Body Not Found, Man Still Convicted
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Body Not Found, Man Still Convicted
By BLAKE NICHOLSON
MANDAN, N.D. (AP) - A convicted child molester has been found guilty of
killing
an 11-year-old girl who lived across the street and whose body was never
found.
Kyle Bell, 31, was convicted of murder Friday after a four-day trial.
Bell and 11-year-old Jeanna North lived across the same Fargo street
when the
girl disappeared. The trial was moved to Mandan, about 200 miles away,
because
of pretrial publicity.
Jeanna North disappeared near her home in Fargo on June 28, 1993. She
was last
seen inline skating.
Prosecutors relied on the testimony of police detectives who said Bell
told
them he struck the girl and dumped her body into the Sheyenne River near
Fargo.
The prosecutors had no physical evidence that Bell had killed her.
A sentencing date was not immediately set. Defense attorney Steve
Mottinger
promised an appeal.
Birch Burdick, the Cass County state's attorney, said he was inclined to
ask
the judge to impose the maximum sentence of life in prison without a
chance at
parole.
The victim's father, John North, said he hoped Bell would get that
sentence.
``If he does come out again, he'll do it again,'' he said. ``He's a sex
offender, he's a child molester, and he doesn't deserve to be out in
society.
He should spend the rest of his life in prison.''
Bell is already serving a 40-year prison sentence, with 10 years
suspended, for
molesting two young girls.
AP-NY-08-21-99
------------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 8/21/99 online edition of The
Bismarck
Tribune newspaper:
Saturday, August 21, 1999
Bell guilty of murder
DEENA WINTER, Bismarck Tribune
It's been more than six years since 11-year-old Jeanna North was last
seen
Rollerblading on the streets of north Fargo, hurrying home to make her
10:30
p.m. curfew. She was within a block of her house when her friend last
saw her.
But one house stood between Jeanna and her home, and on Friday, a Mandan
jury
decided the man who lived in that house, Kyle Bell, was responsible for
her
disappearance.
After less than four hours of deliberations, a jury of 12 convicted Bell
of
murder, a class AA felony. Bell's attorney said he would likely appeal
the
conviction.
After the verdict was read in the courtroom, Jeanna's family wept
openly, while
Bell stood motionless and stolid. The family of four left the courtroom
with
arms around each other. They told a throng of reporters they were elated
by the
verdict.
"He got what he deserved," said Dale North, Jeanna's father.
Although no sentencing date has been set, the Norths said they hope Bell
gets
the maximum sentence, life imprisonment without parole.
"If he does come out, he'll do it again," Dale North said. "He's a sex
offender, he's a child molester and he doesn't deserve to be in society.
He
should spend the rest of his life in prison. That's where he belongs."
The North family said the four-hour wait for a verdict was "terrifying."
They
had no idea that behind those closed doors, it took the jury less than
an hour
to decide that Bell was guilty of something. It was just a matter of
deciding
which of three possible crimes he was guilty of committing. They could
have
convicted him of one of two lesser crimes, class A murder or
manslaughter.
One of the jurors, Holly Jundt of Mandan, said all 12 jurors immediately
said
they thought Bell was guilty in a verbal poll. So most of the next four
hours
was spent deciding which murder charge to give him: class A or AA.
She said at first, three jurors were inclined to believe Jeanna's death
was
"more of an accident." But she said the jury was most swayed by Bell's
written
statement, which included "The last time I saw Jeanna was when I placed
her
body in the Sheyenne River on June 28."
"We felt that was the biggest piece of evidence," Jundt said. "This was
actually a signed statement that wasn't disputed by the defense."
She also said most of the jurors had never heard of the murder case
prior to
the trial.
"It really was an impartial jury," Jundt said.
The jury foreman, Mandan rancher Don Taghon, said the jury wasn't
bothered by a
lack of physical evidence, such as a body, blood or hair samples.
But another major piece of evidence was Bell's statement to a Fargo
police
officer saying he "backhanded" Jeanna in his garage because she had
threatened
to tell someone what happened in the garage. Bell would not say what,
exactly,
happened in the garage, but he did say she fell and hit her head. He
said it
was an accident.
Bell told another officer he was the last person to see Jeanna, when he
tied
her body to a concrete block and dropped her into the Sheyenne River on
a
remote bridge north of West Fargo.
The prosecutor said Bell intentionally killed Jeanna to "shut her up
forever"
and threw her body in the river to hide her body and wash off potential
evidence.
Taghon said the fact that Jeanna's body was never found didn't dissuade
the
jury. He said too many other pieces of evidence indicated Bell knew
exactly
what happened to that body.
During closing arguments Cass County prosecutor Adam Hamm spent a
considerable
amount of time explaining why it was not unusual that Jeanna's body
wasn't
found. Hamm said the search for Jeanna's body didn't start until six
weeks
after her disappearance, and after the Sheyenne River flooded. He said
the
rushing river had become a virtual "suckhole" -- divers had to be tied
to ropes
to prevent them from being pulled downstream. After two rivers were
dammed so
the river bottom could be searched, sinkholes were everywhere, he said.
Detectives even took a pig weighing about the same as Jeanna, 55 pounds,
tied
it to a cement block and threw it into the river to see what would
happen. They
never found it.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Hamm told the jury. "the Sheyenne River hides
secrets,
period. ... Jeanna was in the river all alone for six weeks. ... It
would have
been like trying to find a needle in a haystack that goes from Fargo to
the
Hudson Bay. Rivers hide secrets."
Defense attorney Steve Mottinger tried to persuade the jury that because
no
body was found, prosecutors didn't prove Jeanna was even dead, much less
killed
by Bell. He said she may have run away.
"It's not reasonable for you to assume that every missing person is
dead," he
told jurors. During his closing argument, Mottinger noted that Bell was
in jail
when he gave his statements to police, and implied that he only did so
because
he was offered a deal in which he would "do no more jail time" if he
told
detectives what happened. Mottinger said Bell gave the statements
because it
was a "way out of the box" and a way to end the constant scrutiny and
questions
from police.
He said Bell's statements to police didn't prove Jeanna was dead or that
he
intended to kill her.
"They cannot prove it was anything more than an accident," Mottinger
said.
Hamm pounced on that point during his final statement to the jury,
saying
Jeanna is dead, Bell killed her, and it wasn't an accident. He said it
would be
ludicrous to think the happy-go-lucky 11-year-old girl would suddenly
decide to
run away from home, while wearing nothing more than shorts, a shirt and
Rollerblades.
"She's dead," he said repeatedly, as Jeanna's family members softly
cried and
Jeanna's mother glared at Bell.
Many people in the courtroom were impressed by Hamm's performance during
closing arguments, including jurors, Jundt said. Even the defense
attorney said
Hamm's closing argument was competent, impressive, sincere and eloquent
--
during his own closing argument. Hamm graduated from law school just one
year
ago.
Bell, 31, is already serving 30 years in prison for an unrelated child
molestation case. Because of concerns about threats to his safety, Bell
has
been serving that sentence in a Wisconsin prison.
No family members or friends of Bell's attended the trial, and he
declined to
be interviewed after the trial ended.
------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 8/21/99 online edition of The
Minneapolis Star-Tribune newspaper:
Published Saturday, August 21, 1999
Bell convicted of killing 11-year-old who disappeared
Andrew Tellijohn / Star Tribune
Connie Holbrook sat on her couch Friday afternoon, riveted to the
television
while waiting for a verdict in the trial of Kyle Bell, who was accused
of
killing Holbrook's 11-year-old niece, Jeanna North, six years ago.
For Holbrook, the wait was worthwhile.
After about four hours of deliberation, the North Dakota jury convicted
Bell of
Class AA murder for the disappearance of the Fargo girl while she was
inline
skating in June 1993.
"He killed my niece and now he is going to pay for it," Holbrook said.
"There
is no doubt in my mind that he did it."
Jeanna's body was never found, but jury foreman Don Taghon said the
jurors
agreed right away that Bell was guilty of a crime. They deliberated over
whether to convict him of Class AA murder or of the lesser charge of
Class A
murder.
Taghon said Bell's actions after the killing, when he tied Jeanna's body
to a
concrete block and dumped her in the Sheyenne River near Fargo, swayed
the
decision.
Bell, 31, showed no emotion while the verdict was read. He faces a
maximum
sentence of life in prison without parole.
Jeanna's mother and two sisters gasped and wept as the clerk read the
verdict
at 4:20 p.m.
"I don't think I can ever be this happy again in my life," said Jeanna's
sister
Jessica. What was important to her, she said, was that "everyone in the
world
knows that [Bell] did it."
Less than two hours after the announcement, Jeanna's parents were back
at their
hotel preparing for a dinner with relatives. They said they were
relieved that
justice had been served and they could have some closure.
"It's been an emotional week," said her father, John North. "We're just
happy
justice has been served, and our daughter's life has been avenged in a
way."
North said he hopes the judge will give Bell life in prison without
parole so
"he won't be able to do this to anybody else again.
"You take a life, you should forfeit your life," he said.
Said Jeanna's mother, Sue Hurst: "We think he got just what he had
coming."
Birch Burdick, the Cass County state's attorney, said he was inclined to
ask
the judge to impose the maximum sentence.
Bell is already serving 30 years in prison for an unrelated child
molestation
case.
He was charged with Class AA murder in Jeanna's case, but East Central
District
Judge Frank Racek had decided Thursday to let the jury consider
convicting Bell
of Class A murder or manslaughter.
Burdick said he wasn't surprised that the jury convicted Bell of the
most
severe crime, even though the body has never been found and police did
not find
any physical evidence to connect him to her death.
"I felt that there was plenty of evidence that the jury could use to
reach that
verdict," he said.
Getting a conviction without a body is often difficult because
prosecutors have
no crime scene evidence they can use and they cannot discuss possible
motives
during trial, said Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom.
In 1992, he prosecuted a man who had been suspected of killing Corrine
Erstad,
a 5-year-old Inver Grove Heights girl. She hasn't been found.
Backstrom said the case still bothers him. Evidence included a bloody
dress
with the suspect's and Erstad's hair that was found in the suspect's
storage
locker. The man was acquitted.
"I am very pleased they were able to earn a conviction," Backstrom said
of
Jeanna's case. "It's still very difficult to get a conviction without a
body."
One major difference in Jeanna's case was that prosecutors were able to
use
Bell's admission to police. Officers testified that Bell admitted
striking
Jeanna hard enough for her to fall and hit her head on the floor of his
garage,
and that he said he tied her body to a concrete block and dumped it in
the
Sheyenne.
Bell's attorney, Steve Mottinger, tried to get the confession thrown out
of
court. Taghon said it was the key evidence.
Mottinger said the verdict would be appealed. He suggested that Bell's
statements to police "were offered as a way to end the digging . . . the
constant scrutiny."
"The government's case is based on hint, based on guess, based on
suspicion,
based on conjecture," Mottinger said. The trial was moved to Mandan in
central
North Dakota near Bismarck, because of publicity in the Fargo area.
"The North family can finally sleep at night," said Adam Hamm, assistant
Cass
County state's attorney. "This guy is a monster. Hopefully with this
verdict we
can put him away for good."
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.
------------------------------------------------------
The following two news articles both appear appear courtesy of the
8/18/99
Associated Press news wire:
Published Wednesday, August 18, 1999
Kyle Bell murder trial gets under way
By BLAKE NICHOLSON / Associated Press Writer
MANDAN, N.D. (AP) -- The defense attorney for the man accused of killing
11-year-old Jeanna North says prosecutors won' t be able to prove she is
dead,
even though she hasn' t been seen since she disappeared six years ago.
Testimony was scheduled to resume today in the trial of Kyle Bell.
Bell has pleaded innocent to killing the girl, who disappeared near her
home in
Fargo in 1993.
Bell' s attorney, Steve Mottinger, asked jurors Tuesday to look
carefully at
the evidence, which he acknowledged " may at first glance seem
monumental and
insurmountable."
" We are truly convinced the state ... will not be able to meet the
required
burden of proof, " Mottinger said. " They will not even be able to prove
(Jeanna North) is dead."
Prosecutors on Tuesday called their first witness, Jeanna' s father,
John
North. He testified his daughter had no reason to run away from home.
Although Jeanna' s body has never been found, Bell' s statements to a
police
officer will prove Bell killed the girl, a prosecutor said.
" We know straight from the horse' s mouth. We know directly from Kyle
Bell
what happened, " Assistant Cass County State' s Attorney Mark Boening
said in
opening statements.
Bell is accused of tying the girl' s body to a concrete block and
dumping it
into the Sheyenne River. His trial was moved to Mandan because of
publicity
about the case in the Fargo area.
East Central District Judge Frank Racek ruled Tuesday, prior to jury
selection,
that the entire conversation between Bell and a police detective on Jan.
25,
1995, may be admitted as evidence.
Detective Jim LeDoux is expected to testify that Bell told him that he
struck
Jeanna when she threatened to tell her parents he had molested her. Bell
allegedly told LeDoux he hit the girl hard enough that she fell and hit
her
head on his garage floor, but that " it was an accident."
Boening said Bell' s description of the girl' s death as an accident was
a "
self-serving characterization, " and one that prosecutors would not be
able to
attack through cross-examination if Bell does not take the stand.
Mottinger argued that omitting that statement would be prejudicial to
Bell, who
Mottinger said will not testify on his own behalf.
Bell also made two written statements to police on Jan. 25, 1995, saying
he was
the last person to see Jeanna North and that the last time he saw her
was "
when I placed her body in the Sheyenne River."
The statements to LeDoux did not surface until July. LeDoux said during
a court
hearing earlier this month that he decided to share them only after it
was
clear prosecutors would not be allowed to use Bell' s confession.
Bell had confessed the previous day after his sentencing in a separate
case.
But Racek in May ruled the confessions in the North case were
inadmissible in
court because authorities had violated Bell' s rights by continuing to
question
him after he asked to speak with an attorney.
Boening referred to the Sheyenne River as " a black hole, " saying
searchers
for the girl' s body were unable to find even the objects they threw in
the
river themselves. He also said the river had flooded in the West Fargo
area
several times since 1993.
" It is not at all unusual in this case that law enforcement has been
unable to
locate Jeanna North' s remains, " he said.
Mottinger said he will not call any witnesses during the trial.
A jury of nine men and five women are hearing the case. The group
includes two
alternates.
--------------------------------------------------
Published Wednesday, August 18, 1999
Officers testify Bell admitted involvement in North disappearance
By BLAKE NICHOLSON / Associated Press Writer
MANDAN, N.D. (AP) -- Police officers say Kyle Bell admitted he struck
Jeanna
North, tied a concrete block around her and threw her in the Sheyenne
River.
But Bell' s attorney says those statements, made two years after the
11-year-old girl disappeared, do not prove Bell killed her.
The testimony came Wednesday during the second day of Bell' s murder
trial.
Fargo Police Detective Jim LeDoux said that on Jan. 25, 1995, Bell
admitted
striking Jeanna in his garage hard enough for her to fall and hit her
head on
the floor.
LeDoux also testified that Bell claimed " it was an accident."
Bell has pleaded innocent to killing the girl, who disappeared near her
home in
Fargo on June 28, 1993. Her body has never been found.
Bell' s trial was moved to Mandan because of publicity about the case in
the
Fargo area.
Defense attorney Steve Mottinger questioned LeDoux about the lack of any
physical evidence or witnesses.
" There' s no evidence ... that, if it happened at all, would indicate
it was
anything other than an accident?" he asked LeDoux. " With no body being
recovered, there' s nothing to tell what, if anything, caused her
death."
Mottinger and prosecutors have been arguing for weeks over a 1995
conversation
involving LeDoux, Sgt. Rollie Rust and Bell.
With the jury out of the courtroom Wednesday, Mottinger asked East
Central
District Judge Frank Racek to bar those statements from the trial. He
said they
were similar to a confession the judge had ruled inadmissible.
Racek ruled in May that Bell' s confession could not be admitted because
authorities had violated Bell' s rights by continuing to question him
after he
asked to speak with an attorney.
The judge rejected Mottinger' s request Wednesday. But later in the
trial,
Racek rejected attempts by Assistant Cass County State' s Attorney Adam
Hamm to
have LeDoux say whether he thought Bell' s " accident" remark was an
attempt to
minimize his involvement in the case.
Rust testified that Bell also admitted tying a concrete block to the
girl' s
body and dumping it into the Sheyenne River, and that he later went back
to see
if the body had surfaced.
Mary Hoglund, who lives on a farm near a bridge on the river, testified
that
she saw Bell on the bridge on July 16, the day after 10 inches of rain
had
fallen in the Fargo area and the river was rising.
Hoglund said she later encountered Bell on the drive leading to her
farmhouse,
where he told her he had run out of gas. When Bell returned the 5-gallon
gas
can she gave him, " a fourth of the can was still in there, " she said.
Hoglund also testified that Bell gave her his name, address and
telephone
number, and later returned to pay for the gas.
" Does that strike you as somebody that' s trying to hide something?"
Mottinger
asked her.
Three law enforcement officers who participated in the 14 searches of
the
Sheyenne River for Jeanna' s body testified that they did not find it
unusual
that no evidence was found.
They said searchers were unable to find even objects they threw in,
including
in-line skates similar to those Jeanna was wearing the night she
disappeared,
and a pig carcass tied to a block that was designed to mimic a 55-pound
girl.
The river " is kind of like a big suckhole that takes all of this stuff
in, "
Cass County Deputy Rick Majerus said.
However, Majerus, Cass County Sheriff Don Rudnick and Fargo police
detective
Dennis Pederson acknowledged that Bell' s statement to Rust was the only
evidence they had that Bell had thrown the girl' s body in the river.
Pederson also acknowledged that Jeanna could still be alive and that
some young
girls police had interviewed said Jeanna might have run away.
However, " I was told by her close friends, family, that she was not the
type
that would run away, " he said.
Two of Jeanna' s friends at the time -- Clarice Geising, now 18, and
Laura
Larson, now 16 -- testified she had never talked of running away from
home.
They also said she had never indicated that she was afraid of Bell.