Larry Gene Bell
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Larry Gene Bell was a double murderer in Lexington County, South Carolina, who was electrocuted on October 4, 1996 for the murders of Sheri Fay Smith and Debra May Helmick. Bell was especially infamous because he forced his victims to write a "Last Will and Testament" before they were murdered, and taunted their parents by telephone.
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[edit] Victims
Sheri Faye Smith, the younger sister of 1986 Miss South Carolina Dawn Smith Jordan, was kidnapped at gunpoint from the end of her driveway on Platt Springs Road on May 31, 1985 after stopping to check the mail just two days before her graduation from Lexington High School. Her car was found running with the door open. Her body was later found in Saluda County, South Carolina. Nine year-old Debra May Helmick was kidnapped near Old Percival Road in Richland County, South Carolina.
[edit] Arrest and Trial
A day after her funeral, Larry Gene Bell was arrested. Throughout the largest manhunt in South Carolina history, Bell made eight telephone calls to the Smith family, often speaking with Dawn. Bell eventually gave exact directions to the locations of both of the bodies. During his trial, Bell pretended to be insane, by exhibiting strange behavior with frequent outbursts[citation needed].
[edit] Execution
Bell claimed he was Jesus Christ even to his death. Bell chose to die by the electric chair instead of lethal injection. Bell was also a suspect in the 1984 diappearance of Sandee Elaine Cornett from Charlotte, North Carolina. Cornett was a girlfriend of one of Bell's coworkers. Bell is so far the last prisoner in South Carolina executed by electrocution.
[edit] TV movie
The CBS television movie Nightmare in Columbia County portrayed the events of the Sheri Smith murder.
