Published: June 24, 2008 02:37 pm            

Family lays murder victim to rest, finds closure after almost two years

Monticello — It¹s still hard for Jimmy Bell¹s family to understand what happened in

August 2006. That¹s when the Wayne County man, who was known as kind and

hard-working, was murdered in Flagler County, Florida. Two transients beat

and killed Bell, then buried his body near railroad tracks.

Now, almost two years later, Bell has made it to his final resting

place. Family members held a service on Friday, June 13 at Sandusky Chapel

Cemetery. Bell was laid to rest next to his mother, Clova Young Bell, ending

months of waiting for the family.

³It was terrible for the whole family,² said Linda Roberts, who is

Bell¹s aunt. ³I thought about this every day.²

She will tell you that it has been a long journey, since Flagler County

police contacted her in November 2006, when they found the remains of a man

that they believed was her nephew. Bell was tentatively identified by his

Kentucky driver¹s license, which was found in his wallet.

Roberts said the family knew Bell was in Florida. He had been living in

St. Augustine. She said he liked to travel around and he never had a problem

finding work.

³He could do just about anything,² she said.

Bell usually contacted family members every couple of months, so they

were not alarmed about his lack of communication from August 2006 until

November 2006. In fact, Roberts said he had been home during the summer of

2006 and had stayed a while to visit.

Roberts received the call from Flagler County detectives shortly after

they discovered Bell¹s body, wrapped in a blanket and buried near the

railroad tracks. They wanted her to send photos of Bell, which she did.

Arrested in the case were Shane Linkous, 23, and Michael Blair, 43, who

are described by Florida officials as two homeless men. Roberts said police

have told her that Bell had gone into a store on August 15, 2006 and

purchased a gallon of water. When he came out of the store, she said police

have told her that he was attacked by Linkous and Blair. She was told that

Bell¹s arm was broken during the fight and he turned to walk away when he

was struck from behind with a flashlight. It was a blow that proved to be

fatal.

Blair and Linkous, both charged with second degree murder, gave

conflicting stories of what happened, each blaming the other for the man¹s

death. Roberts said that the attorney who prosecuted the case in Florida

indicated that Blair was the one who struck Bell.

Detectives said Linkous showed an acquaintance where the body was in

November, and that person went to police with the information that led to

the discovery of the remains.

³I don¹t know who that person was, but we sure do thank him for going to

the police...We would have never known what happened to Jimmy, if he hadn¹t

done that,² said Roberts.

According to newspaper reports regarding the case, Blair was released

from jail in January of this year because he was dying of cancer. Linkous

was sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years probation, after pleading

no contest to being a principal to manslaughter in the case.

Throughout the court proceedings, officials in Florida kept Bell¹s

remains. Roberts said she called often to check and see when the family

could bring Bell home.

After Linkous was sentenced, Bell¹s remains were released to a Florida

mortuary. Roberts said he was cremated and she picked up his ashes on

Wednesday, June 11.

Many family members were able to attend the ceremony at Sandusky Chapel

Cemetery, where Bell was a member of the church. He was the son of the late

Odel and Clova Bell and he had a brother, Billy Kay Bell, who preceded him

in death. He is survived by three brothers, Harold Ray Bell, Tommy Bell, and

Wayne Bell.

³He was a good man. He was always a good person. He would do anything to

help you,² said Roberts.

        

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