Shari Faye Smith and Debra Helmick Murder: Is Larry Bell Dead or Alive?

Shari Faye Smith and Debra Helmick Murder: Is Larry Bell Dead or Alive? This is the question that is generating so much consternation these days. So, let’s take a closer look at this person’s life to find out more about who they are and how they died. The whole of South Carolina was scared when Shari Faye Smith, 17, and Debra Helmick, 9, were kidnapped and murdered two weeks apart in 1985.

Despite the fact that the victims were unrelated and from neighboring counties, the authorities assumed it was the same killer since he called the families and gave explicit instructions on how to recover the remains. ‘Murder Calls: The Devil’s Voice,’ a documentary on Investigation Discovery, delves into the horrific crimes and shows how great police work assisted investigators in apprehending the perpetrator. Let’s take a look at the details of this case and try to figure out where the murderer is now.

Shari Faye Smith and Debra Helmick Murder:

Shari Faye Smith was 17 years old at the time of her murder and resided with her family in Lexington, South Carolina. Shari, regarded as a sweetheart and a gifted student, was enamored with life and looking forward to a great future following high school graduation. Shari was a gifted singer who will be sorely missed. Debra Helmick, a 9-year-old from Richland County, was the victim. She was a lively and happy young lady who was adored by her friends and family. Locals were taken aback by the sudden and horrific manner of her death, and they couldn’t understand why someone would injure such a small child.

Shari Faye Smith went missing on May 31, 1985, while going home from a pool party. She made it out of the party and even drove up to the end of her driveway, but when she walked outside to check her mailbox, she vanished. Her automobile, with the driver’s door open and the engine still running, was later located by her father, but there was no sign of the missing girl. Despite her family’s haste in filing a missing person report, Shari remained missing for three days until she received a mystery phone call informing her that she had been kidnapped and would be receiving a letter in the mail.

The letter was eventually determined to be a farewell letter in which Shari was forced to say her goodbyes to her loved ones by the perpetrator. Shari’s assailant continued to insult her until her family was led to a place in Saluda County, where her body was located. It was then determined that the perpetrator suffocated Shari by wrapping duct tape around her face.

Debra May Helmick, 9, was having fun with her brothers outside her Richland County, South Carolina, home on June 14, 1985, when a car drew up, and the driver abducted her in broad daylight. Authorities tried everything they could to track down Debra’s kidnapper and restore her to her family securely, but they were unable. Debra’s family started getting harassing phone calls, too, until one of them supplied precise directions on how to recover her body.

Shari Faye Smith and Debra Helmick Murder: Who Killed Shari Faye Smith and Debra Helmick?

Despite the fact that Shari Smith and Debra Helmick were unrelated, their murders followed a similar pattern, leading officials to believe that they were both committed by the same person. The initial investigation, however, took a long time because the kidnapper was thorough in hiding his tracks and appeared to have methodically planned every action. To avoid being traced, the kidnapper disguised his voice and used payphones even when calling the victims’ families.

As the inquiry developed, the sheet of paper on which the killer forced Shari Smith to write a farewell letter gave officials a remarkable revelation. Officers were desperate for leads, so they examined the paper for any residual indentations, finding a slew of missing phone numbers. It took detectives a long time to put the digits together into a viable phone number, but one of the numbers was eventually tracked to an elderly couple who claimed it belonged to their son.

The cops chose to explain the killer’s profile that the FBI had established because none of them appeared to be capable of murder. The elderly couple immediately recognized the description and referred investigators to Larry Bell, an electrician who used to house sit for them when they were out of town. The cops promptly got a search order for Larry’s home, where they uncovered blonde hair strands that were identical to Shari’s on a microscopic level. As a result, the cops captured Larry and charged him with murder, certain that he was responsible for the crimes.

Is Larry Bell Dead or Alive?

According to the show, Larry Bell sought to imitate insanity during his trial for the murder of Shari Faye Smith. A jury convicted him guilty of kidnapping and first-degree murder in 1986, and he was condemned to death. The following year, Larry was tried for the murder of Debra Helmick, and he was found guilty for the second time of first-degree murder and kidnapping. According to the episode, Larry was also a suspect in the disappearances of Sandee Cornett and Denise Porch, though he was never charged. When offered the choice between a deadly injection and the electric chair, Larry chose the latter, and on October 4, 1996, he was electrocuted to death at the age of 46.

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