Roy Bell, the man convicted of murdering former Knox resident, Wilma Upsall, was sentenced in Fulton County Superior Court to Life in Prison without the Possibility of Parole on a charge of Murder.
Bell was additionally sentenced to 10 years with the enhancement of 10 years on a charge of Burglary and four years with the enhancement of four years on a charge of Robbery. Those sentences will run consecutively for a total sentence of Life in Prison without the Possibility of Parole plus 28 years.
Judge Wayne Steele found Roy Bell guilty during a bench trial on Aug. 27. Bell was found guilty on six counts: Murder, Murder in the Commission of Another Crime (Burglary), Murder in the Commission of Another Crime (Robbery), Burglary, Robbery and Criminal Confinement.
A judge in Fulton County has ruled in the bench trial of a murder defendant accused of brutally slaying an elderly Knox woman. Roy Bell is guilty of murder, robbery and criminal confinement. Fulton Superior Court Judge Wayne Steele says the state proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The charges stem from the November 22, 2011 murder of Wilma Upsall at her daughter’s home near Leiters Ford. Court documents indicate Bell admitted breaking into the home, finding her sitting on the couch in her robe and house slippers and tying her to a chair with a telephone cord while he and two friends ransacked the residence. They decided to kill Upsall because they were afraid she would be able to identify them. Upsall’s daughter found her slumped over dead in a chair when she came home. Bell was arrested two days later at a home in Monterey. The judge set Bell’s sentencing for Monday, Sept. 16 at 1:15 p.m. Eastern. He faces the possibility of life in prison without parole. WKVI’s Anita Goodan was in court for today’s proceedings and will have a complete wrap-up later this afternoon, on the air and online at WKVI.com.
The bench trial of the man accused of brutally murdering an elderly Knox woman after breaking in and ransacking her daughter’s home in Leiters Ford is under way in Fulton Superior Court. Roy Bell is charged with murder, robbery and criminal confinement in connection with the November 22, 2011 shooting death of Wilma Upsall. Photos of the crime scene indicate a telephone was ripped from the wall, and Upsall was bound to a chair with the cord and a knotted towel. Ligature marks were visible on her wrists, and forensic evidence indicates she was shot from behind with a .380. Bullet holes, casings and unspent cartridges were found nearby, and the master bedroom appeared to have been ransacked. Her daughter came home and found her slumped over in the chair. WKVI’s Anita Goodan is in the courtroom and says Upsall’s family members were visibly shaken when they saw the photos. However, Bell has shown no emotion so far. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. So far three state troopers and a state police crime scene technician have testified for the prosecution. Bell was apprehended at a home in Monterey two days after the shooting.
Bell and two others allegedly forcibly entered the home of Upsall’s daughter and son-in-law on Nov. 23, 2011 in Rochester. Upsall was reportedly tied to a chair and shot to death. Items were also stolen from the home.
A man accused of killing a former Knox woman will appear in Fulton Superior Court on Nov. 15 for a pretrial hearing.
Wilma Upsall was shot and killed after a burglary incident at the home she shared with her daughter and son-in-law in Rochester. In November 2011, Roy Bell, William Scroggs, and Jason Miller reportedly broke into the house to steal items and found Upsall in the home. She was then allegedly tied to a chair and shot to death.
Bell is the suspected shooter in the incident. Miller told police that he and Scroggs were outside of the residence when the shots were fired, and Bell allegedly said later that Upsall could identify him so he shot her.
Bell has been charged with murder and if he is found guilty, he could face the death penalty.
A man accused of killing an elderly woman formerly from Knox could face the death penalty if he is convicted. Roy Bell of Rochester will appear in Fulton Superior Court on Tuesday, where he faces charges including Murder as he is the suspected gunman in the death of 81-year-old Wilma Upsall during a bungled home invasion in November 2011.
Two other men, William Scroggs of Delong and Jason Miller of Plymouth, face similar charges but prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty in either of those cases. The state filed a request for the death sentence for Bell in March and the initial hearing for that request was held on April 3.
We continue with the top stories of 2011 in the Kankakee Valley.
The year had its share of tragic stories during the year. Two of the most memorable were the death of a three-year-old toddler, and the shooting of an 81-year-old woman.
The question now is who pulled the trigger in the slaying of Wilma Upsall of Leiters Ford? That’s a question investigators are trying to determine and according to some news sources, the finger is pointing at Roy Bell of Rochester.
WSBT-TV reported yesterday that court documents point to Bell as the shooter of Wilma Upsall when she was tied to a chair. She was shot multiple times. The court documents, according to the WSBT report, said one of the accused, Jason Miller, of Plymouth, told investigators that he and William Scroggs, of Delong, were outside when they heard the shots and that Bell told them later that Upsall had seen his face.
The three men suspected of killing Wilma Upsall of Leiters Ford were in Fulton Superior Court this (Tuesday) morning. Judge Wayne Steele conducted the initial hearing and set a pre-trial hearing for January 10th and a Jury Trial for April 3rd. The three had not guilty pleas entered for them.
Funeral services were held yesterday for Wilma Upsall at the Braman and Son Memorial Chapel in Knox.
Upsall was killed after three men entered the home she was living in with her daughter and son-in-law in Rochester. She died of a single gunshot wound.
The third suspect in the incident was arrested Friday afternoon. Roy Bell was reportedly arrested at a home outside of Monterey. He was arrested without incident. He is being held on charges of Murder, Burglary and Robbery. Two other suspects in the incident, William Scroggs and Jason Miller were arrested Wednesday after a pursuit incident with Marshall County police. They are charged with the same charges.
One suspect remains at large in a shooting incident in Rochester that took the life of a former Starke County woman.
Police have arrested William Scroggs, 25, of Delong, and Jason Miller, 34, of Plymouth in the incident. They reportedly shot and killed 81-year-old Wilma Upsall at a home in Rochester after they forcibly entered into the home where she lived with her daughter and son-in-law. An autopsy confirmed that she died from a single gunshot wound.
Scroggs and Miller were arrested after police attempted to conduct a traffic stop near Monterey after the vehicle they were driving crossed the center line and was exceeding the speed limit. A ten minute police pursuit ended when the vehicle crashed on State Road 117 north of State Road 110. Miller and Scroggs fled on foot and were arrested. A third man in the vehicle, Roy Bell, 24, of Rochester remains at large today.
