In the winter of 1987, a 51-year-old woman named Phyllis Bell was tragically killed in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her life was cut short on December 5th, when a violent encounter unfolded outside her home.
The incident began when a career criminal, Tyrone Bridges, assaulted Phyllis Bell's husband. Hearing the commotion, Bell went to see what was happening. As Bridges was fleeing the scene, he fatally shot her.
This senseless act was part of a violent crime spree by Bridges, who was also responsible for the murder of another woman just days earlier.
The search for the person responsible for Bell's death was brief. Two days later, on December 7, 1987, Tyrone Bridges was involved in a shootout with police. During the confrontation, Bridges was shot and killed. Subsequent ballistics tests confirmed that the weapon he used was the same one that killed Phyllis Bell. While Bridges was never tried for her murder, the evidence posthumously cleared the case. Another individual, Jimmy Johnson, was identified as an accomplice of Bridges in the other murder.
