Larry Gene Bell: Kidnappings and Murders in the Carolinas
Overview
Larry Gene Bell was an American kidnapper and serial killer whose crimes terrorized communities in South Carolina during the spring and summer of 1985. Bell was convicted of kidnapping and murdering 17-year-old Sharon Faye "Shari" Smith and 9-year-old Debra May Helmick. Decades later, investigators in North Carolina formally concluded that Bell had also kidnapped and murdered 26-year-old Sandee Elaine Cornett, who disappeared from Charlotte in 1984. Bell has additionally been investigated as a possible suspect in the unresolved 1975 disappearance of Denise Newsom Porch.
Bell's crimes were particularly disturbing because he did not simply attempt to conceal what he had done. After abducting Shari Smith, he repeatedly telephoned her family, revealing information known only to the killer and deliberately prolonging the family's uncertainty. He later used the same family as a means of directing authorities to another victim, Debra Helmick. Those telephone calls, together with a handwritten document Bell forced Shari to prepare, ultimately contributed to the evidence that identified him.
Earlier Violence
Bell's documented violence toward women began before the murders for which he became notorious. Evidence presented during later court proceedings showed that in 1975 he attempted to abduct a young woman at gunpoint. Bell subsequently pleaded guilty in 1976 to assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. The incident became important during the sentencing phase of one of his murder trials because prosecutors argued that it demonstrated a pattern of predatory behavior toward women.
The Abduction of Shari Smith
On Friday, May 31, 1985, 17-year-old Shari Smith was outside her family's home in Lexington County, South Carolina. At approximately 3:15 p.m., she stopped near the mailbox at the end of the driveway. Bell abducted her from that location. Her unattended vehicle was discovered still running, immediately signaling to her family that something was seriously wrong.
Shari was only days away from graduating from high school. Her disappearance triggered an extensive search involving local authorities, state investigators and the FBI. On June 3, while Shari remained missing, her family received the first of a series of calls from the man responsible for taking her. The caller possessed information that convinced investigators he was either the kidnapper or someone intimately familiar with the crime.
During the first calls, Bell informed the family that they would receive a letter from Shari. The document, written in Shari's handwriting and commonly described as her "Last Will and Testament," had been prepared while she was being held captive. Its existence provided investigators with evidence that she had still been alive for at least part of her captivity and that her abductor had forced her to contemplate her own death.
The Murder of Shari Smith
Bell continued calling the Smith family and eventually provided precise directions to the location where he had left Shari's body. On June 5, 1985, investigators followed those directions and recovered her remains in Saluda County, South Carolina.
The exact time of Shari's death could not be conclusively established. Evidence indicates that she was killed sometime after her May 31 abduction and before the telephone calls that led authorities to her body. Her death is frequently estimated as occurring during the night of May 31 or around June 1, 1985, but the court record does not establish a precise date and time.
Because of the condition of Shari's remains, the pathologist was unable to establish a definitive cause of death or medically determine whether she had been sexually assaulted. Bell, however, described the crime during recorded conversations with Shari's family. He claimed that he had sexually assaulted her, restrained her and caused her death by wrapping duct tape around her head and suffocating her. The pathologist considered suffocation a possibility, while also recognizing that dehydration associated with a medical condition Shari suffered from could have contributed to her death.
The Abduction of Debra May Helmick
Bell remained free after Shari's body was recovered. On June 14, 1985, approximately two weeks after Shari's abduction, he struck again. Nine-year-old Debra May Helmick was outside near her family's residence in Richland County, South Carolina, when Bell approached the children who were playing there.
A witness saw Bell seize Debra around the waist and carry her toward his automobile as she screamed, kicked and struggled. Bell forced her into the vehicle and drove away. The witness attempted to intervene and was able to observe details of Bell's automobile and its South Carolina license plate before Bell escaped.
Debra was murdered sometime after her June 14 abduction. As with Shari, the available court record does not establish an exact time of death. Her remains were not located until June 22, 1985, eight days after she disappeared.
Bell Directs Police to Debra
In an especially disturbing continuation of the Smith case, Bell again contacted Shari Smith's family. Rather than contacting the Helmick family directly, he used one of his final calls to the Smith residence to provide detailed directions to Debra's body. Investigators followed those directions to a rural location in the Gilbert area of Lexington County.
Debra's remains were badly decomposed by the time they were recovered. Investigators found adhesive material in her hair that a South Carolina Law Enforcement Division analyst determined was consistent with the adhesive used on duct tape. Prosecutors argued that this supported the conclusion that Debra had been killed in a manner similar to Shari. Because of decomposition, investigators could not medically determine whether Debra had been sexually assaulted.
Confirmed and Attributed Victims
- Sandee Elaine Cornett, 26 - Last known alive on November 18, 1984, in Charlotte, North Carolina, and reported missing on November 19 from the Eaglewind Drive area. Her remains have never been recovered, so an exact date of death cannot be established. Bell became a suspect during the original investigation. Following a comprehensive cold-case review, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced on February 24, 2025, that investigators had determined Bell kidnapped and murdered Cornett and that he would have been charged had he still been alive. Her case was cleared based on the death of the offender.
- Sharon Faye "Shari" Smith, 17 - Abducted May 31, 1985, from the driveway of her family's home in Lexington County, South Carolina. She was murdered after her abduction, probably between May 31 and June 1, although the precise date of death was not conclusively established. Her body was recovered on June 5, 1985, in Saluda County after Bell provided directions to her family. Bell was convicted of her kidnapping and murder.
- Debra May Helmick, 9 - Abducted June 14, 1985, near her family's residence in Richland County, South Carolina. She was murdered following the abduction, but the precise date of death could not be conclusively established because her body was not recovered until June 22, 1985. Bell provided directions that led authorities to her remains in Lexington County. He was convicted of her kidnapping and murder.
Sandee Elaine Cornett
Sandee Elaine Cornett disappeared from Charlotte, North Carolina, months before Bell's South Carolina murder spree became public. Cornett was 26 years old when she vanished. On November 19, 1984, a neighbor contacted police after Cornett failed to report for work. Investigators determined that she had last been seen the previous evening.
Bell emerged as a suspect several months into the investigation. He was questioned by investigators from multiple agencies but was never charged while he was alive. Cornett's remains were never discovered, leaving investigators without the physical evidence normally associated with a homicide prosecution.
The case remained unresolved for four decades. In 2025, detectives with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Cold Case Unit conducted a comprehensive review of the evidence and consulted with the Mecklenburg County District Attorney's Office. On February 24, 2025, police publicly announced that investigators had determined Bell kidnapped and murdered Cornett. Authorities stated that Bell would have been charged if he were still alive. Because Bell had been executed in 1996, the case was administratively cleared as a death-of-offender case.
A Possible Additional Victim: Denise Newsom Porch
Bell has also been investigated as a possible suspect in the disappearance of 21-year-old Denise Newsom Porch. Porch disappeared from Charlotte, North Carolina, on July 31, 1975. She was the manager of the Yorktown Apartments on Tyvola Road and was last known to be showing an apartment to a prospective tenant at approximately 3:11 p.m.
Porch left behind her automobile, purse, identification and other personal belongings. Her family eventually had her declared legally dead in 1982, but her body has never been recovered and her actual date of death remains unknown. Bell later attracted investigators' attention because he had lived only a short distance from the apartment complex at the time and had a documented history of attempting to abduct a woman during the same general period.
Despite the suspicions surrounding Bell, investigators never established sufficient evidence to charge him with Porch's disappearance. He denied responsibility. Porch therefore should not be identified as a confirmed Bell victim; she remains a possible or suspected victim associated with the investigation.
The Evidence That Led to Bell
One of the most important pieces of evidence came from the letter Bell forced Shari Smith to write. Investigators examined the paper and discovered an impression left by writing that had been placed on a sheet above it. By developing the indentation, investigators recovered a telephone number. The number ultimately helped lead authorities to a residence where Bell had been housesitting during the period of the crimes.
The recorded telephone calls provided another major part of the prosecution's case. Bell repeatedly revealed details of Shari's kidnapping and death that were not publicly known. Several witnesses identified Bell as the person making the calls. His directions accurately led investigators first to Shari's remains and later to Debra's remains, creating an extraordinary evidentiary connection between Bell and both crimes.
Authorities also had eyewitness evidence. A witness placed Bell near the Smith residence around the time of Shari's abduction. In Debra's case, a neighbor actually witnessed the kidnapping and saw Bell's vehicle. When Bell was eventually arrested, investigators found additional evidence in his automobile and at residences connected to him. A second license plate discovered in the trunk of his vehicle also became significant when investigators compared it with the witness information from Debra's abduction.
Arrest
Police arrested Larry Gene Bell on June 27, 1985. The arrest came less than a month after Shari Smith was abducted and less than two weeks after Debra Helmick disappeared. Investigators had combined the telephone evidence, information developed from Shari's handwritten document, witness accounts, an anonymous tip and physical evidence associated with locations Bell had access to.
The case against Bell was strengthened by the unusual degree to which he had inserted himself into the investigation. His repeated calls, intended to frighten and torment Shari's family, also created recordings in which he supplied details about the crimes. His decision to direct the Smith family and law enforcement to the bodies created further evidence that the same individual was responsible for both kidnappings and murders.
Trials and Death Sentences
Bell was prosecuted separately for the murders of Shari Smith and Debra Helmick. He was convicted of murder and kidnapping in Shari's case during a 1986 trial and was sentenced to death. Because Shari's body had been recovered in Saluda County, Bell was originally indicted there, although the trial was transferred to Berkeley County because of extensive publicity surrounding the case.
In March 1987, Bell was tried for the kidnapping and murder of Debra Helmick. Prosecutors were permitted to introduce portions of the recorded telephone conversations involving the Smith case because the circumstances of the two crimes demonstrated a common plan. The South Carolina Supreme Court later noted significant similarities: both victims were young girls, both were abducted during daylight hours near their homes, and Bell provided detailed directions to both bodies through telephone calls to the Smith family. Bell was convicted and received another death sentence.
Appeals and Execution
Bell pursued years of appeals in state and federal courts. His convictions and death sentences ultimately remained in effect. On October 3, 1996, the United States Supreme Court denied a final effort to halt his execution.
Larry Gene Bell was executed in South Carolina's electric chair on October 4, 1996. He had spent approximately a decade on death row following his convictions for the murders of Shari Smith and Debra Helmick. At the time of his execution, investigators continued to suspect that he had committed additional crimes. The 2025 determination in Sandee Cornett's case eventually provided official law-enforcement attribution for a third murder nearly three decades after Bell's death.
Legacy of the Investigation
The investigation of Larry Gene Bell became notable for the way apparently insignificant physical evidence helped identify a killer. An impression of a telephone number on a piece of paper, recorded telephone conversations, eyewitness observations and careful comparison of the two South Carolina kidnappings combined to build the cases against him.
The crimes also demonstrate why Bell's known victim count requires careful qualification. He was convicted in court of murdering Shari Smith and Debra Helmick. Sandee Cornett was never the subject of a Bell prosecution, but Charlotte-Mecklenburg police formally identified Bell as her killer in 2025 after reviewing decades of evidence. Denise Newsom Porch remains a separate unresolved disappearance in which Bell has been considered a possible suspect but was never charged or officially established as her killer.
For the families involved, Bell's arrest and convictions ended the immediate threat but could not answer every question. Shari and Debra's murders were prosecuted and resulted in death sentences, while Sandee Cornett's remains have never been located. Denise Porch remains missing. The continuing investigation of these older cases illustrates how a serial offender's full history may remain incomplete long after his convictions and even after his death.
