Murder of Dora Hope 1939

 In the book, Death Scenes, a black and white photo is titled "John R. Hope paid $1 for a gun. He confessed to slaying his wife."

Mary Rickard 1942

From the book - "Mary E. Rickard killed by her husband. He was drunk in the room for five days with the body. "Note" maggots. "Exonerated". 221 E 12th St Rm 12 LA, Cal 6/27/42"

 

Mrs Rosary Shelfo 1943

 March 8, 1943 - Los Angeles, CA. 

Mrs. Rosary Shelfo, 22, was booked on suspicion of  murder and held in the Lincoln heights jail, after the police reported she slashed off the head of her 2 week old baby, Ross, with a butcher knife. Detective AN Young said he found the decapitated infant on the kitchen bread board, wrapped in a pink blanket. In the sink was a butcher knife with a nine inch blade, and standing on the drainboard was a nursing bottle from which the child had apparently had just been fed. He reported that he found Mrs. Shelfo hysterical when he reached the house, and when he started questioning her, she got icily calm and remained silent and tearless about the death of her baby. He was unable to get a statement from her after she refused to talk. 

Lowell Milton Bell - crimes

Lowell Milton Bell was born on March 9, 1915 in Spokane, Washington to Lloyd Milton Bell and Mable Lola Miller Bell (also known as Mabel Allison Roeh, died 9/7/1990,Polk County, Wisconsin)

Sister Irene Phoebe Bell, born 18 Oct 1911 in Spokane- married Henry Huber Knoblock in 1931.

In 1919, his mother Mabel Bell filed suit for divorce against Lloyd Bell, charging non-support. She charged that she had been compelled to work to support their two children and her being away from home had caused domestic discord. She asked the custody of the children, Irene Phoebe and Lowell, and $25 a month for their support. Mabel and Lloyd married in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho on Sept 2, 1911 and separated in 1918. A judge ruled that the children were to be left in the care of another family, the expenses being paid by their father. Both mother and father had permission to visit them often and were allowed to take them out occasionally. Mrs. Bell testified that her husband had never contributed materially to the support of the family. 

• -Father not around
• -Single mother
• -Father did not support financially - Mother had to work
• -Family was poor
• In 1919 - Lowell and sister lived with another family.

Mabel then married John H. Roeh on Sept 27, 1928 in Sandpoint. They separated on Jan 5, 1929, the divorce complaint alleged cruelty. She left him in 1931, ran away to California with a taxi driver.  The divorce was granted in 1933, he was her 4th husband (he thought he was the third.)

Lowell was a Caucasian who normally had a light complexion, but would turn a medium shade when tanned. His face featured a square jaw, and his nose turned to the left, I surmise it was broken at some point in life. He had light brown hair and grey eyes, some reports said he had green. He stood 5 foot 9 and a half inches tall. He had a slender build and his weight fluctuated from 137 to a medium build of 157 over a short period of time. He had a large burn scar on his right breast and had at least one tattoo, a dagger piercing flesh on the outer part of his right forearm.

He used various aliases to avoid capture. Known aliases included: Robert G. Brell, Robert Brell. Jack Williams, Billy Roeh, Billie Roeh.

Lowell Milton Bell married Reba Ruth Thomas about 1947. They had a son, Lowell M. Bell, Jr in 1948, the son died in 1994. Reba married her first husband Clinton George Robertson (he died in 1969) in 1935. Reba died in 1988.