Serial killer, Larry Gene Bell, believed he was Jesus Christ, and forced his victims to pen a “Last Will and Testament” before they died. Bell was born on October 30, 1949, in Ralph, Alabama, and had three sisters and one brother.
The family frequently moved before Bell arrived in Columbia, South Carolina, to attend Eau Claire High School from 1965 to 1967. The Bell family again moved to Mississippi, where he graduated from high school and trained as an electrician, before returning to Columbia. Soon, he married and fathered one son, and would later join the United States Marines in 1970, but suffered a knee injury when he accidentally shot himself while cleaning his weapon.
The following year, Bell worked as a correctional officer in Columbia for a month, but would relocate to Rock Hill shortly afterwards. In 1976, the couple divorced, and Larry Gene Bell would eventually snap, leading authorities on one of the largest manhunts in South Carolina history.
Bell was an American serial killer who abducted, raped, and murdered at least three women in the Carolinas during the mid-1980s.
On November 18, 1984, Sandee Elaine Cornett, aged 26, was last seen at her home around 6:30 p.m. in Charlotte, North Carolina. The next day, Cornett failed to show for work and was reported missing by her neighbor. Bell is considered the main suspect in the case, since he worked with her previous boyfriend at Charlotte Douglas Airport and had attended a party at her home.
In 2025, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department released a statement formally identifying Bell as Cornett’s killer, despite her remains having never been found.
Bell would strike again on May 31, 1985, when 17-year-old Shari Faye Smith was kidnapped at gunpoint from her Lexington, South Carolina, driveway on Platt Springs Road. Her car was found abandoned near the mailbox. Bell would repeatedly call the Smith family from a payphone over the coming days to tell them that Smith was OK and to taunt the family. Her body was found in Saluda County after Bell again phoned the family to tell them her whereabouts. Smith was forced to write a “Last Will and Testament” before her death.
On June 14, 9-year-old Debra May Helmick was kidnapped near Old Percival Road in Richland County. Bell called the Smith family to tell them where he had left her body.
Bell led authorities on one of the largest manhunts in South Carolina history, making several calls to the Smith family. During one, Bell eventually gave directions to the bodies.
On June 27, 1985, Bell was finally arrested and died in the electric chair on October 4, 1996. He is suspected in other cases.
Written By: John G. Clark Jr