out everyday of his sentence. He becomes eligibile for parole in 2013 but he probably will have to serve until his mandatory supervision date in 2023 when he would be 83 years old. In Texas, crimes committed prior to September 1st, 1996 if you were convicted of a non life or non death sentence you had to be released on mandatory supervision if they were not paroled first.

Now, the reason why Bell didnt get the death penalty. It is because, at the time Bell committed the murder in 1978 and even when he was convicted in 1993, it was much harder to give the death penalty in Texas than it is now. In fact, only certain types of murder were eligible for the death penalty. Bell was not charged with capital murder which carries either death or if the person doesnt get death, a mandatory life sentence. He was charged with 'murder' which in Texas seems to be the equivelant of 2nd degree murder in other states. In Texas you can get anywhere from probation to up to 99 years in prison if convicted of 'murder'.

The reason why Bell was charged with 'murder' is that it was hard to prove the crime was pre meditated. Bell's lack of an extensive felony record before hand led to him getting a 70 year sentence. Remember, in Texas, juries not judges hand down sentences, at least in crimes of this nature.

In fact, if someone is convicted of murder in Texas, on average they get anywhere from 20 to 40 years in prison. Not the 70 years Bell got, so if you think that is b ad, he could have got a lot less. In my opinion he would have had he not shot Dickens so many times and then jumped bail and been on the run for over a decade.

Of course, Texas's execution numbers have greatly inflated since they changed their laws around 1993 or so to make it much easier to hand out the death penalty to people. One also must remember, that Bell, also was convicted of two counts of indecency with a child, it seems he pled guilty to these and was sentenced to two 10 year sentences to run concurrently with the 70 year murder sentence.

Now, before George W. Bush became Governor, in the years after the death penalty was re-instated, from 1982, through 1994, Texas carried out 55 or so executions. Since January of 1995, Texas has carried out over 350 executions. Not exactly something to be proud of.

Virginia, which has the next highest number of executions carried out to Texas, executed roughly 20 people from the time the death penalty was re-instated through 1993. George Allen was elected Governor in 1993. During the 4 years that George Allen was Governor, 23 inmates were 'executed'. Jim Gilmore was even worse, 31 hauled off to the death house during his time as Governor. These numbers dropped dramatically as 11 were 'executed' during Mark Warner's term. So far 7 have been executed during Tim Kaine's term as Governor and he leaves office at the end of next year.

Anyway, sorry for the rambling, I am not trying to start an argument with anyone, just thought you would be interested in some facts and figures.

http://www.10thcoa.courts.state.tx.us/opinions/htmlopinion.asp?OpinionId=1036

Here's the court appeal document

oops...I see another poster found the same thing I did a few days ago. My bad.

Bell is claiming that shooting Larry Dickens was an accident? Okay. I could buy that... if he only shot Larry Dickens ONCE. What about all the other times he shot him, including in the head?

People who make a lifetime evading personal responsibility really tick me off these days... :mad:

Not only that, but if I recall, he went BACK to his car to get the gun. He meant to shoot Larry, no doubt.

Regardless, this was one of the hardest segments to watch... whoever played the mother was an amazing actress, and did such a great job portraying the horror of what she saw.

It sounds to me as if he's simply justifying his actions; which I find disgusting and it gives me even more of a reason to hate him. He's total scum and has zero sympathy for having taken the life of another. This is coming from the same pervert who exposed himself to the children in the neighborhood the same day. Yeah, try again Ed.

It sounds to me as if he's simply justifying his actions; which I find disgusting and it gives me even more of a reason to hate him. He's total scum and has zero sympathy for having taken the life of another. This is coming from the same pervert who exposed himself to the children in the neighborhood the same day. Yeah, try again Ed.

Occasionally, I've heard strories like this; the kind where someone tries to justify a murder by claiming, or perhaps opining, that it was self-defense or a justifiable homicide, even when the facts disprove it (just as how some people have been ignorantly trying to jusitfy the murders of four police officers by a rape suspect in Oakland, CA this past March). :mad: One would have to be a fool or uninformed of the case to give any credence to Bell's story.

Wasn't this the guy they found in Panama? A good portion of extradition treaties take the death penalty off the table.

It was not the extradition treaty that took the death penalty off of the table. The death penalty was never off the table as the crime was not death penalty eligible under Texas law. Only certain types of murder are eligible for the death penalty and this particular murder, as vile as it was, did not meet those criteria.

In terms of Bell taking the stand, my guess is his lawyers tried VERY hard to keep him off of there. I am sure this was the case if they were aware what he was planning on saying. However ultimately it is up to the client. However my guess is, Edward Harold Bell was already looking awful before he testified and all his testimony did was make him look even worse. I mean okay, the whole self defense argument might work if someone is shot once or twice or whatever. But when you shoot a guy six times and even walk back to your truck at one point to get another gun to finish him off, that is not self defense, that is an execution.

Hell, Bell by his own admission already had his keys back, he could have drove off and to be honest, Larry Dickens probably would have died anyway, but Bell walked back to his truck, got another gun, walked back to Dickens who was laying on his drive way in critical condition and he stood over him and shot him in the head.

Basically, this was a case that Bell's lawyers I am sure did not want. He probably had public defenders. In Harris County, Texas, they are the only county in Texas that does not have a public defenders office. So how it works there is that the court appoints private attorneys to the case. However, the incentive for these lawyers to win a case is rather low because what happens is, if they win a case, the court usually decides not to appoint them to other cases.

I have heard some ridiculous attempts at a defendant trying to explain things away but this one is up there. However it is not the worst one I have heard. Ever heard Oba Chandler's testimony? There was a case out of Michigan last year, that of a guy named Orange Taylor III. He had killed a chick in her dorm room (he was a student at the same university and had a history of burglarizing other students dorm rooms and just causing trouble in general). Anyway, he did not actually rape this girl but he left his semen on her clothing. Well, anyway, he knew he had to come up with a justification for why his DNA was there, so his story was that, he admitted burglarizing the room, however his defense was able to discover that this young woman had a mild heart condition that at times caused her to pass out.

So their story was that she had passed out while standing up and had fallen down smacked her head and died. So his story was that she was dead when he burglarized the room but that he thought she was beautiful so he relieved himself. Incredibly, he got two people to buy this as he had a hung jury his first trial. His 2nd trial he was convicted and sentenced to LWOP.

There are lots of absurd defenses that involve self amusement aren't there? Let's not forget Michael Skakel's "I was busy in a tree" comments.

There are lots of absurd defenses that involve self amusement aren't there? Let's not forget Michael Skakel's "I was busy in a tree" comments.

LOL. So true. I always loved that excuse...

I would give anything to slug Edward Harold Bell's fat face.

I usually say "Hey, what about two sides to every story?" but I whole-heartedly agree. I was glad when the sister started to beat him up in the police car and when the lady whose house he broke into kicked his butt. An accident? What a crock. I was always glad that his gun jammed later so he couldn't hurt anyone else. Hopefully he DIDN'T hurt anyone else while on the run.

Larry was my brother...I was there. I saw it all. It was no accident.

Hi Dawna! :)

Yep, we're on your side. We definitely do not believe it was self defense, an accident, or any other excuse this deviant murderer tries to come up with.

Kadrmas, maybe you can help me out with a legal question. These laws change so often, I can't keep up.

Would the fact that Bell broke into a woman's home, obviously there will some kind of ill intent in that, then sexual exposed himself to children, before killing Larry, and then fleeing the country!!!!! Count as the special circumstances necessary in TX to make a murder into a DP case?

Seems like I read that TX will push for capital punishment only if the act was committed during another felony, ie: bank robber (felony) kills bank teller (now it can be tried as a DP case.)

Am I confused, misinformed, or have the laws changed over the years so that I just don't know what I'm talking about. :confused:

Larry was my brother...I was there. I saw it all. It was no accident.

Dawna, I also want to say how sorry I am about what happened to your family. As we saw Larry portrayed, he seemed like a smart, generous, man who cared about and was close to his family.

One thing you'll definitely find on this message board is comments expressing compassion for the victims and a genuine desire to see their assailants pay their penance for the crimes they've committed, whether it be death, true life without parole, etc.

Tracy, to answer your question, it would not turn Bell's case into a Capital Murder or death penalty eligible case under Texas law, at least not under 1978 Texas law which were the laws Bell was tried under.

To clarify, Bell was never charged with Capital Murder,as under 1978 law at least he was not eligible for it and since the murder occurred in 1978 he had to be charged with what the law was at the time. So thus he was charged with 'murder' which would be the same as second degree murder in most states. Under the 'murder' statute in Texas, even back then, like now, Bell could have been sentenced from anywhere from probation to up to 99 years in prison.

The entire Capital Murder statute is as follows and this is actually expanded from what it was before the mid 90's although surprisingly by Texas standards the standard is still overall rather narrow which crimes are actually eligible: § 19.03. CAPITAL MURDER. (a) A person commits an offense
if the person commits murder as defined under Section 19.02(b)(1)
and:
(1) the person murders a peace officer or fireman who
is acting in the lawful discharge of an official duty and who the
person knows is a peace officer or fireman;
(2) the person intentionally commits the murder in the
course of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, burglary,
robbery, aggravated sexual assault, arson, obstruction or
retaliation, or terroristic threat under Section 22.07(a)(1), (3),
(4), (5), or (6);
(3) the person commits the murder for remuneration or
the promise of remuneration or employs another to commit the murder
for remuneration or the promise of remuneration;
(4) the person commits the murder while escaping or
attempting to escape from a penal institution;
(5) the person, while incarcerated in a penal
institution, murders another:
(A) who is employed in the operation of the penal
institution; or
(B) with the intent to establish, maintain, or
participate in a combination or in the profits of a combination;
(6) the person:
(A) while incarcerated for an offense under this
section or Section 19.02, murders another; or
(B) while serving a sentence of life imprisonment
or a term of 99 years for an offense under Section 20.04, 22.021, or
29.03, murders another;
(7) the person murders more than one person:
(A) during the same criminal transaction; or
(B) during different criminal transactions but
the murders are committed pursuant to the same scheme or course of
conduct;
(8) the person murders an individual under six years
of age; or
(9) the person murders another person in retaliation
for or on account of the service or status of the other person as a
judge or justice of the supreme court, the court of criminal
appeals, a court of appeals, a district court, a criminal district
court, a constitutional county court, a statutory county court, a
justice court, or a municipal court.
(b) An offense under this section is a capital felony.
(c) If the jury or, when authorized by law, the judge does
not find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of
an offense under this section, he may be convicted of murder or of
any other lesser included offense.

So basically no, as under Texas law, Bell jerking off in front of kids, as vile as that is, under Texas law at that time was probably a misdemeanor or if it was a felony it would be a low level one. So in that regard no.

I suppose it could be considered that he burglarized Larry's mother's house by going into the garage when he was not supposed to be in there, did not have permission to be in there and was in there for the sole purpose of murdering Larry. However where the issue from a legal standpoint gets dicey is that the garage was open. Had Larry ran back into the house and had Bell chased him in there that would have been a clear cut burglary in the legal sense, but because the garage door was open, and since the incident evidently started outside, it was only misdemeanor trespassing.

Pasadena, Texas where this murder happened is located in Harris County, Texas the death penalty capitol of the United States. So I think that if they could find anyone to charge Bell with capital murder they would. So it tells me their hands were tied.

Bell did get 70 years, which in Texas, the jury not the judge gives the sentence, at least in murder cases anyway. 70 years is more than average. But here is another stumbling block. If Bell were sentenced now, like let's say he did the crime now and got 70 years, under Texas law from 1996 onward, he would have had to serve 35 years before he was even eligible for parole and under current law, it is possible he could be made to serve the full 70 years, basically meaning he would get a life sentence if that were to happen. However under 1978 law and this law did not change until 1996, was that anyone sentenced to anything less than death or life was under mandatory supervision, meaning after a certain period of time, their release was mandatory.

Under the old law, even though Bell was sentenced to 70 years, it is not really 70 years or anything close. Bell becomes eligible for parole in 2013 after having served 20 years and his mandatory release date will be in 2023, after having served 30 years. Typically under the old law, release was mandatory if an inmate had served roughly 40 percent of their sentence.

Thanks so much for providing all that info, Kadrmas. Lots of stuff there I didn't know...

Nice try Mr. Bell, there is NO doubt in my mind that he didnt do this by accident. Now i dont think this murder was planned, BUT it was NO accident. What happend was Larry caught him doing a crime, Larry confronted him and took his keys and Bell shot him to get his keys back then shot him again to send a message to him.

Yeah, and I'm Jesus Christ too. Sure. Whatever. That sick bastard shouldn't even be allowed to talk. He was one of the worst ever profiled on UM and what he says should have zero relevance.


Here, here! :clap:

Edward Harold Bell is undoubtedly one of the biggest pieces of garbage ever profiled on UM.

However, Larry should have handled things a little smarter and given the keys up sooner. Some things you just got to leave to the cops, particularly when the other guy has a gun and you don't. If Bell didn't have a gun it would have been different.

This young man should have realized this lowlife wasn't worth dying over.

BS to anyone who says it was an accident or that he didn't deserve the death penalty. Even if the initial act was not premeditated, certainly going back to his car and getting another gun, then going back into the garage to shoot Larry was close enough to premeditated.

Why is it that if someone breaks into your house and you shoot them and they are only wounded, they can press charges against you. yet this guy opens fire on an innocent guy in his driveway and people keep saying he shouldn't get the death penalty? Come on.

If he was so scared and shot him and then ran off, I could see a good lawyer making that work, but come on. They are wasting time and money on this over grown waste of a fetus. Normally I am all for reasonable doubt, but this guy is an exception. They have multiple witnesses here and lets not forget that he also attempted to open fire on the police. He likely would have killed that bike cop if his rifle hadn't jammed.

Texas dropped the ball on this case. To make it right they should lock this guy up in the general area of the prison he is in. Tell the other inmates he is a child molester. They'll take care of him and it won't cost the state a thing except for the couple of days worth of meals they have to feed him until the inmates get him.

Well, I think you misinterpreted what was said. Under the law, what he did was not death penalty eligible at least under Texas law, both then and now. Personally I think all this overblown emotion on someone like Edward Harold Bell just feeds into Bell's already massive ego.

And P.S. Larry is a Hero for standing up to this guy. Although I do agree giving up the keys sooner would have obviously been smarter. But if everyone always acted smart, we wouldn't have any heroes.

Also Bell was never convicted of child molestation. He was accused of it yes, but never convicted, thus he would not be low on the prison totem pole. But in any event, the whole thing about child molesters being constant targets in prison is and of itself an overblown point. Most prisoners do not like child molesters no doubt, but then again, who does? Bell is currently in the Pack 1 Unit prison in Navasota, Texas, he is now 71 years old. Pack 1 is a medium security facility.

i have a feeling that Bell would've shot Larry anyway, even if he was given his keys back sooner.

What an accident.

He "accidently" gets out of his truck wearing no pants and no underwear and then "accidently" walks over to a group of kids playing in the street. When Larry takes his keys away, Bell puts his pants back on and "accidently" pulls out a handgun where he "accidently" shoots Larry 3 times. Then going into the garage where Larry's mother gives him the keys, Bell "accidently" shoots him again before going back to his truck where he "accidently" gets a rifle and "accidently" shoots Larry one final time.

This man is a waste of human life. If he shot Larry just one time, he'd have a much easier time trying to convince people it was accident. But he didn't shoot him just one time. He shot him multiple times with different weapons.

Dawna, thank you for stopping by here. We always love to hear from friends and family of people profiled on the show and we all send you our love and prayers. If it's possible, could you tell us how Larry's daughter is doing? If my limited math skills are correct, she should be 34 years old today.

LOL, he's so brilliant. What's his excuse for breaking into that woman's house and holding a knife at her? Wanting to use the phone?

I agree with whoever said they wanted to slug him in the face.

And P.S. Larry is a Hero for standing up to this guy. Although I do agree giving up the keys sooner would have obviously been smarter. But if everyone always acted smart, we wouldn't have any heroes.

Yes, but at that point the children had ran off and no one's life was in danger but his own. I have no doubt Larry was acting out of total disgust and anger over what this clown was doing, but even so arguing with a loaded gun of a nut like that is generally suicidal.

Even heroism I think has to be approached with a certain amount of smarts.

However, the other gentleman made a good point, Bell may very well have shot Larry anyway.

I wish he had gotten a weapon of his own and gave himself a better chance, though there might not have been one in the house.

I hope he dies a slow and very painful death.

Unfortunately, this man will probably be paroled in 2013.

I know that the family (and some others) would not like it, but there are bigger pieces of trash in the TDOC system.

IE: Ismiel Moreno (he killed a woman who was begging for her life back in 2006, then made somebody burn her body just because he SUSPECTED she was a narc.)

Yes, but at that point the children had ran off and no one's life was in danger but his own. I have no doubt Larry was acting out of total disgust and anger over what this clown was doing, but even so arguing with a loaded gun of a nut like that is generally suicidal.

Even heroism I think has to be approached with a certain amount of smarts.

However, the other gentleman made a good point, Bell may very well have shot Larry anyway.

I wish he had gotten a weapon of his own and gave himself a better chance, though there might not have been one in the house.

I have to agree.
This was one situation where calling the cops and getting a license plate number would have been the best (and safest) course of action.

If he was going to take the man's keys, he probably should have thrown them far out of his reach.

Bell is a con man that is trying to justify Larry Dickens death. I can't really say that the death was premeditated and planned for months or years because I don't believe it was. How can you call a death of a man an accident when his death resulted because Larry took Bells keys and the men got into a fight because Larry refused to give Bell his keys to his truck. Larry had a good reason for taking Bells keys. I am sure he was wanting Bell to be arrested so taking the keys would make sure that Bell did not leave before the police came. I am sure Larry would never have taken Bells keys if Bell wouldn't have taken his pants off in front of children playing in the street. I suppose next Bell will be saying when he went in that woman's bathroom while she was putting her makeup on, I suppose he will be justifying that as an accident to. I don't have sympathy for this man and I don't accept his justifications or believe that Dicken's death was an accident.

I'd give anything to see Bell shrink wrapped to Dexter Morgan's table.

I just watched a repeat episode of "Unsolved Mysteries" that profiled Bell's murder of Larry Dickens. I was startled to find out that Bell is eligible for parole this year, 2013. Just wondering if anyone knows more about whether he has been paroled or (hopefully) will rot in jail for the rest of his life?

I just watched a repeat episode of "Unsolved Mysteries" that profiled Bell's murder of Larry Dickens. I was startled to find out that Bell is eligible for parole this year, 2013. Just wondering if anyone knows more about whether he has been paroled or (hopefully) will rot in jail for the rest of his life?

He was eligible for parole back in January 2013 but it was denied. His projected release date is April 2024. He will be about 85 years old. Also, if he serves his maximum sentence, he'll be released in January 2063, when he is 124 years old. :)

He is currently NOT SCHEDULED FOR RELEASE:

http://offender.tdcj.state.tx.us/POSdb2/offenderDetail.action?sid=01515604

Ed Bell was the subject of an A&E documentary, "The Eleven". He claims to have killed 11 women.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/10/19/texas-killers-claim-that-murdered-11-young-women-under-scrutiny-in-documentary.html

Also, he came up for parole 3 days ago, January 8, 2018 but was denied.

https://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/reviewDetail.action;jsessionid=4e11a774888b3134e07e1af5f43f?sid=04250748&tdcj=01975091&fullName=BELL%2CEDWARD+BRAD

The excuse that Bell used here sounds like my dog ate my homework.

What's his excuse for breaking into that woman's house and holding a knife at her? Wanting to use the phone?

I didn't need to use the phone, anyway.

I can't watch this segment without being filled with rage and sadness.

Everytime.

/binge watching.

I can't watch this segment without being filled with rage and sadness.

Everytime.

/binge watching.
Same. My only satisfaction (besides him being caught) is seeing him beaten up by the woman whose house he broke into.

Just found an article which says that Bell died yesterday. Texas killer's death leaves unanswered questions (https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Texas-killer-s-death-leaves-unanswered-13783107.php#photo-17259855)

Several of his alleged victims' family members were quoted. Most of them believe that he was responsible for the other murders. Hopefully, his death will bring them and Larry's loved ones some closure.

I saw bits and pieces of 'the Eleven who went to heaven,' and I was surprised to learn how normal Bell's life was before he became obsessed with underage girls.

Went to Texas A&M, played trombone in the Aggie Marching Band, married and had three children, did pharmaceutical sales....and then something went horrible wrong. His every waking moment then became about exposing himself, raping and assaulting/killing young girls.

What's odd is that his normal routine would be to look for girls who would be alone walking on country roads. The setup to Larry Dickens' murder was the same in that Bell would pull his pants off and approach the children but never right smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood. Did he really think he would not be spotted immediately?

Wow I thought this turd dies years ago, no idea was living until recently.
Serves him right to what he did to poor Matthew McConaughey. :mad:

I'm currently watching The Eleven (it's on Prime) and there's so much info I heard for the first time.

EHB was arrested 7 times before the murder of Larry Dickens.

They show the actual crime scene photos of the murder.

They play the recording of Larry's mother's call to the police.

Larry's 3 year old daughter was at the house that day and was playing outside when Larry was shot.

EHB is interviewed by journalist Lise Olson and he claims HE didn't kill Larry, the POLICE did. :angryfire:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire

EHB claims he was brainwashed into "The Program" which turned him into a killer. He claims his father turned him into a sex criminal at the age of THREE.

I'm not sure I've ever seen this level of crazy.

I saw bits and pieces of 'the Eleven who went to heaven,' and I was surprised to learn how normal Bell's life was before he became obsessed with underage girls.

Went to Texas A&M, played trombone in the Aggie Marching Band, married and had three children, did pharmaceutical sales....and then something went horrible wrong. His every waking moment then became about exposing himself, raping and assaulting/killing young girls.

What's odd is that his normal routine would be to look for girls who would be alone walking on country roads. The setup to Larry Dickens' murder was the same in that Bell would pull his pants off and approach the children but never right smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood. Did he really think he would not be spotted immediately?

If this is true and he really went from “no identifiable interest in pedophilia” to “insatiable desire to engage in various lewd behaviors with and around underage girls at every waking moment,” at a relatively late point in life, doesn’t that suggest something went like REALLY wrong? Like his behavior was triggered by some late-onset mental illness, or perhaps a bad-enough head injury?

I hate to even sniff defending the guy but what you describe sounds like a red flag to me.

EHB is interviewed by journalist Lise Olson and he claims HE didn't kill Larry, the POLICE did. :angryfire:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire

EHB claims he was brainwashed into "The Program" which turned him into a killer. He claims his father turned him into a sex criminal at the age of THREE.

I'm not sure I've ever seen this level of crazy.

That is some elite level rationalization. Maybe he really did have a late life mental crisis but this guy was a real piece of trash. Just when I think his story couldn’t get any worse...

If this is true and he really went from “no identifiable interest in pedophilia” to “insatiable desire to engage in various lewd behaviors with and around underage girls at every waking moment,” at a relatively late point in life, doesn’t that suggest something went like REALLY wrong? Like his behavior was triggered by some late-onset mental illness, or perhaps a bad-enough head injury?

I hate to even sniff defending the guy but what you describe sounds like a red flag to me.

It's hard to say. His life hasn't been dissected to the degree of other serial killers, the majority of which had warning signs from childhood. I'm just kind of amazed to see someone grow in to a successful functioning adult like he was only to eventually become this full time monster.

We don't know if/when this behavior was triggered. It's possible he was able to bury his demons for years before he couldn't hold them in any longer. We just don't know.

It would probably be interesting to hear interviews from his ex-wife and three kids (the kids would have to be in their late 40's, early 50's by now) just to give a sense of what he was like before the divorce, but I can understand if they want to stay out of the picture.

I wish he would have just given him the keys! perhaps then the evil man leaves. its better to not die. let the police investigate the case of him exposing himself to the kids.

I wish he would have just given him the keys! perhaps then the evil man leaves. its better to not die. let the police investigate the case of him exposing himself to the kids.

Totally!🤦

If Larry Dickens was armed himself and could make a citizens arrest and/or protect himself, his loved ones and the community children there and then from Edward Bell well and good👍 But, confronting Bell unarmed as he did confiscating his keys to only aggravate the situation was frightfully naive😬 He had not a clue if Bell was packing or what he was capable of. So his actions were nothing if not fraught with danger to put his own life in jeopardy and those present especially when his mom was probably doing the wisest thing at the time in notifying the police. Besides there were countless witnesses to the incident who would've shared details of Bell's identity and vehicle with the police who would've then taken it further without any senseless loss of life.

Totally!🤦

If Larry Dickens was armed himself and could make a citizens arrest and/or protect himself, his loved ones and the community children there and then from Edward Bell well and good👍 But, confronting Bell unarmed as he did confiscating his keys to only aggravate the situation was frightfully naive😬 He had not a clue if Bell was packing or what he was capable of. So his actions were nothing if not fraught with danger to put his own life in jeopardy and those present especially when his mom was probably doing the wisest thing at the time in notifying the police. Besides there were countless witnesses to the incident who would've shared details of Bell's identity and vehicle with the police who would've then taken it further without any senseless loss of life.

Well now, that's some elite level victim blaming you got going on there. You know how else he wouldn't have ended up dead? If the perv murderer didn't perv and murder.

Well now, that's some elite level victim blaming you got going on there. You know how else he wouldn't have ended up dead? If the perv murderer didn't perv and murder.

Thisss.

If I saw someone about to do something heinous like that to a child or group of children, I'm not sure I could KEEP from at least yelling at the guy before I did anything else.

Well now, that's some elite level victim blaming you got going on there. You know how else he wouldn't have ended up dead? If the perv murderer didn't perv and murder.

Granted my observations might come across as “victim blaming” to you Necco, but you’re mistaking judging the wisdom of a person’s choice of action with judging the person’s moral culpability. They’re completely different.

I don’t hold Dickens at fault at all for Bell’s criminal actions to willfully and lewdly expose himself to the neighborhood children and then heinously choose to kill Dickens in cold blood in his poor mother’s presence. These despicable actions and the fault therein lies with Bell and him alone!

I am, however, simply stating my opinion, in agreement with ufohealer, that I believe Dickens could have acted or reacted more wisely to the situation without the risk of loss of life that’s all🤔 My evaluation of Dickens’ response to the circumstances he confronted and the wisdom thereof should not be misconstrued as blaming the victim for the monstrous actions of the attacker.

I recognize that just because Dickens’ chose to act the way he did doesn’t in any way infer he deserved to be so brutally mistreated and have his life so cruelly and horribly stolen the way it was by Bell.

At the same time, this doesn’t negate the value in drawing important lessons from the choices made at a crime scene or in any bad situation, by victims, like Dickens, that can be of use as a learning experience for others to ensure wiser choices are made and precautions taken if ever in a similar situation.

But, what do I know...it's just my "elite level victim blaming" to you and you probably think I'm going to hell for it🤷

I am, however, simply stating my opinion, in agreement with ufohealer, that I believe Dickens could have acted or reacted more wisely to the situation without the risk of loss of life that’s all��

I'm not sure Dickens having a firearm would've made much of a difference in the outcome.

In this FBI study, out of 160 active shooter incidents over a thirteen year period, only five were ended by people who were not law enforcement personnel firing on the shooter. Of those five, only one was a private citizen with a concealed carry permit. The others were armed security guards. That's only 3.1% of all those cases. About 13% were ended on the initiative of unarmed citizens restraining the shooter. Over half (56%) were ended when the shooter committed suicide, stopped shooting, or fled the scene.

https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-shooter-study-2000-2013-1.pdf/view

But, what do I know...it's just my "elite level victim blaming" to you and you probably think I'm going to hell for it��

Well that escalated quickly.

I'm not sure Dickens having a firearm would've made much of a difference in the outcome.

Well, we'll never know will we?😕🤷

Well that escalated quickly.

It's a good thing we weren't in armed combat then!😂

I saw the eleven. Edward Bell can not here nothing. He said he did not kill Larry . The cops did and blamed it on him. And he blamed his parents for him being a pervert. As a boy he said he and his brother wento visit and neighbor hood gierl and had her strip her clothes off for him. HIs parents spanked him for it and he said that is why he is a pervert. Bell is a very sick dude.

They show the actual crime scene photos of the murder.

They play the recording of Larry's mother's call to the police.

Larry's 3 year old daughter was at the house that day and was playing outside when Larry was shot.

I went back and watched this part over the weekend. Those photos are...horrible. And every shot of the house on that corner looks familiar. Dorothy Lang continued living in that same house for decades and even welcomed the Unsolved Mysteries film crew in there in 1992.

The recording of Dorothy on the phone is haunting. There was no access to 911 in those days but their local emergency saved the recording and transferred it to a cassette tape.

Never mentioned on UM was the fact that Larry's 3 year old daughter was sitting on the lawn playing with some toys when Bell parked his truck. It's amazing that she remembers Larry getting her inside the house before going back out to confront Bell. Thank goodness for that. I'd hate to imagine her still being outside and seeing her father get shot as many times as he did.

This world became a better place when Edward Harold Bell died. He was one of the sickest, most evil, twisted, disgusting excuse for a human being who ever lived.

I saw where Larry's sister posted in this thread back in 2010. I hope she's doing well now. I know that Larry's mother has since passed away. One of the saddest cases of all time. At least Bell is where he belongs now. Six feet under.

I'm currently watching The Eleven (it's on Prime) and there's so much info I heard for the first time.

EHB was arrested 7 times before the murder of Larry Dickens.

They show the actual crime scene photos of the murder.

They play the recording of Larry's mother's call to the police.

Larry's 3 year old daughter was at the house that day and was playing outside when Larry was shot.

EHB is interviewed by journalist Lise Olson and he claims HE didn't kill Larry, the POLICE did. :angryfire:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire

EHB claims he was brainwashed into "The Program" which turned him into a killer. He claims his father turned him into a sex criminal at the age of THREE.

I'm not sure I've ever seen this level of crazy.

Can you pull up that video? I would be interested in that. Where is the part that shows the crime scene and the 911 call?