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.
- Claimed Social Security Dec 21, 1960.
- Listed as Lowell M. Bell on social security card on January 19, 1978.
- Lowell M. Bell, Sr. on social security card on April 25, 1994.
- Death: Dec 27, 1995 in San Diego, CA.
While a nine year old living in Spokane, Washington, he resided in the St. Helens apartments and in a store on West Hartson Avenue, near the municipal tourist camp. He was in frequent trouble with juvenile authorities, some of his first crimes were rifling through mail boxes at the St Helens apartments where was living at the time. In on envelope, he found a $10 bill which he used to purchase candy. In juvenile court, he was placed on parole. In 1928, his mother brought him into court and said he was incorrigible. He was put under probation. In 1928, he was brought in for the theft of $3 from the purse of the landlady in the apartment he was staying. Later that same year, he was sent to the Chehalis Washington State Boys Training School for an indefinite term for the theft of knives and other articles from a grocery in Spokane, according to records. He served 13 months for "incorrigibility". A child is considered incorrigible when the child repeatedly or habitually disobeys the direction of the child's lawful parents, guardians, or legal custodians.
According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, when stealing in older children is persistent, it may indicate behavioral or emotional developmental problems. This can be caused by an unstable home life or genetic factors that can trigger such problems. Children who have consistent issues with stealing often have difficulty trusting others, and may blame the behavior on other people. When theft is repetitive or is done without any remorse, guilt, or understanding of the impact, it can be a sign of other problems. These can include family trouble, mental health issues, or delinquency. Children who steal often have trouble making and keeping friends, have poor relationships with adults, or have issues with trust.Records in Spokane did not show any subsequent arrests or whether the boy was returned to Spokane or went directly to California where his real father lived.
In San Francisco on July 29, 1930, perhaps forced or urged by his father to help keep him out of trouble, he enlisted in the United States Navy. He later told sheriff's officers that he served only eight months in the Navy, and was dishonorably discharged on April 3, 1931 because he stole $30 and a watch from an officer. This fact was confirmed by San Diego Naval Patrol authorities who said Bell was also a deserter from the Navy. He was given a bad conduct discharge after a conviction early in 1931 on charges of theft, breaking arrest and being absent without leave for nine days. Bell stated that after he was discharged, loitered about in San Diego. Bell had a relative named Roeh living on Barton Avenue.
On December 15, 1930, he was in jail in San Diego for grand theft, arrested for stealing an automobile.
On April 24, 1931, Mrs. WB "Diamond Dolly" Bibbens was found strangled to death and her apartment burglarized. I believe Lowell was the perpetrator.
On May 21, 1931, A suspect, describing himself as Lowell Bell, 20, was quoted by Police Captain Carmen of the Hollywood division as having confessed to a burglary May 16 at 5165 Fountain Avenue. Bell denied knowledge of other burglaries committed recently in Hollywood, but Carmen announced that they were all marked by a similarity in method which caused him to believe Bell was responsible for them all. According to FM Russell, a manager of a Wilshire district apartment house, on May 20th, he caught Bell slipping through a hall in the apartment house. After grappling with the prowler, police were summoned and Bell was taken to the city jail.
In October of 1931, Bell, now 19 years old was being held as a Hollywood burglary suspect at the Los Angeles county jail. A cellmate, Jack Williams, an asserted robber, heard from Bell that he knew about Louise Teuber, who was killed on April 19, 1931 in San Diego. Her murderer was never caught. He boasted that he and three other persons killed Louise. On a roll, he also bragged to about 30 burglaries in Los Angeles, before he was caught and arrested there. Armed with incriminating knowledge, the fellow inmate decided to snitch on Bell. He told officers that the "kid" had been "bragging about what he knew about her".
As a result, Bell's mail was watched and officers learned he was friendly with Mrs. Lillian Pfeiffer, who lived in Long Beach. Mrs. Pfeiffer said that during drunken moments the boy, she said talked freely of knowing of the Teuber girl. While incarcerated in May for burglary, Bell first told the story about knowing something about Louise Teuber to fellow inmate and burglar, Bernard Pfeiffer. Pfeiffer, who had introduced Bell to his wife Lillian when she visited the jail, learned that the ex-sailor had attempted to begin a "platonic correspondence" with Mrs. Pfeiffer and was enraged. Pfeiffer's registration card from San Quentin is shown below, with colored photo added by me.
For two days, Deputy Sheriffs Wayne Penprase and George Contreras questioned Bell but he refused any information, saying with a sneer, "I won't tell you nothing."
Uneasily pacing in his jail cell, shaking and sobbing hysterically, the conscious-stricken Bell asked to make a confession. he sent a note to Captain Bright and Chief Deputy Sheriff Frank Dewar, asking to see him saying "I have something to tell you about the San Diego murder case." Afterwards, young Bell said repeatedly, "I did it - I did it," as he laid his head upon the desk and sobbed.
"Now Lowell, you sent for me and I imagine you want to tell me everything. Tell me it all now," said Bright. "I ain't going to tell you no more," Bell cried in defiance, tears in his eyes. It wasn't long before he told of his meeting the slain girl and of the events leading to her death. Bell first said that he killed Louise with the assistance of two men and a woman for "revenge."
He explained that "accusing eyes" followed him and caused him to summon authorities and confess to the crime. He went on saying "I strangled Louise Teuber because she objected to my love making, then I hanged her to a tree. I'm just telling you this because her eyes keep following me around my cell." Captain William J. Bright, head of the homicide squad, said that Bell had screamed "Those eyes! Just those eyes. Eyes that looked at me all the time. Those officers. They all seem to know. I couldn't stand those eyes looking at me any longer. Every one seemed to be looking at me and saying 'There goes that murderer.'" This story as first told to the police certainly appeared to contain some discrepancies, but since he was drunk and hysterical while telling it, they weren't sure. They continued to press him for details and he changed his story.
Later Bright had questioned Bell again. With his head lying in his hands on a desk, Bell declared "Nobody helped me; I was alone on the job. I tried to make love to her and she fought me. That's why I did it. First I choked her with my hands" Sobbing, he continued telling officers what happened, detailing how he killed the girl in a drunken frenzy, that he circled the girl's throat with his fingers, squeezed until she was unconscious and "then I took off my coat and pulled it tight around her neck." He finished his gruesome work by twisting the sleeve of his coat around her neck. "I choked her with my coat sleeve because she wouldn't fall for me. Then I took her out there and hanged her so it would look like she hanged herself. I don't remember tying a rope around her neck and hanging her from a tree. I was full of alcohol, raw alky. I was drinking straight alcohol and can't remember all of it."
In the confession transcript, Bright asked how Bell killed Miss Teuber:
- Bell - I choked her.
- Bright - What did you choke her with?
- Bell - I strangled her with the sleeve of my coat.
- Bright - Where is that coat?
- Bell - I burned it down in back of the Shell Auto Court in San Diego.
- Bright - Have you ever told any one else that you killed the girl?
- Bell - I told one guy in the tank (Los Angeles Jail) about it.
- Bright - Did she have her clothes on or off when you killed her?
- Bell - I don't know.
- Bright - Where were you on the road when you killed the girl?
- Bell - I pulled the car off on the side of the road near National City. I was making love to her and she objected.
- Bright - How long after you killed her did you hang her up on Black Mountain?
- Bell - I don't know. I drove around for a long time after I killed her with the body in the car with me.
- bright - Did you kill this girl alone or did somebody help you?
- Bell - I killed her all by myself.
- Bright - Did anyone help you hang the body up to the tree?
- Bell - No one. I did it alone.
- Bright - Had you been drinking?
- Bell - yes, I had been drinking some alcohol.
- Bright - Where did you get the blanket?
- Bell - I don't know.
- Bright - How long was she dead before you hung her to the tree.
- Bell - I don't know.
- Bright - What did you do that night?
- Bell - I stayed at the Shell Auto Court with Ray Lewis.
- Bright - Where did you steal the car that you killed the girl in?
- Bell - I stole it at 26th and Logan Streets, San Diego.
- Bright - Where did you meet the girl?
- Bell - I met her at Fifth and Broadway. She was alone and walking. I had never met her before. I said "Hello, kid; how would you like to go for a feed? And she said "OK kiddo", and got in the car. We drove around the block and I got some sandwiches. We then drove through Balboa Park that evening. We both got out and looked around and walked around in the park.
- "I left her there and we made a date to meet later that night. I met her at the same corner. Fifth and Broadway, by the jewelry store at 8pm. I was bareheaded. I had been drinking straight alcohol because it was not very strong alcohol. I don't remember drinking any of it. I offered her a drink but she wouldn't take it. We got into an argument when I started to pet her. I don't remember anything about taking her clothes off, and I won't tell you anymore. I've told you too much already.
Bright then asked Bell "Did you kill Virginia Brooks?" Bell broke out sobbing and almost screamed "NO!"
Bell admitted, Bright said, that he was in San Diego when the Brooks girl was slain, and said he had read all about it in the newspapers. Bell denied to Captain Bright that he had told any details of the murder to his asserted "sweetie" Lillian Pfieffer, 20, of 930 American Avenue, Long Beach, to whom Bell had written a number of endearing letters while he was in jail. Bright questioned the girl for six hours and then released her, completely exonerated, declaring he was confident she knew nothing of the Teuber murder.
Authorities said that Bell, a native of Idaho, had been living with friends in San Diego, but regarded Spokane as his home. Captain Bright said he believed Bell's confession was the truth, although he said it would be fully investigated. Detectives said they believed Bell was of the transient type and was "bumming" his way around. Bell told them that he was born in Spokane on March 9, 1911 and said his mother was Helen Roeh, of Spokane. He revealed under questioning that he is the son of Mr. and Mrs. LM Bell, and gave their address as 3405 Dayton Avenue. He disclosed that during his local incarceration he had won the love of the wife of a fellow prisoner, Bernard Pfeiffer, who was in San Quentin, serving a term of seven years to life for his part in the robbery of the box office of Warner Brother Whittier Theatre and grand theft of an automobile on March 11, 1931. Bell mentioned he had hoaxed his mother with the story that the child of the 20-year old wife was his.
Bell's mother, Helen Roeh, collapsed when she was notified by the police that her son had confessed while in the Los Angeles County Jail. "Lowell is deathly afraid of some one and wants to be sent to San Quentin prison for life to be safe," she claimed. When asked if she thought he actually committed the murder, she said "oh, he didn't do it. Where in the world am I going to get the money though to prove he didn't?, she sobbed. Providing some defense for her boy, she explained that "he never had a chance. His father and I separated and he did not seem to like the boy. He has been in trouble but simply won't say anything about who the men were that led him into it. He is deathly afraid of some one. When he was sentenced for burglary recently, he told me that I was safe so long as he didn't talk. Even then, he begged to be sent to San Quentin for life. I don't know who he's afraid of but I know he couldn't have killed the girl. He isn't that kind of boy. Lillian, his sweetheart, told me he had been with her in Long Beach all through April."
After three days of questioning, Bell told officers that following his discharge from the Navy for theft, he loitered about San Diego and came to Los Angeles shortly before being arrested on May 20 for burglarizing a Hollywood apartment. Two pistols were in his possession after almost killing a Filipino in a fight, his arrest report revealed. He was sentenced by Judge Aggeler in September to Preston Reformatory until he was 21 years of age and was in jail pending removal to the reformatory when he made his boast of a killing.
On the day of the murder, April 16, he stole a car. He explained that "I was driving along a downtown street in San Diego,in an automobile I had stolen, when I saw a girl. I stopped and asked her where she was going. That was in the afternoon. I said "Hello Billie, where are you going? she said "I'll go anywhere you say, boy friend," and got in the car. We drove around that afternoon and I took her back to the store where she worked." The girl said she had to go back to work for a short time and made a date with her for 8pm that evening . He picked her up and drove her toward Tijuana looking for a "high time". "That night I met her at 8 o'clock, and we drove through Balboa Park." He had been drinking alcohol and on the way, he tried to attack her and she resisted. "I was all filled with alky, straight alky and I don't remember much. I tried to make love to her and she wouldn't stand for that. We argued. I took off my coat and pulled it tight around her neck. I choked her with the sleeve of my coat - And that's all I remember - I was full of alky and plenty mad." He said he was frightened and panicked, and drove to Black Mountain Canyon, where he hung her body from a tree. Bell said he failed to remember whether he had removed her clothing. "I don't remember anything after that, I guess I just did it. I don't remember taking off her clothing or anything about the rope found around her neck. I don't remember hanging her to the tree, or disrobing her. I wouldn't be telling this but her eyes have been following me around my cell."
He told two different stories during the day and by Thursday evening. Apparently fearful of the excitement and resulting activity among deputy sheriffs, Bell was a far different youth later in the afternoon when he voiced a desire to cease telling the weird story of a murder, the prominent angles of which he "couldn't remember." Scared with the knowledge that he could face the death penalty for her murder, he repudiated both confessions, saying that what he told deputy sheriffs earlier as "The Bunk.
"Aw, go on," he told officers a short time after he described riding about in San Diego streets with the girl whom he claims he later killed. "it's just a lot of bull and I don't want to talk about it anymore."
"Well, did you or did you not commit that murder," Deputy Sheriff George Contreras asked the cringing prisoner. "I can tell you it's just a lot of bull, that's all and I don't want to talk anymore," Bell replied. Bright, late that afternoon, was still convinced Bell at least "knows something" about the murder of the girl. "He may be telling the truth or lying when he characterized the story as 'just a lot of bull', Captain Bright said, "but he certainly knows the streets of San Diego and he certainly knows a lot about stolen automobiles. We intend to take him to San Diego and let him lead us on the route he claims to have ridden with the Teuber girl."
The police were confused by some of his "facts" and his recanted "stories", he was unable to recall the date, day or time of the murder. He was not certain whether it was day or night when he stole the car and was unable to describe the Teuber girl. "I picked her up and took her for a ride on the same day," he said. "Later I met her at Fifth and Broadway, San Diego, and we went to Balboa Park first. Then we drove some more and the quarrel started."
Bell seemed ignorant of the fact that the young victim was struck on the head by her attacker before she was pulled to a half-standing position with a rope thrown over a limb of an oak tree. Neither could he remember disrobing the girl.
They decided to keep grilling him while he was in the car on the way to San Diego. It was then that he changed his story again. Prosecuting officials in San Diego said that the story was too good to be dismissed with a simple repudiation. They then directed their attention to several angles of the case.
To help explain his strange behavior, he claimed he had merely read about the Teuber murder and then decided to make up both stories for "publicity to get on the front page of newspapers so when I got out of the state reformatory, I could join a big Chicago gang and become a big shot gangster some day." He had been arrested for burglary and was awaiting transportation to the Preston reformatory to serve a five year sentence for a grand theft burglary conviction.
He said he first told a prisoner in the county jail that he killed her "because I wanted him to think I was tough." He further explained that "another guy and I were talking in Los Angeles county jail. He said he was tough and had robbed a bank. I knew he was just a piker, so I decided to tell a better one. I was in San Diego when the Teuber girl was killed and had read all about it. I like crime news. I told him I killed her. He told Captain William Bright of the sheriff's office and Bright called me in and questioned me. I decided to tell him also that I killed the girl, but I didn't know he was going to take it so seriously. Honest, I never saw the girl. I read about the case and made up that story I told Captain Bright. I didn't kill her and never killed anybody. I only wanted to get on the front page by making that confession. I thought it would be me a lot of publicity and I wanted to be a gangster, because they make big money running booze. I never will go straight. The publicity, might help me make a connection sometime."
He then attempted to give an alibi saying "I was at a party in Cabin No. 24 in the Shell Auto Court at Shelltown the night Louise Teuber was killed." "All I know about the murder is what I read in the newspapers," the obviously frightened youth declared. He said he attended the party with a Mr and Mrs. Ray Lewis and two sailors named Dryden and Ward, who were attached to the USS Hart which was being decommissioned at Mare Island "We stayed there until about 3am."
In Los Angeles, Bell was convicted of two burglaries and sentenced to a reformatory until he became 21 years old.
Despite the youngster's vehement denial of his confession, Sheriff Ed Cooper and his deputies planned to investigate every detail of the confession to link Bell with the crime. Capt Bright of the Los Angeles Sheriff's office, to whom Bell sobbed his confession, was due by plane during the day to assist the local officers in their investigations.
Authorities announced that all friends and relatives of the Teuber girl would be asked to see Bell in an attempt to identify him as one of her many acquaintances. This was a bust as none of Louise's friends had ever seen him before until they went to the Sheriff's office. En route back to the jail, the officers stopped at Louise's father's barber shop. Teuber walked out to the curb and peered into the car to get a good look at Bell, who was handcuffed in the back seat of the sheriff's car. Teuber did not speak to the boy. After perhaps a minute, Teuber shook his head and walked back to his work, saying, "I never saw the lad before." Teuber told Pacific Coast News Service that "Lowell Bell was not among my daughter's admirers, so far as I know. She had many beaus and I was personally acquainted with all the boys with whom she used to go out, but Bell is a stranger."
A second step of the investigation was an attempt to communicate with Lewis and the two sailors. Efforts to locate a man whose name Bell gave as Ray Lewis in his purported confession were unavailing. Bell said in his statement to Captain Bright that after he had slain the girl because she would not "pet", had taken the body to the outskirts of the city in a stolen automobile, he returned to the Shelltown automobile camp and spent the remainder of the night with Mr. Lewis. Bell said that he stayed at the auto camp until May 2, when he left for Los Angeles, taking with him a suit of clothes belonging to Elliot Rose, who lived at the camp. The blanket found near the hanging on Black Mountain and the rope with which the girl was hanged was taken to Shelltown in an attempt to identify them. HC Shreve, proprietor of the automobile camp told investigators he purchased a number of second hand army blankets similar to the one which figured in the Teuber murder but could not be positive the blanket shown him was one of them. At the court, officers reported that they had found a woman, believed to be an employee, who partially identified the blanket. She nearly fainted, they said, when she saw the patchwork on the robe. Despite this fact, however, that this woman was a key witness in the case and probably one of the few who could identify Bell, the officers failed to get her name. Proprietor Shreve said Ray Lewis left town approximately two months after the slaying without paying his bill. Bell was taken to the auto camp and readily admitted to Rose that the suit he was wearing was the one he had stolen from him.
San Diego authorities were also checking on an automobile said by Bell to have been stolen by him in downtown San Diego shortly before he took the shop girl for a fatal ride. A light roadster was recovered, the one believed stolen by Bell, near Black Mountain, but after investigation, it was not connected with the murder. Bell stated that he choked the girl in the car, but that he could not recall whether he drove her to the wooded hillside where the body was found. He also failed to recall where he left the car.
For awhile, Bell's second story still seemed to be accurate, so Deputy Sheriffs Oliver Sexson and Jack Tillery wanted to "refresh his memory". Judge Aggler issued a temporary release so that the officers could take him to the scene of the crime. The Judge was quoted as saying "if it will clear up the mystery of the unfortunate girl's death." They took the youth to the picnic grove and lovers-haven in the vicinity of Black Mountain, where the girl's body was found, but he was unable to identify the place and denied he had ever visited it before. bell smiled readily enough, if a bit nervously, officers said, while taking him place to place, but he would not talk, however, except under questioning.
While standing under the oak tree, he said that he had never seen Black Mountain until the day the cops brought him there. "I never saw this place before. Honest, I never saw the girl. I read about the case and made up that story, my confession was just a joke." Officials pointed out that Bell was too frail - he weighed only 118lbs - to have hoisted at the end of a rope the body of Louise, who weighed 128lbs. He kept repeating "I didn't know Miss Teuber. I didn't know Miss Teuber and I have never killed anyone."
The officers had him attempt to tie the double half hitch knot in a rope, like the one that was around her neck, but he failed miserably, claiming he did not know how, despite having served a few months in the navy. Whoever tied the rope to the Teuber girl's neck was a sailor, San Diego authorities had maintained. He kept up the tale that his confession was "all hooey. I just wanted to crash the front page.I read everything in the papers. I thought perhaps some of the Chicago gangs would find out about this and think I am a tough guy and ask me to sit in with them."
The authorities had wondered if Bell recanted his story in an effort to cop an insanity plea. "I am certain that Lowell Bell is not insane. He is shrewd with the cunning of a life of crime despite his 20 years, for he started out at the age of nine in the state of Washington by robbing mail boxes." The opinion was expressed that when the youth is returned to Los Angeles from San Diego he probably would be examined by psychiatrists in a prosecution move to meet an expected insanity defense when brought to trial on charges of burglarizing a Hollywood apartment. "One part of his story caused me to give it weight," said Bright. "He said that when he took the girl out riding in the afternoon he bought he nothing to eat except a sandwich. The autopsy showed that the girl had had nothing to eat other than the sandwich for approximately eight hours."
The decision to bring him back to the Los Angeles county jail came after hours of see-sawing back and forth by Bright and his squad of homicide bureau deputies, came after Bright communicated with Sheriff Ed Cooper of San Diego and that officer said he would start for Los Angeles immediately.
On his way back to the Los Angeles county jail, he repeated the story to the sheriffs that he only sought out publicity because he "wanted to be considered a big tough gangster and go to Chicago and get in a racket. I thought if I could work up a reputation, I might get in." He declared that his ambition was to become a "big time racketeer." Bragging that he had committed 28 burglaries in Los Angeles before being caught, Bell admitted with a touch of pride that he might have "pulled several more jobs than that" when the sheriff suggested that his burglaries might have numbered 30. Despite the prospects of imprisonment until he is 21, Bell announced with a swagger that he expects to continue his criminal career when he got out of the reformatory, saying that he "went crooked at the age of nine and never would go straight. It won't take long, I've walked out of those places before."
Under close scrutiny, it was found that both of his confessions failed to follow known facts about the case. The three conflicting stories of his guilt, complicity and innocence in connection with the murder certainly muddled the investigation, but he was discredited concerning the Teuber murder and sent back to the Los Angeles County jail. "It's the biggest hoax I ever saw," said Sexson, who had personal charge of the investigation. Officers told newspapermen that Bell had lied about the murder and wanted to be considered a "tough guy." Contrary to Bell's own self-image fantasy, officers described him to reporters as a "thin, sallow youth, with a mop of brown hair and a pasty face, looking more like 16 rather than his admitted 19 years" - in other words, Bell was basically a waif, not one ounce of "tough guy" was in his appearance.
We know from eye witness testimony, that it was a "sailor" who was said to have been last seen with Louise. It is my opinion that he was the true killer of Louise Teuber. I think he was scared of the death penalty and decided to claim it was all a hoax. He did know facts, and there is no reason to think he discarded his naval uniform after he was discharged. He very well could have been strolling around San Diego in the uniform, perhaps hoping someone would take a bit of pity on a poor sailor looking to have a good time while on leave. We do have some indications the man who killed Louise was in the military, why else would he have had an army type issued blanket, used nautical knots, and was described as a sailor who bought her last meal.
Louise was known to have had many boyfriends who were in the navy and the marines. She was obviously attracted to this type of man and Bell would have fit the bill. He was a good looking man at the time, with soulful eyes, full lips and a cherubic face, and in uniform, he probably looked like the ideal mate to her. Good con artists dress the part. A con artist is merely acting, playing a character who may appear legitimate, confident, and successful, even if he isn't. He may have even said he was absent without leave from the navy, looking for a better life, and if she told anyone who he was or where he was, they would throw him in the brig and if that happened, they couldn't possibly have a future together.
He had commented to sheriffs that he wanted to go to Chicago, and it is known that Louise claimed she was going to Chicago to marry her new sweetie. I believe he perhaps told her all about his plans to go to Chicago, which is exactly where she was going for her 18th birthday. This must have felt like absolute kismet for Louise. He pulled an old time romance scam, he may have posed as the perfect gentleman to her, attentive, loving, but all the while he was just a con man grooming his new prey. he may have asked her to keep their relationship a secret, even using an alias name.
He may have met her at a dance or a party. She may have started talking about how unhappy she was at home, how her family was trying to control her. She may have mentioned she had a job and how her dad was a well to do barber who had his own barbershop. He would have picked up on her vulnerable state and played to it, offering sympathy and a way out. The con man lets the victim do all the talking while he does all the listening. A good con man will put his victim at ease by telling stories that reveal his own anxieties, faults, and desires, thereby fabricating what feels like common ground. he may have said he had a bad childhood and a family that mistreated him.
Burglars regularly used ropes to get inside buildings, especially apartments. Bell was busted for robbing apartments. He could have stolen the rope from a construction site or garage. He may have did some low key menial jobs to support himself here and there, in addition to robberies. I would think he would have obtained the rope from a job site. I would think he kept the rope in a duffle bag, probably the one he had in the navy to keep his minor belongings in. I also think he had a flashlight and probably some sort of prybar in his burglary kit.
Excerpt from a 1919 book, Current Opinion, discussing policemen's experience with burglars, had this to say about burglars nicknamed "house men" who "fasten one end of a rope (which one of them may have carried would his body) to a chimney on the roof and drop the other end over the ledge. One of them will lower himself to the desired window, open it and enter...they will either stay secreted up on the roof or in a backyard until they feel it is safe to leave."
Excerpt from a 1924 booklet, Protection mentions that "a burglar will let himself down from the roof with a rope, enter by an unlocked window, and leave through the door, arrayed like a plumber, his swag concealed in a tool bag. While his partner, upon the roof, draws up the rope and conceals it until they are ready to pull another job."
Not Raped: his intention was not to rape Louise. His intention was to rob her and get rid of the evidence. He knew she had been saving up her money, her sister said Louise was saving $2.50 from each paycheck in order to fund her trip to Chicago. Her co-workers said they knew she had at least $11 on the day she quit her job. Eleven dollars in 1931 is equal to about $197.98 in 2021 according to an inflation calculator. This probably felt like a jackpot to Bell.
I would think Louise had told Bell that she would have this money to plan a future, he got to thinking that it would be an easy score to rob her. He may have been afraid that she told someone about him, what car he drove or his description. He had to eliminate her so he wouldn't get caught. He knew that she told friends and family that she was leaving town for Chicago and wouldn't be heard from for at least two or three weeks. She would not be missed during this time and that gave him plenty of time to get out of town. I think he took her out to the remote area so he could commit the crime in peace without witnesses. But he needed to keep up the ruse of the gentle, loving boyfriend (or fiance). He told her he wanted to fool around, knowing she was a good time girl, she didn't hesitate. Once they got there, they made out, she undressed in anticipation of making love with her sweetheart.
Once she removed her clothes, he hit her over the head with a blunt instrument. I had imagined a flashlight so that they could see in the dark woods. Flashlights during that time were very heavy, and could be made up of Bakelite or metal. He knows he cannot leave her alive, she knows who he is, she can get him in a lot of trouble.
Knocked unconscious by the blow, he probably started manually strangling her. Louise may have started awakening at this time, moaning, confused, struggling to breathe, she may have tried to get up or roll over from a prone position. He sees her movements and pushes her down on her back, bruising her hip, pinning her shoulders down, leaving bruises in her soft flesh, trying to keep his hands around her neck. Leaves and dirt are getting caught up in her hair and caked on her body. He may have been trying to punch her in the face to knock her back out or quiet her if she were screaming, as her forearms were bruised defensively held up trying to protect her neck and face. She further panics, squirming underneath him, her hands desperately trying to get her fingers around his squeezing hands on her neck.
When someone is being strangled, they will often try to regain control of their airway, by trying to pry the hands of the perpetrator off of them which can leave injuries on their neck and also leave the assailant with scratch marks or injuries on their face and hands. Her sharp fingernails scratched at her own neck and face, leaving terrible red claw marks against her pale skin. His hand still clamped around her neck, he feels the fight draining from her, but he continues until she is no longer moving.
Now he had to figure a way to relieve himself of suspicion. A suicide, make it look like a suicide. Quick thinking, he remembered he had a rope, he ran down the quarter mile to his car, sought the rope he probably stored in the trunk, and ran back up the road to the trysting spot. Throwing an end of the rope up over the tree limb and tying the other to the tree stump nearby. He dragged her limp body over to the tree, the heels of her shoes scraping the earth below. He loops the rope around her neck, tying the double half-hitch knots tight behind her head, but she may have made a noise or movement being just barely alive, he pulls the noose as tight as he can, leaving scarlet rope burns amongst the ugly bruising on her neck, just to make sure she is really dead this time.
He doesn't bother to grab the blanket or make any attempt to hide her handbag or clothing. He does rifle through the purse and grabbed the little coin purse. If there was any money left inside, he snatched it and tossed the coin purse outside his car. He barreled down the dirt road and disappeared forever. He probably read the newspapers fervently, keeping track of the investigation progress.
Coin Purse:
Before the close of 1931, Bell was sent to Preston and served a 19 month sentence for burglary, and also a parole violation.
In May 1932, he stole jewelry as part of $500 in loot from the apartment of Miss Bell Haven, a teacher.
In 1933, he was charged with pointing a gun at a couple in Salem, Oregon. He was said to be on parole from California and failed to furnish a $250 bond. While in Oregon, he started to use an alias, "Billy Roeh".
Salem, Oregon, June 2, 1933. "Held for investigation. City police last night reported they were holding a man giving the name of Billy Roeh and address of 891 North Commercial street, for investigate. No information was given of possible charges to be placed against him."
Salem, Oregon, June 2, 1933 "Lowell M. Bell, alias Billy Roeh, was being held by police Friday on a charge of pointing a gun at RH Lockett and Mrs. Marjorie Kimple, 191 Mill Street. Bell, whose Salem address is given as 891 Mill Street, is said to be on parole from California. He has failed to furnish $250 bond and is in jail awaiting further developments in his case. Officers are investigating him closely."
Also in 1933, he was arrested for committing burglaries in two apartments in Salem, Oregon in which silver, jewelry and clothing valued at $400 was stolen from residents. October 24, 1933 - Arrested in Salem, Oregon and the fingerprints taken from "Jack Williams" matched those of "William Roeh", two aliases of Bell. He was asserted to giving away a green woman's hat from an apartment store.
In 1934, he was wanted for Burglary in Richmond, CA. His known occupation was listed as a laborer.
Lowell and partner George Wells were eventually traced to twelve burglaries in Long Beach and Los Angeles in 1935. Property taken had been recovered. He was extradited back to Los Angeles and charged with burglary. George William Wells was sent to San Quentin in 1939 for grand theft. He was sent back to San Quentin on July 13, 1943 on the same charge. He performed a daring escape in 1943 with a robbery partner, Gabriel Marcias. Wells was caught and sent to Folsom prison where during his eight year stay, he served two prison terms of burglary. In 1951, now 35 years old, he was released and three weeks later, he was arrested again in Salinas, CA, charged with kidnapping, armed robbery, auto theft and speeding. He was sent back to San Quentin in 1952. Wells was in reform schools and prisons much of the time since his 12th birthday. He served time in Whittier State School in 1930, Preston in 1933 and Oakland in 1936. He was deemed a habitual criminal and had prior convictions on felony counts of theft and Burglary in Alameda county.
On March 1, 1935, The Los Angeles Times reported that Robert G. (George) Brell, 24 of Long Beach, gave a notice of intention to marry Doris Yvonne Lawson, 21, of Wilmington. However, this must have been called off since Bell was arrested and sent to jail less than two weeks later. In a March 22, 1936 newspaper notice, Miss Lawson, 22, Illinois, resident of Pasadena, was to marry John David Lee, 22, South Carolina, resident of San Diego.
After being convicted, he was sent to the San Quentin Prison on 4/27/1935. He was prisoner #57593. Gave his occupation as "tailor". His registration at the jail noted that he was charged in Los Angeles with 2 counts of Burglary in the 2nd degree and 2 counts of Burglary in the 1st degree. Sentenced to 1-15 years 2 counts and 5 to life 2 counts concurrent. His sentence came out to be 5 years + 5 years + 5 years + 8.5 years - all to run concurrently. Term began 4/27/1935. Was paroled on 2/18/1940. Federal Census revealed he was working as a tool maker in Los Angeles. in 1940 and was living with his brother in law James Honeycott. Returned as parole violation to finish term 9/14/1940. Paroled on 9/12/1941.
The photos below show him on the days he was received at San Quentin. The photo on left is from 1935, the photo on right is from 1940, you can see how his appearance changed in five years, he looks older than his age of 25 here. Gaining 20 lbs while in jail and on parole, his face in 1940 looks hardened and old compared to his 1935 booking photo, he still retained an aura of an innocent looking youth as a 20 year old.
On 9/12/1941, he was transferred to Folsom State Prison, CA. He served the remainder of his sentences here. His occupation was listed as barber on his identification card, I wonder if this was his job in jail. His new inmate number was 23937. Clean shaven and groomed, with a slight receding of his hairline, lost some weight while on parole, and is back to a good looking appearance, albeit distressed. I added some color to the images to enhance his features. You can see his nose is crooked as was noted earlier.
Thomas Pato, 38, Filipino sentenced for the murder of a Chinese in Santa Clara county in 1933, ran amok with laundry shears when he was separated from his cellmate, Lowell bell, Los Angeles burglar.
Appears to have married Reba Ruth Thomas around 1947, had son, Lowell Milton Bell, Jr in 1948.
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