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Investigation: North Naples murder-suicide linked to towed Corvette
DAVID ALBERS / Daily News
North Naples Fire Control & Rescue District investigators work the scene of a murder-suicide and arson fire at 6641 Sandalwood Lane in North Naples on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2007.
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A bare Christmas tree stands in the living room waiting to be decorated.
Though it is mid-May, colorful Christmas lights remain wrapped around the front-porch railing and a wreath decorated with bulbs still needs to be hung on the shuttered front door.
By all measures, this Old Florida-style house at 6641 Sandalwood Lane in North Naples has been frozen in time for more than six months, save for the soupy green pool water and the palm fronds scattered across the front yard.
There were fewer than three weeks before Christmas when neighbors awoke on an early Sunday morning and found Rick and Sherri Bell’s barn and garage engulfed in flames, and a strange trail of flaming hay winding through the back yard. Inside the house, firefighters found Sherri Bell, 47, dead on the kitchen floor.
They found Rick Bell, 48, a local businessman and the president of the Collier County Fair, dead of carbon monoxide poisoning inside a white Cadillac Escalade still running in an attached garage.
Investigators believed at the time that Rick Bell killed his wife before killing himself, but how and why a man identified by his 27-year-old son as an angel would do what he did remained a mystery.
Though some questions will never be answered, a recently completed investigation by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office reveals that shortly before the murder-suicide, the couple had been arguing over financial issues and had discussions about getting a divorce.
Investigators also learned that hours before her death, Sherri Bell had a $60,000 Chevy Corvette towed from the home and listed on eBay in an effort to raise money to pay bills. Her brother, Frank Ussery Jr., of Bonita Springs, told investigators Rick Bell had cut Sherri off from family finances.
In a recent interview, Ussery said that Rick and Sherri Bell were "buried in debt."
Ussery said that at one point Rick Bell had to borrow against his life insurance policy to make payroll at his business, Rick Bell Paving.
"One of their main problems was finances," Ussery said. "Rick was out of control with money. He had to have what he had to have. ... She had been getting a salary every week from Rick Bell Paving. He, of course, cut her off from that."
However, Rick Bell’s son, Jamie Bell, said the mortgage payment, vehicle payments and credit card payments were up to date.
"The financial situation might not have been as good as it was two or three years ago when the economy was booming," Jamie Bell said. "They definitely were not in debt."
In the weeks before her murder, Sherri Bell began spending more and more time at Ussery’s home, Ussery said. She was "stressed out" and so nervous that her fingers bled from the nails being chewed on.
Neighbors reported a "blow up" between Rick and Sherri Bell in the weeks before the murder after Sherri Bell took money from the couple’s joint account to pay off her credit cards. Rick Bell retaliated by cutting his wife off from family finances, reports indicate.
Ussery said the couple’s mortgage and bill for a recreational vehicle were in Sherri Bell’s name.
On the afternoon of Saturday, Dec. 8, Sherri Bell had the couple’s $60,000, 1967 Corvette towed from the home and listed on eBay. That day Sherri Bell went to Ussery’s home and stayed there until about 9:30 p.m., Ussery said.
It was the last time he saw her alive.
"She was going to go home and tell him about the ‘Vette," Ussery said. "He didn’t know it was gone. She said he deserved to know. She thought she could work it out."
Sherri Bell told her brother that if she felt threatened, she would lock herself in the bedroom, reports said. She called Ussery around 10:30 p.m. and told him her husband wasn’t home yet.
Rick Bell is believed to have returned home around midnight after leaving the Collier County Fairgrounds, where he attended a demolition derby, reports said.
The exact sequence of events upon his return isn’t known, but when investigators found Sherri Bell’s body, she had a swollen right eye, indicative of being struck or punched in the face, reports said.
Investigators found her body in the kitchen dressed in pajamas with a white garbage bag over her head, and a blue, nylon rope tied over the bag around her neck, reports said. There was condensation in the bag, which had been sucked inward after being placed over her head.
In the kitchen, investigators found several copies of what appears to be a hastily typed suicide note addressed to Rick Bell’s three children, Jamie, 27, Ory, 16, and Ondrea, 14.
Firefighters found a copy of the suicide note along with some of Rick Bell’s children’s possessions in a Ford F-350 blocking the driveway.
"I just have to much trust when it comes to the ladies," Rick Bell wrote in the letter containing typographical errors. "I just cann’t stand by and let Sherri take me down. I know that I have set myself up with what I’ve done with all that we have. I can not come out of this with out losing everything and she will walk away so clean. I’m so afraid that her family will still get what should be yours."
The note was signed, "Love Dad."
After killing his wife, investigators believe Rick Bell set fire to the barn and garage, using trails of hay and gasoline to direct the flames. He also prepared the main house to catch fire, but it never ignited, reports said.
Rick Bell was wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans, and was barefoot when investigators found him dead in the garage, reports said. There was vomit on his shirt, and red stains believed to be cold medicine, the investigation revealed.
Margaret Lee Ann Hildahl, who lives next door to the Bells’ home, was the first person to see the flames from the Bells’ garage. Now, more than six months after the fire, she said it "doesn’t feel good" to look at the charred skeletons of the Bells’ barn, garage, boat and recreational vehicle every day.
"I’ve thought and thought about stepping out my door and looking at that every day," Hildahl said. "I don’t want to sound selfish, but I really wish someone would pick that up over there. It’s painful to look at."
Days after his father’s death, friends described Rick Bell as a kind person who never seemed to be angry or aggressive. His son, Jamie, described his father as an angel without a "mean bone in his body."
"All I can say is he had no history of doing anything," said Jamie Bell, who has no desire to read reports about the crime. "I still have no idea what happened that night."
Rick Bell, who had been married five times, had criminal records for marijuana trafficking and intoxicated and disruptive conduct, the investigation revealed.
Court records show his businesses had encountered financial troubles over the years, and that he once filed both Chapter 7 bankruptcy and Chapter 13 personal bankruptcy.
Ussery said he never thought Rick Bell was a bad guy, but never trusted him. He said Rick Bell was standoffish, talked down to his wife, and made jokes about her.
Sherri Bell was an honest, care-free spirit, Ussery said. She didn’t deserve to die with a bag over her head and a nylon rope around her neck, he said.
Both sides of the family are now trying to put their lives back together.
Jamie Bell has taken over the family business. He said his family has been threatened with a wrongful death lawsuit.
"The company is still going. Me and my brother and sister are doing good," Jamie Bell said. "We’re sticking together and trying to make things work. We’re hoping everything can be settled without any lawsuits. We haven’t done anything to cause it."
Ussery said his family is still bitter, though they feel no ill will toward Rick Bell’s children. His parents are now getting harassed by creditors seeking payment for Sherri Bell’s debts, Ussery said.
"I’ve got a lot of hate and vitriol for Rick Bell," Ussery said. "He turned out to be a really evil man. I hope he’s suffering now and paying for it where he’s at."
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Comments
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This is so sad, and the grown children are doing the best they can in the Bell family business. They work very hard, and it shows. Thier parents would be proud of them and the efforts they've made in the business.
#1 Posted by beetlejuice on May 16, 2008 at 9:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Once again, a tragedy, and from someone who knew them both shocking. When Mr. Bell's son describes his father, it is accurate. I also would like to add that Mr. Bell's wife was just as well regarded by our family, neither one was a person anyone would not consider good people.
There is no excusing someone who commits such an act of sheer violence. Nothing, no matter what financial or any other stress upon them can justify this senseless act.
We always hear that the neighbors will tell you that they never suspected that this could happen to the folks they know, and in this instance i sign up for that response. Never in my life would I believe that this man would ever commit this crime and kill the woman I saw him love, when I saw them a week before this happened they were happy, and they were driving that stupid car, yet it has happened.
His son Jamie is a great young man, perhaps one of the best young men I have met in this town in 23 years, which can stand as some sort of testament to how he was raised.
I am disturbed that the article included the names of the younger children, that is a stigma that no child should have to endure those kids are still in school here and we all know what that can be like. The NDN did not need to include their names in this article for any relevance for accuracy.
#2 Posted by kneejerk on May 16, 2008 at 10:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
IT IS VERY SAD, I'AM A SNOWBIRD,I WAS THERE WHEN THIS HAPPENED, AND FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND FROM MY FRIENDS, SOME WHO KNEW HIM, HE WAS VERY SUCESSFUL IN HIS BUSINESS, BUT HAVING FIVE WIVES TELLS ME HE WAS NOT VERY GOOD IN THAT AREA? BUT THE ONES LEFT BEHIND ARE THE ONES WHO SUFFER, VERY VERY SAD!
#3 Posted by DERMRED1 on May 16, 2008 at 10:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
An unconfirmed rumor.
The stupid car that was sold, was sold so that Mr. Bell could pay his employees their wages for the month of December so that they would have money for Christmas. Do not get me wrong, I am not trying to portray this man as any sort of sympathetic saint. All I want to convey is that there is sometimes so much stupidity over petty arguments for these senseless things to occur.
#4 Posted by kneejerk on May 16, 2008 at 11:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
hi, kneejerk, you are so right, stupidity, its all over the world everyday,senseless, so many people get hurt,its a sad world, its just crazy!!!!!
#5 Posted by DERMRED1 on May 16, 2008 at 11:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
...and the sewer runs through all of naples!
#6 Posted by Tookie_Williams on May 16, 2008 at 11:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Sad story........I abhor it, I don't condone it, but I understand why it happens.
#7 Posted by volochine on May 17, 2008 at 2:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Money...this whole issue was about money. People hate one another because of financial problems; they set up elaborate crimes with money as the prime motive.
There's a reason that herses don't have luggage racks - you can't take it with you!
Nothing in this world has a greater value than that of a human life. To think this murder-suicide was all about money. How sad...
#8 Posted by MarcoRobert on May 17, 2008 at 10:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
We all have more money than time!
Old Buddhist wisdom
#9 Posted by dooley on May 17, 2008 at 11:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Don't call a 67 Corvette stupid!
#10 Posted by techie on May 17, 2008 at 12:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
So they want to sue the kids what a crock! They're fellings get hurt and they automatically want money. If thats the case they got what they deserved. I realize it's tragic but to want money in return for losing a family member is just flat out dumb. Who do they think they are Ronald Goldman golddigger #1.
#11 Posted by derek7172 on May 17, 2008 at 12:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is a really sad story. My sister is friends with one of the kids left behind. I live about a house or two away from them and the thought crosses my mind everytime i drive by. I hope everyone is doing a little better but I cant even imagine.
#12 Posted by Rugbystate9champ on May 17, 2008 at 2:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Now that the investigation is over The kid should sell the house or move in and clean it up. Rebuild the barns and board horses.
#13 Posted by GGunderwater on May 17, 2008 at 7:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I was Rick Bell's first wife, mother of his son, and friend.
I am sorry for all that have lost.
I am disturbed by this article describing this man as standoffish and an evil person. It does not sound like the person I knew for the last 31 years.
Yes we were divorced. And yes we did have our moments. But never was their a moment that I was afaird of him.
The article that Mr Ryan Mills chose to write is appalling. Their was no reason to place childrens names, personal letters written to these children, and graphic details etc..
The information, if anyone would have wanted to read it could have been attainable due to it being a puplic record. I understand Mr. Mills needing to write this story. But feel that a little more tack would have been more appropriate.
These 3 children are trying to move forward and have done some very positive things in the last 6 months.
The Rick Bell I knew will always be the father of my son. A man that was generous, hardworking, and fun loving. A person that I know my son loved.
And I hope that the next article if any to be written about this tragedy is done so with a little more respect for the children, mothers, family and friends that are still here. Trying to move forward.
I had a chance to visit with Sherri and Rick in September 07. I will never forget that. We had such a delightful day. I will treasure that day always.
In retrospect I hope both familys can move forward in peace.
Mr. Mills articles such as this will prevent that from happening.
#14 Posted by mdtamb on May 18, 2008 at 1:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I did not know any of the Bell's, but I agree with mdtamb (the first wife). Why would you EVER post such graphic details of how a man killed his wife in the same article that you mention his kids and their names and ages? (Especially when minor children are involved)
Don't you think the entire family has been through enough? Why are you writing this story SIX MONTHS later? Both families, especially the children, are the ones who will continue to live with this long after we have all forgotten. The children do not need the extra burden of their peers knowing the details of what their father did one night when he obsivously snapped.
Would you have sat down and told the younger children the details on how their stepmother was murdered? If not, then don't print it. At 14 & 16 I am sure they and their friends are old enough to read!
Wow - way to go!
#15 Posted by WOW2008 on May 18, 2008 at 9:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yep thats right, lets forget about the poor woman who had a bag placed and secured over her head by the very man mdtamb will always think of as generous, hardworking and funloving. Um, does murderer fit in there somewhere too? How about mentally ill as well.
I do feel for the kids. Its a tremendous tragedy but when people like mdtamb want to defend a man who may have been good things most of his life, he ended his life as a murderer, and there is a victim of that murder that should never be forgotten.
#16 Posted by firefly16 on May 19, 2008 at 9:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
From the time of this tragedy, the articles and interest in this story, seem to be completely concerned about money - personal finances, business finances, history of finances, assumptions about all of the above.
As a family member, who loved and cherished both Rick and Sherri, the only wish I have is that we could have our loved ones back in our life!! All the money, earthly possessions, and propery can NEVER give us our Rick back, can NEVER heal our loss.
To the residents of Naples, and those who read this publication, this is merely a story, you can choose to walk away and never remember the details of this tragedy......however, our families have lived this tragedy and continue to try to heal.
There are plenty of reality shows on television, spend your time watching and prying into the lives of people willing to open their stories to the public and leave us, who loved Rick and Sherri, to grieve and face every day, of the rest of our lives, with the knowledge that we will never be blessed with another day to spend with Rick and Sherri, another opportunity to tell them we love them.
The lives of us - the children, the parents, the brothers and sisters, the nieces and nephews, the friends of both Rick and Sherri Bell will forever be changed. Rick and Sherri will never be forgotten by anyone whose lives were touched by their love, their kindness, their generous spirits.
We love and miss you both, Rick and Sherri - Rest in Peace!
#17 Posted by BrokenHearted on May 24, 2008 at 3:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The simple truth is this:
Rick Bell murdered an innocent woman who loved and supported him throughout their marriage until she was forced away by Rick's uncontrolable and disrespectful behavior. He then, in the most cowardly fashion, took his own life to avoid any further consequence. That doesnt sound to me like "kind" or "gentle" as some of you are saying.
There are many victims in this story.
The children have to deal with the fact that their father is a murderer.
Sherri's family, her mother and father, brother and sister-in-law have suffered a great tragedy. And lets not forget the biggest victim of all, Sherri.
Some are in denial and some are trying to move on.
One thing I know is true: Murder is Evil and anybody who is a murderer is evil.
#18 Posted by truthteller on June 1, 2008 at 11:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
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