In a tragic turn of events that shattered a family, six-year-old King Bell II was killed on August 21, 1981, in Indianapolis, Indiana. The young boy was a victim of a horrific act perpetrated by his own father, King Edward Bell, who was 33 years old at the time. The devastating incident also claimed the lives of King Bell II's three siblings: Kingston, age 1, Berkina, age 2, and Bertina, age 4, as well as his mother, Bertha Bell, and his maternal grandmother, Mary Alice Kirby.
The grim
discovery was made after police responded to a report of gunshots. They first found the bodies of Bertha Bell and her mother. Subsequently, officers went to the family home and found the four children deceased in the basement, covered with a blanket. On a basement wall, the words 'Jesus take them all to heaven' had been written in chalk. The motive for the killings was believed to be related to the fact that his wife had left him about two months prior.
King Edward Bell was arrested at the scene of the crime with a shotgun still in his hands. As he was being apprehended, he reportedly yelled, 'Kill me! Kill me!'. He was charged with six counts of murder. Initially, Bell pleaded not guilty, but later changed his plea to guilty but mentally ill. He was sentenced to 160 years in prison for the murders of his family.
The case, which was described as the worst mass murder in Indianapolis at the time, came to a final close when King Edward Bell died by suicide in his prison cell in July 1987. His death brought an end to a painful chapter in the city's history, leaving behind a legacy of immense loss and a community in mourning.
