Morbid - Episode 154: The Galveston 11 Part 1

Episode Date: July 10, 2020

In the first installment of our series about The Texas Killing Fields, we focus on the 11 raped and murdered young girls referred to as the Galveston 11. In Part 1 of this case, Ash goes through Ed Bell's tumultuous life, his confessions and the first murders. Did Ed Bell do it, or is he an Ottis Toole type who likes to involve himself in nightmares that he wasn't present for? Embark Right now, Embark has an exclusive offer just for our listeners! Go to Embark vet dot com now! and use Promo code MORBID to save 15% off your Dog Breed and Health kit. Visit Embarkvet.com and use promo code MORBID to save 15% today. Care/of For 50% off your first Care/of order, go to TakeCareOf.com and enter code morbid50. Athena Club Stop using razors that underdeliver and switch to Athena Club! Sign up today and you’ll get 15% off your first order! Just go to AthenaClub.com and use promo code morbid.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, Prime members, you can listen to morbid, early, and ad-free on Amazon music. Download the app today. You're listening to a morbid network podcast. Whether you're running errands on your daily commute, or even at home, you can enjoy all your audio entertainment in one app, the Audible app. As an Audible member, you can choose one title a month to keep from the entire catalog. This includes the latest bestsellers and new releases. Plus get full access to a growing selection of included audiobooks, audible originals,

and more. If you've been wanting to form good habits, break bad ones, and improve motivation, atomic habits written and narrated by James Clear is a great lesson. It'll reshape your mindset on progress and success by helping you develop strategies to transform your habits. New members can try audible free for 30 days. Visit audible.com slash wondery pod or text wondery pod to 500-500 to try audible for free for 30 days.

That's W-O-N-D-E-R-Y-P-O-D. Audible.com slash wondery pod or text wondery pod to 500-500 to try audible for free for 30 days. Angie has made it easier than ever to connect with skilled professionals to get all your home projects done well. Whether it's routine maintenance and emergency repair or a dream project, Angie lets you browse home on her reviews, compare quotes from multiple local pros, and even book a service instantly. So the next time you have a home project, just Angie that and start getting the most out

of your home. Download the free Angie mobile app today or visit Angie.com. That's ANGI.com. Hey weirdos, I'm Elena, I'm Ash and this is morbid. more bid in your face. All up in your face. Boom. This is an ash centric orbid. Ooh honey, this week is an ash centric week. It's a two-pada ash style. Ash is doing a two-pada. I think I've only ever done. I'm like I think I've only ever done one two-parter, but I actually just did one.

You did. I did Lori Valla. And I've done, I think Charlie Mancem was a two-parter. Yeah, so you're a seasoned veteran. It doesn't feel like this. I think this, like Lori Vallow was my first deep dive into a two-parter and then this was like, I was on the ocean floor.

You were, you're digging through into like the magma. Yeah, yeah. I'm excited to see. I'm not seeing Earth's core. What's the other one? Not real sure. mantle. Sure. Is there mantle in there? There is this mantle. Yeah, I'm there. You're there. All right

I think the core is further so I was saying core. Yeah, I'm not there. I'm at the mantle. All right cool, you know, don't don't overshoot I guess So Hey guys welcome to our show Hello So I think we have just a couple of things we wanted to mention. We just wanted to say that again, all our live shows that were scheduled in 2020 are in 2021 now. We don't have dates for everything, but we will certainly let you know I've removed all the old dates

from our website. I will update that as soon as I have the new ones. And you should get emails too from whoever you purchase tickets from with new dates, but we're mind you. Like the venues are gonna end up telling you, you know, this has been rescuable, but you know what, same here. Why should you have to do work?

We're gonna let you know as soon as we know. And if you can hold on to your tickets, that's gnarly, because gnarly is fun. You will be able to take those tickets and use them for the new date and we can hang finally to the extreme. If you can't though because shit happens 2021 we just who knows. I hope it's a better year. COVID's been a tough one for people. It's been tough financially, emotionally, physically, all kinds of good stuff. Yeah. So if you, for some reason, need to get rid of that ticket. You can't hang on to it for then.

We understand. We, we hope you can all hang on to your tickets, but obviously we understand. And if you have to do a refund or whatever you need to do, just contact your venue or the people you bought the ticket from and they can help you. But again, we hope we get to see you all in 2021. I want to see you all. All those spices. Yeah, we really do. And we're sorry that, you know, it keeps getting bumped and, you know, dates are going everywhere, obviously.

Yeah. Very much beyond our control. Very beyond anybody's control at this point. Pandemics are crazy and we have not all really lived through one like this. So, you know, we're all just working with what we can. But yeah, we know it's frustrating. We're frustrated. Trust me because we were so ready for a full year of just like seeing your faces. Because we got to do like too many live shows, which are just warm-ups. And then we went to the fucking grammar scene. I was like, oh, bitch! This is it! Okay, I got to yell thank you, York. I felt like yeah, and that's sure it was so fun

And it made me be like all right, let's do this and I was ready. Yeah We had our like stage ready to go. We're so excited about it I have like four fucking pairs of pants in my closet right now that I've just been waiting to wear that's not an exaggeration That's real. I've seen them yeah, and They are real and but you know what, all of this excitement and all this prep that we're telling you about right now, it's gonna get even better in 2021. So, everything that we thought was gonna be rad in 2020,

we're just gonna just bump it up. Right now we're actually trying to figure out how to do fireworks on stage. We just pyro techniques. No, we're not gonna do that. Totally kidding. But we're still gonna make it awesome. So, totally kidding. But we're still going to make it awesome. So if you have tickets and you're like, oh, I don't know.

Trust me. Trust me. It's going to be worth it. It's going to be worth it. We're going to put your thing down flip it and reverse it. We truly are. So yeah, so that's just the business about the tickets. Again, we'll let you know as soon as we know.

There's some real bummer news that happened like late late last night. Yeah, Annie was telling me about it today and I was like, what? Yeah. So I went to bed last night and John was up late working because he's been working from home and it's like just craziness with kids. He ends up having to work like late in the night. And he he came in and I think I just woke up when he walked in the bedroom. And he was like, do you watch Glee? And I was like, no.

And I was like, no, but I know Glee. That's what Glee is. That's exactly the exchange that Andy has. So I was like, did you ever watch Glee? And I was like, no. No, no. Like, I know that he was a cool kind of gal. I've never watched even a second of it.

I don't mind musicals. I just never got into that show. Yeah. I'm sure it was of gal. I've never watched even a second of it. I don't mind musicals. I just never got into that show. Yeah. I'm sure it was awesome, but I just never watched it. People love that show. And I know like the actors who are on it. I know the whole premise. And people say that there's like a glee curse.

Yeah. This is very scary. So he told me about Naya Rivera, who's like 33 years old. Yeah. That's young. Really young? That's a year younger than me. And she's a glee actress.

And last night, apparently, it was announced that she had gone out on a lake on a little pontoon boat with her four-year-old son, who's adorable. Oh, my God. Little muffin. They don't know where she is. The four-year-old said that I, somebody had reported that the four-year-old had told authorities or whoever found

them that, you know, she went in the water and she didn't come back. And to me, that's the most heart-wrenching horrific thing I've ever heard in my entire life. It's just so strange. And he was wearing a life jacket, but her life jacket was on the boat. Yeah. And at first it was like a search and rescue mission and they changed it to a recovery mission. Yeah, like in the middle of it. She's presumed dead now, which is horrific and so sad and so like, oh, it's just such a freak weird accident. And now it's like, what happened? Yeah, I think there's, I think we're gonna find out a lot in the coming weeks. I mean, obviously, it doesn't look good, but I'm, I mean, holding out hope, maybe something

happened and she'll be found okay, but like, I mean, it doesn't look good. But, you know, everyone can hold out hope. Right. You have to. Right. But yeah, they haven't found her yet. I just looked it up to see if anything has been announced, but nope, they have not found Naya yet, but so sad. I know. Such like, and I mean, by all accounts, she was like an amazing person, amazing mom,

amazing talent. That's like, what happened? What happened? And now that poor four year olds, and it's well I would have traumatizing situation all around I hope he has like family that he can go be with It sounds like he does yeah, and they said he's healthy. He's okay. That's good. So that's good

But man what a story like what a weird It's just a bizarre it is and you know We'll we'll update when we find out what's going on But you know what's everybody crossed your fingers that it's something weird is going on and that she just shows up, that's something happened. Weirder things have happened. You never know. I mean, they found the list of it smart alive, so that was the that was the shelter of the century. So we all thought she was gone. Exactly. You just never know. You got a hold out hope. That's all we got. That's all we got.

That's all we have. It really is. So that's a bummer, but I wanted to mention it because I thought it was important. Next, this coming week, we are going to be covering the Vanessa G in case. So get ready for that, guys, because I think we have as much information as we're going to get right now. I think we have a good amount for a full episode at this point. Yeah, we definitely want to cover it now. So we'll be covering that. But today, what are we going to be covering?

We are covering. And this is like a highly requested case. Sure is. The Galveston 11. Isn't that like the Texas Killing Fields? It's part of the Texas Killing Fields. Yes. Well, the Texas Killing Fields is a massive. We'll be covering more things with that, but yeah, this is part of it. But this case has the first body that was ever discovered in the Texas Killing Field. Oh, I didn't know that. Actually, we're not gonna get into that in part one.

It's gonna be in part two. But don't worry. But it's okay. So, in 1998, this guy, Edward Harold Bell, he sucks. He wrote... Sounds, he sucks. He wrote multiple confession letters to prosecutors in not only Galveston, but Harris, which is also like a community, about 11 unsolved murders in Galveston, Texas. And he completely admitted he went into detail

about many of the victims when as far as to say what they were wearing, what he used to shoot them, like what kind of gun, where it was. Things that only he would know. It seemed that way, yes. But there's also like maybe he read like a lot of newspapers. Absolutely. Because when it comes to like clothing and stuff,

you could have heard it. Right. He didn't necessarily say anything that wasn't mentioned at one point. Oh, okay. But all of the things that he mentioned in his letter were never laid out in one place. So he would have had to gather it from any different places.

And like he would have had like many newspapers in his jail cell. So there's that. That would have been like a little bit much. So then he went back and retracted everything that he had said, and he claimed that he was suicidal, and he thought by confessing to all this, he would be killed by the state. No.

It's like it doesn't necessarily work that way, and I feel like you probably knew that, and I feel like this is just like a convenient excuse. Well, it sounds like a game. Sounds like a game. Sounds like he's oddest tooling it and Henry Lee look at it. It sounds like he's out here wilding because he also said he'd actually never killed anyone. Oh.

Which is weird because he wasn't prison for murder. I was gonna say, he's like, you know what? It's crazy. I actually never killed a single person. I actually shouldn't be in here at all. And everybody's like, yeah, but you should, though, because there were multiple witnesses to you killing somebody. Like, bro, come on.

But we're going to get into all that. Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondery's podcast American scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in US history. Presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our newest series, we look at the Kids for Cash scandal, a story about corruption inside America's system of juvenile justice. In Northeastern Pennsylvania, residents had begun noticing an alarming trend. Children were being sent away to jail in high numbers, and often for committing only minor offenses.

The FBI began looking at two local judges, and when the full picture emerged, it made national headlines. The judges were earning a fortune, carrying out a brazen criminal scheme, one that would shatter the lives of countless children, and force a heated debate about punishment, an America's criminal justice system. Follow American scandal wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free on the Amazon music or Wonder App. What if you were trafficked into a cult over shot nine times, or fell in love with a vampire, or went into a minor surgery and woke up one week later, paralyzed. What would you do?

I'm Whit Missaldine, the creator of this is actually happening, a podcast from Wondry that brings you extraordinary true stories of life-changing events told by the people who lived them. From a young man that dooms his entire future with one choice, to a woman who survived a notorious serial killer. You'll hear their first-person account of how they overcame remarkable circumstances. Each episode is an exploration of the human spirit and personal discovery. These haunting accounts sound like Hollywood movies, but I assure you this is actually happening.

Follow this is actually happening wherever you get your podcasts, you can listen to ad free on the Amazon Music or Wonder app. I'm excited, but we got to start at the beginning. Start at the beginning. That's a great place to start. You know what always is. So Edward Bell, he was born in 1939 long time ago. Apparently he was in the Boy Scouts and I read a few articles that said he had a pretty typical childhood. All right. It doesn't really seem like that if you're going based off of what he says about his childhood because whatever he has to say was not at all normal. Oh, I mean, which could be the truth. But it could also be him saying, see, this is why I do this exact.

Yeah, it could be like an excuse kind of thing. Here's the validation. It's really hard to take him for what he's worth. Like, it's very difficult. It sounds he's very much an honest tool. Yes. Yes, Henry Lucas. Yes, exactly.

So he says that he became a sex criminal at the age of three. All right, I'm already starting to think that maybe he's a bullshitter. Like, probably. So there's this woman name. I think, okay, so I think her name is Lease. It's L-I-S-E, Lease. But in the documentary, they call her Lisa, like the narrator does, but then also other people in the documentary call her Lease. So I'm documentary, they call her Lisa, like the narrator does, but then also other people

in the documentary call her lease. So I'm like, which is it? So I'm gonna call her lease. Let's just call her lease. Cool. So if anybody knows for sure, let us know. Yeah. Let me know. Nicely. Nicely. She worked, she was like a journalist, an investigative journalist, and she has all these honors, like she is gone to fucking town in her investigative journalism. She's a bad bitch. Yeah. So she basically went out to see him in prison because after these, she got her hands on these confession letters and was like, what the fuck? Like what are you about? What now? So she agreed to like do an interview with her in prison. And he told her while she was visiting,

that when he was three years old, he was outside playing in the backyard. And his older brother, who was five at the time, came out and was like, let's go see your girlfriend on the street. Now already I'm like, what? So they go to see this neighbor girl. And Ed says he remembers wanting to take off

this girl's clothes. No. He's three. I'm like, you don't remember that. That doesn't make any sense. No. So he did.

And his brother left. I guess. That's three-year-old took off the coat. Apparently. Yeah. So far, this checks out. Checked out. He did.

And the girl's mom came out and like flipped out. And then he said when his parents found out he got home and basically his mom just like beat the shit out of him with a stick. And that's when he became a sex criminal. I'm gonna call bullshit on that because of many things. One, three. How do you remember that? Three. Like three. Because, again, my girls are four. Right. They don't remember anything from when they were three and that was like six months ago.

I mean, I guess this would be like a memorable experience in your life because it's so traumatic, I guess. You wouldn't remember. Like there's certain things, because people will say, and I'm sure people will say that they remember certain things from when they were like three, four, five. Yeah, like little things. But you wouldn't remember something like, I wanted to take her close off.

You're not going to remember like a feeling, your motivations, or your... Right. You're just going to remember things that happened, maybe. And maybe. I mean, three is not when you're not making a lot of memories at three. No, it's just not happening. And you're certainly not becoming a sex criminal at three. It's not happening. You don't have the capacity for that. Right.

One, you don't know what sex is. Your brain is not developed in any way, really. It's really not. Like you're still learning what the actual world around you is. Exactly. No, it doesn't. No, that's bullshit. really not like you're still learning what the actual world around you is exactly. No, it doesn't know. That's bullshit And not only is that bullshit. It's really offensive that he's like, yeah people believe this because I'm like, you really think we're dumb and it's really just like a really gross Yes, he's doing like it makes me want to like go take a shower. It shows how gross he is. He oh, we're gonna find out how gross he is So it also really like lends itself to this story

that he has because he says this was the first memory that he had where he realizes or realize that his actions were being controlled by the program. Again, no, no, the program, three years old. So we're gonna find out that it talks a lot about this fucking program, Which is according to him a government program that brainwashed him into doing all the bad things he did throughout his life Wow, what a convenient so convenient am I right? At one point he legitimately blames FDR

Wow, there's like my cat is named after so that's awkward And you know, I just I feel bad for it because apparently you just never had a chance. No, he never did. It's like, okay, that was full sarcasm for anybody that couldn't read that just so you know. He never had any control over his life path. He knows, yeah. This is sad if it's true.

He also claims that when he was eight years old, he was molested by a cousin at the direction of his own father. That's horrific. And you know, I could, I've heard things that horrific happening, so that I'm not gonna be like, absolutely not. Like that could have happened.

That definitely could have happened. And if it did, that's horrific. And I feel bad for child him. Right. Exactly. Not at all. And then the final thing kind of, when he was 15 years old, he believed that his father hired a hitman to kill him while they were out squirrel hunting together

in the woods. And he said his father wanted to kill him because the program wasn't working. So like his dad set him up with this program and like he felt as though it wasn't working so he wanted to kill him. This seems like a lot of layers. It's very layered.

It's a lot. So in other news, I did go to Texas, a caller. He did go to Texas. He went to Texas. He went to college in Texas. Texas A&M, and he played the trombone in the Aggie Marching Band. Hey, get it. He met his first wife in college.

I think this sounds great. Three kids together. So I feel like this really could have been like Ed's chance to really turn things around, have a better future for himself. But that's not at all what Ed did. Ed was arrested at least seven times for things like rape, aggravated rape, indecent exposure, and indecentcy with a child.

Okay, those are all really horrific things. Really horrific things. That's not your like getting arrested for, you know, petty theft. Right, you're like having some weed on you back in the day. No, no, it's really bad. What Ed liked to do was he liked to get naked

from the waist down, find young girls who were like in groups together and alone. And he typically, he like people to be like, these girls to be younger than like 16. That's really disgusting. Yeah, none of these girls were over 18. That's disgusting. But somehow, he always avoided prison time.

Like, he never got prison time for any of these indecent exposures or these rapes. And he would just walk up to these girls without his pants on. And just be masturbating. So many of these weird dudes do that. And it's the weirdest fucking thing. One of the most horrifying things I would ever see

is just a dude winning the pooling it. Like just like nothing good about that. No, no to all men. Never think that it's like a good thing to walk into a woman with a shirt on and nothing from the waist down. And I also just don't understand like the great thrill that you get out of that.

It's like, I mean, I'm glad you don't because I would hear you say a lot of sense. But it's the same, but they do. It's, you know what it is? It's not for us to understand. It's like a central thing. It's a power thing and it's the same, but they do they it's you know what it is it's not for us to understand it's like a control thing It's a power thing and it's a fear thing. It's a terrorizing thing They know that by doing that they won't put you in a situation that you can't get out of right because you're just Trapped your own party scene whatever you've seen it. You're already you've already been traumatized right and then they get this power of just

You've already been traumatized. And then they get this power of just using you without your permission to jack it. It's so gross. Well, it's like a Louis CK thing. Exactly. It's a rape from a distance. It is what it is. It absolutely is.

Well, like I said, somehow, he always avoided prison time, which is just fucking mind blowing to me. Some of these people do. Some of these people do. But you also, it was the 70s. So it's like, you know, it's like the Golden State Killer thing. Right. And like, you know, it's like the golden state killer thing.

Right. And like when we talked about it on like, like our Patreon's know, we've gotten a discussion about the, I'll be gone in the dark. Right. And they talk a lot about how in the 70s, rape was just, it was like, what did you do to make that happen? Right. It was just a simple assault.

Exactly. So instead of going to prison, he would have to complete psychiatric treatments instead. Okay. So I also think, and I'm going to talk about an investigator later on who totally believes this, believes this as well, I think that maybe that's when all this program bullshit started, because he realized that he could avoid jail time by being like, I am Kuku nuts. Yep. Like, I think that's what he was like.

The program is making me do this because FDR has taken over my brain. The program? Yes. I think that if he had gone to prison though, a lot of the girls that we're gonna talk about in part one in part two would absolutely 100% be alive today.

Absolutely. So like I said, Ed Bell wrote multiple confession letters. One particular letter talks about quote, the 11 that went to heaven. That is so spooky. So spooky. And it's like, you can't, I could not find this fucking letter anywhere. If anybody can find it, let me know. Oh damn. There's an A&E documentary. It's like a docu-series. I think it's seven, six or seven parts. I watched the whole thing twice because I was like, holy fuck. And they they quote from this letter a lot, but then I tried to find it. Like in its entirety. Yeah. I was like, where is it? I'll have to look for it. But he writes a poem about these girls and he that's where

the title comes from. It's the 11 that went to heaven. Oh, that's where the title comes from. It's the 11 that went to heaven. Oh, that's terrif, so fucking creepy. In these letters, he specifically talks about some of, like, actually specifically name some of these girls, or he'll be like the two from Dickinson, or like the two from here. Like this one had this color hair and like this color jacket, and it all lines up. So it's like, I feel like it's just too convenient

that you would remember all of that from a newspaper because the way he writes about it is like he was there. Yeah, it seems like the way he remembers it is how you really do remember situations. Exactly. This one's, you know, Nancy. I remember Nancy, but this one had brown hair and I can't remember anything.

Right. This one I remember her jacket, you know, and you mean like how you naturally remember things. Right. Because a lot of times even if you do have a photographic memory, he would have remembered all the names I feel like. Exactly. You know, yeah. So he specifically talks about killing 15 year olds Debbie Ackerman and Maria Johnson as well as seven other girls.

15 years old. 15 and that's not even the youngest that we're gonna talk about. Maria and Debbie were last seen in front of a Baskin Robbins ice cream shop on November 15th. Their friend Cindy Thompson worked at this Baskin Robbins.

Okay. So it was a holiday from school. It was like a teacher's meeting or something like that. So everybody was off from school. Everybody was kind of just like doing different things. And this was like a little surf town. So like people were going to the beach. You're going here and everywhere. It's like a fun ass day. Absolutely. So Cindy remembered that everyone was off from school. Everybody was kind of like congregating in the Baskin Robbins. And she was friends with Maria and Debbie. And she was like, oh, like,

what are you guys doing today? And they were like, our plan for the day is to hitchhike to Houston, which that really wasn't like abnormal. It was the same. No. That's just kind of what you did. Like now you'd be like, what? And by the way, sorry, I don't know if I said it.

This was 71. Oh, 71, okay. So like, prime time hitchhiking. Yeah, absolutely. And she was like, okay, cool. Like, have fun, like, see you later. Like, prime time hitchhiking and prime time worse time to hitchhiking. Yeah, absolutely. She was like, okay, cool. Like, have fun. Like, see you later. Like, prime time hitchhiking and prime time worst time to hitchhiking. Yeah, exactly. That's why, I feel like that's why so many crimes are unsolved from the 70s, because it's like you just anybody could have been fucking passing through when you just got in their car. Oh, that definitely

had a lot to do with it being such a dangerous decade. It was just availability of victims. Exactly. Yeah. So Cindy remembered that Maria was wearing a white top and red pants. And the last time she saw Maria and Debbie they were getting into a white van. Oh no never. Never get into a white van. Oh, no, never. Never get into a white van. The white van, man. She said that the driver was 100% a man. She didn't see his face, but she saw his arm, and she was like, it's definitely a dude.

And she was like, Maria and Debbie seemed to recognize this guy because they were talking to him for like a little bit before they got in, and then they got in, and they were off. And that's the last time she ever saw her friends. Because two days later, Maria's body was found in the Turner Bayou. Her hands were bound. She was naked from the waist down. And then the day after that, Debbie's body

was also found in the Turner Bayou. The same, the Bayou. The Bayou. The Bayou. The Bayou, the same way. Now Bell has like a bunch of different stories about seeing Debbie and Maria that day that he of course he does he goes with the first story that he told was that he led them to the water after raping them. He stood on the bridge and he had them like

walk into the water like kind of waiting in and shot them both with a three, uh, three 57 magnum while they just stood there in the water, like facing away from him. Like that. And they, they were shot. Like that's exactly how they died. So he knew that and he knew that where they were found. He, and he described standing on the bridge. And it's like it, it all adds up. Yeah. So that's the first story that he told. He later said that wasn't true and he had actually never heard of those girls. Dude, it's like so we go from your standing on the bridge shooting them and then you never knew them.

After raping them. After raping them. And now you just didn't know them at all. You never knew them. Then his most recent story is that, and this is right before he died that he told this story, was that, oh, he did in fact pick them up from the Vaskin Robbins ice cream store, and they told him that they were sick of high school boys and they wanted a real man.

Nope. And I'm sorry, if you see what he looks like, like back in the day, it was like, they definitely wouldn't have gone to him if that's what they wanted. Absolutely. And I doubt that that just never happened. No. I don't even doubt it. It just didn't happen. Well, it's, it's classic. It's, they wanted. Absolutely. And I doubt that just never happened. No. I don't even doubt it. It just didn't happen.

Well, it's classic. It's they wanted. They wanted me. That's what it is. They wanted it. They wanted it. I'm just looking at me. And he said, after he finished having sex with them, he dropped them off at a theater.

Oh, so such a gentleman. It's like it's so weird that you dropped them off because like they were found dead that day later. Yeah. So no one saw him at a theater. It doesn't make sense. And did he drive a white van? He did drive away, of course he did.

And the van was later burned. FYI. Oh, that's fine. Yeah, literally nothing else. Like I could find nothing else about that just that it was later burned. It's burned and repainted. Repainted first then burned.

And it's not out of this world to think that Debbie and Maria would have known who Ed Bell was because Debbie and Maria were both super into surfing and water skiing. They were both like really good at water skiing and they would have known him from the surf and dive shop that he co-owned. With this guy named Doug Prunes. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Hi there. Now this was like the place to be in Galveston because everybody was into water sports,

water skiing, like surfing, and they sold all that stuff there. And it's like, I just picture like this little beach town like summer vacation where like you're all hanging out at like the surf and dive shop. Like I think you have the movie jaws. I mean, I'm thinking of a two because it's like yeah So that's where they were and he fucking co-owned it. So it's like yeah, he definitely they they ran across each other's paths on multiple occasions and Doug Brun said that he actually this is so weird. I'm like, how did you co-own something with this guy?

He said he didn't know him very well It's like All right. I'm like, how did you co-own something with this guy? He said he didn't know him very well. It's like, all right. I don't know. I feel like that's a little bit of distancing. He was like, I just know that he came around the store a lot and he told me that he needed somewhere to sell his dive equipment.

And I was like, yeah, sell it here. And it was like, but how did he become a co-own? I was like, I was gonna say that's a jump. You should have a lot of discussion about that. He was probably just like a chill surf or dude. And he's like, yeah sure honestly it makes sense. You want to co-own it? He's like, do you listen to the beach boys? All right cool This other guy that worked there named Jimmy Somerfield said that Ed was always coming and going and he knew that Ed was a con man of sorts And he was always up to something. He was like, I knew that guy was up to something. He was wily that one

Yeah, he was a wily coyote. So Debbie and Maria were not the only pair of friends to go missing from Galveston and turn up in a gruesome manner. Okay. Next pair, we're going to talk about 13-year-old Sharon Shaw and 14-year-old Rhonda Renee Johnson. and 14-year-old Rhonda Renee Johnson. So they went missing on August 4th in 1971. Okay. So Rhonda went by Renee. Renee was like super into music and surfing. A lot of these girls were into surfing because they lived in Galveston.

Which is probably how he was picking them out too. Exactly because they probably hung out at the surf shop. And she loved to hang out with her best friend, Sharon. Sharon was the younger one of the two, but everyone says that she was the leader, and she had this like confidence about her, like she knew what she was doing. Good for her.

And she had big dreams of becoming a pro surfer, and she talked about this all the time. She was like, I'm gonna run away to California when I'm old enough, and I'm gonna be like a pro surfer. So she and Renee wanted to go to the beach one day, probably to go surfing, I like. So their friend Glenda Willis drove them out to the beach in Galveston and then she was like, I got to get to work. Like, are you guys, like, I think she hung out there for a little bit and then she was like, I got to go. Like, are you guys coming? And they were like, nope, like, we're good. We're going to

hang out longer. Okay. So it was just the two of them there together. And Glenda ended up being the last friend to see them alive. Oh, imagine, I always think of that. The poor people that end up being like, alright, see you later. Well, and it's like you run into so many people like that in this story, obviously. And it's like the last people feel so much guilt because they're like, I just should have never let them go.

They think of every little possibility, like maybe if I stayed or maybe if I had made them come with me, it's natural. It's human nature. It's just nature. It's like survivor skills. It just makes me so sad that those people have to live with that extra layer of sadness. So they went missing August 4th.

They weren't found until February 1972. And it was August 4th, 1971. Ooh, so it took a very long time for their bodies to be discovered. Yeah. Sharon's remains were found first by a man fishing at Taylor Lake. All in all, they found 29 of her bones,

and with her bones, they found pieces of tied up black twine. Then Renee's skull was found in like upper Taylor Lake, so they're kind of the same deal, like one, they just like drifted apart because of the currents, probably. And they had to use dental records to identify Renee. Wow. Yeah. So in his letter, Ed Bell had said that he tied Debbie and Maria up. So this kind of explains the ties that are found with Sharon's body, exactly.

It was also noteworthy now that there's two sets of friends to go missing. They have similar interests like water surfing, water surfing, you know water surfing, water skiing and surfing, and they're similar ages. Yeah. And it's like, it's weird that like two girls go missing at a time. Like that's a weird thing. Yeah.

The main thing that people hold on to is that Ed, like for this case, is that Ed Bell referenced a blonde and a brunette in his confession letter. And many people think that blonde and a brunette in his confession letter. And many people think that the blonde and brunette killed together that summer were sharing and Renee. Oh, okay. So, a few years later, we're going to Flash Forward to September of 74. There was another pair of girls to go missing together. Yeah, somebody take note.

Yeah, I'm like, how? I know. The other thing is these are like, not all of these are in Galveston, and there's so many police communities. There are these jurisdictions. There are jurisdictions, and they don't want to work with each other.

They never want to share information. Especially in the 70s, they were like, it was like a competition. Oh yeah, they all had huge moustaches, lots of mutton chops, and they were like, nope, not sharing. Like holding everything close to my chest. Yes.

Also probably gonna do the most minimal amount of searching for these gifts. I'm gonna do the absolute least amount of work. Like, I am corrupt as fuck. So September 74, another pair of girls goes missing from Dickinson this time. Now, Dickinson is not that far away from Galveston. It's like a 25-minute drive. Okay. And that's also a town that was mentioned by Ed Bell

in his confession letter. Ah, yes. I remember you saying that. He references killing two Dickinson girls. Okay. So these girls were 12-year-old Brooks Bracewell and her best friend, Georgia Gear, who was 14 years old. Come on.

It's like 12 years old. 12 years old, dude. Ridiculous. Oh my god. So Brooks and Georgia knew each other because they lived in the same neighborhood and they were like inseparable like they were best friends. So another group of best friends. Oh, that's awful.

So Brooks was a tomboy and Georgia loved a good adventure, so they were like a matchmaid in heaven. Absolutely. Brooks's stepbrother said that the last time he saw them, they said that they were going to hitch a ride to school because they were like fuck waiting for the bus. It was like a bus stop that he last saw them. And then along the way, they ended up deciding that they wanted to have an adventure together. They didn't feel like going to school.

Of course they did. It was a Friday. It feels like going to school Of course they did and it was a Friday So it feels like going to school not me. It's the 70s again Yeah, care for you. I'm gonna hitch a ride to wherever true and see whatever don't go fuck So the last place that they were seeing together was the El Rancho Motel The motel Strangely enough like picturing a motel like, as a place for kids to hang out, shoes bizarre, but this particular motel was where the kids hung out. All right. Um, there was a room with, like, a pool table, a bar, and, like, some other random

games. Oh, that makes sense. Like a game room. Yeah, exactly. A picture kind of, almost like an arcade, but yeah, like, maybe they had a rock. The billiards table. It's got, yeah, all that jazz. So people would come there after school, especially in the weekend. So it wasn't unusual that they cut school, went there, hung out, like they might have gone to like the corner stores, something before that, but they definitely were lasting at this motel. Because Brooks's older sister Sherry went there with her friends after school on Friday. Okay. And she saw Brooks in Georgia and she's like, what the fuck are you guys doing here? Because they're younger. Yeah. Everything was wrapping up. People. And she saw Brooks and Georgia and she's like, what the fuck are you guys doing here? Because they're younger.

Yeah. Everything was wrapping up. People were heading home and Brooks and Georgia were like, hey, Sherry, can we grab a ride with you and your friends? Now Sherry obviously regrets this to this day. She had come with like two or three of her guy friends and she was like, the older sister, this is her little sister. She's like, nope, you guys found your way here.

Find your way home. Oh. And it's a tough one. There wasn't technically room for them in the car anyways. Yeah. But it's like, but of course she's she probably hung on to that. Right. And then one of her guy friends who was in the car at the time says he remembers turning around and looking at them and either, I don't know if it was Georgia or if it was Brooks, but he saw one of them like put their thumb in the road. Like they were gonna hit your right home. And that's the last, like he was like,

it is burned into my memory. That is the last image I have of them. Can you imagine? Because you know whatever car they got into is that was the one who was like, you just watched it happen. Oh, it's awful. And of course, nobody could ever know.

That's nothing you don't know, and everybody, everybody who goes missing or is murdered, they saw someone last. There's always a last someone. That's the last someone. And it's like, you just don't want it lucky enough to be it. It's like, it's not your fault, man. No, of course not. The shittiest thing about this is not only the fact that Sherry has all this guilt, but

also the police treated Brooks and George's case like they were runaways. Oh, of course they did. Now remember, this is a 12 year old and a 14 year old, and their family was like, no, like these are not runaway girls. Like, I think Brooks had literally 28 cents in her pocket. Yeah, and they had they didn't like they ditched their bags before school They didn't have bags or anything. Yeah, they weren't runaways. You would think they would bring a bag with them Right

The family hung up their own wanted post or excuse me missing posters Can I tell? You can. They're all in to do it. They're own missing persons, posters, because the police didn't even go as far as to do that. Wow. So when they were finally found, it was in a ditch, in a near and oil patch, in Alvin, Texas.

Oh, wow. So their remains were found in a ditch. And remains had been found there in that ditch previously, about two years after the girls went missing, but not all of them. Like it was only like some remains that were never identified. Oh, okay.

And then years later, like two more years later, Matt Wingo, he was the sheriff in, I think it's Brasoria County. He was the sheriff at the time. And he was like, I wanna go back out there and see if there's more. Yeah. So there was more.

And during that shady investigation, they actually did take dental records, luckily. That's the only thing that they did do. So when Matt went out there and found the rest of the remains, they had to again use the dental records to confirm that it was Brooks and Georgia. Yeah, and that all the remains were together. And they were all together exactly. And babies, man, all these kids are babies. Like literally, one of these girls was 12 years old. 12 years old, it's the saddest thing ever.

And the other thing that, this is like a haunting little piece of information Brooks's last known outfit was a golden sweater and plaid pants and fragments of the gold sweater were wrapped up within the remains Oh, which I was like that reminded me of like the lovely bones for some reason. Yeah We'll fuck you up this case will fuck you up, everything. And also that's like got like such a 70s vibe. So it's like it makes you think that it's from this 70s.

It is. I think it's set in the 70s. So at this point we have three sets of missing girls that turn up murdered in either in Galveston or like 25 minutes away. Yeah, so it's like clearly we have a serial killer. Yeah, working in the same area. And if you think of it, four of the six girls had ties to the surfing

and diving community, which we knew that Ed had strong ties to, and he confesses and stands by the fact that he did see Debbie Ackerman and Maria Johnson on the last day they were alive. Yeah, so it's like, okay, this is perfect. Like, why don't we have anything? It's like, the whole thing is perfect. Like why don't we have anything? It's like the whole thing is so frustrating

when you think of it. Seriously. And the other thing is, so we know that he co-owned that ski and water skiing in like surf shop. Yep. He also lived by a ski school. He lived like a few blocks away and it was a ski school that four of the girls

who were like into the water sports, they went there all the time. Yeah, it's like he's got opportunity, he's got everything. It's right there. So he wasn't a suspect at the time though because I don't even think anybody knew of him at this point. Yeah, people just didn't know who had built blocks. Wait, they had no idea. But in 1972, which was a couple years before Georgia and Brooks went missing, but I just

wanted to talk about everybody first. There was a man arrested in connection to one of these cases. So that was the case of Ronda Renee Johnson and Sharon Shaw. Okay, the second set of girls. Yes, the second set of girls, exactly. So there was a lot more pressure on this specific case because Renee's grandpa was Roy Johnson and he was a city councilman at the time. Oh.

He also went on to become the mayor. Oh. So he had a lot of say so. Yeah. He was getting like real pissed off that it didn't seem like anything was coming from the investigation that was being done. He's like, what the fuck is going on?

Yeah. So at the time this police officer, David Coburn, was doing the investigation and the sheriff at the time was, or excuse me, at the time this police officer, David Coburn, was doing the investigation, and the sheriff at the time was, or excuse me, at the sheriff, the police chief was JC Norman. Okay. So, and this was a seven-man police force,

and David had never worked a murder before. Oh, that's good. So it was like, obviously, that's probably why, like, not much was being done. Everything seems legit. So Roy Johnson is like, fuck all of you. You're all fired. He basically makes it so that almost the entire police force

is like fired and he dames in these new dudes. So the new dudes that he brings in are Don Morris as police chief now and his assistant Tommy Deal. Okay. These are cool names. I'm not gonna lie. Tommy Deal, like Tommy Deal, like, okay. Yeah, wait until you find out what happens Oh, so Tommy was the one who took over this investigation of like what happened to these girls primarily

What do you know? Nine days of investigating this case. He's already got a suspect made an arrest and got a confession Wow, Tommy deal Tommy deal making deals. He's the real deal. Sounds pretty perfect, right? Sure does. Not so much. I bet it is too. Oh, it's pretty perfect. All right, so Michael Lloyd's self was a peeping Tom with a, and this is a quote, a stunted mental growth. Okay, so gather from that what you will. Just take from it what you will. Exactly. He was a gas station attendant and he typically worked the night shift. Okay. Glenn Price was like another city councilman at the time and he was the one that called Don Morris and tipped him off that maybe Michael Self had something to do with Renee and Sharon's murders.

Okay. He's like, you might want to look into this dude. And what do you have it? Don Morris already knew Michael Self and didn't fucking like him. Oh. Because Don Morris was like a security guard at like an apartment complex at one point. And he always would see Michael Self like looking up girl skirts as they were walking. Yeah.

Yeah, he was peeping Tom like a hundred percent. Not a good dude. No. And he also had once threatened to throw Michael and jail because he thought that Michael was stealing gas from fire trucks when he was working as a volunteer firefighter. Okay. So he already had a vengeance against it. So let's remember that. The morning of June 9th, Don and Tommy went out to the gas station to talk to Michael, ask him a few questions, and he agreed to go in for more questioning later that morning. So he goes down to the police station and they show him pictures of Renee and Sharon.

And he's like, oh yeah, I recognize them, but I don't know them personally. That was enough for Don and Tommy to literally slap the cuffs on right then and there. They were like, oh, like that's all we need to know is that you know them. And he's like, damn. What the fuck? That doesn't make any sense. So he's literally like, oh, like that's all we need to know is that you know them. And he's like, damn. What the fuck? Like, that doesn't make any sense.

So he's literally like, I've seen them before. I mean, they're like, well, you did it, you did it perfect. And they did get him to confess. He actually confessed multiple times. But he later said that he was forced to confess by Don Morris, who took five bullets out of his gun, which had like six bullets total. Yeah. And basically played Russian roulette with him and was like, I'm gonna blow your brains out unless you write down everything I tell you to write down. Wow.

And he also, I guess, like, held him up against the wall and was like poking at him with his like polystick. Damn. So that's how Michael says, that's why he confessed because he was like being tortured being tortured extension and which not for nothing we've seen that happen. A false confession. It made me think of the West Memphis 3. It immediately made me think of that. I feel like any any it always makes me a false confession will make me think of that. So which quick little side note John Mark Buyers died. Right I give I forgot that we forgot that we haven't mentioned that.

I forgot that we haven't mentioned that. So that's crazy. We're not going to go into it or anything, but like, whoa, but like, whoa, whoa, guys. Okay, now we're going to talk about it later. We'll talk about it on the beginning of the next episode. Yeah. So there is a problem with the confessions.

I'm shocked. Again, it's weird, there's already a problem because there's multiple different ones. Like, that's not usually what happens. Yeah. And it seems like, so there's two different written confessions. And it seems like the first one was kind of written, and he was like, okay, like this makes sense.

And then the second one was written, and it fit the details more. It fits the narrative better. It fits the narrative, exactly. So the first one was written on June mine mine June mine June 9th the day that he was arrested and then the second one was written Three days later on June 12th. So Like I said like it's a big issue that the second one was written to fit more of the details And then a couple of the other issues are that in the first confession, Michael says that he disposed of the girls' bodies in the El Lago

Lake, but that's 20 miles away from the Taylor Bayou, which is where they were actually found. So it's like, okay, that's weird. So already it's like, it's like, no, that doesn't make any sense. And then in the second confession, he's like, oh yeah, it was the Taylor Bayou, like I just messed that up. He's like, oh, you know what? Yes. Yeah, totally. Absolutely. Makes sense. Makes sense. And then in the second confession he's like, oh yeah, it was a Taylor by you. Like I just messed that up And he's like, oh, you know what? Yes. Yeah, totally. Absolutely. Makes sense. Makes sense. And then in one of his confessions He says that he picked the girls up from Sharon's house But that was impossible because like nobody saw him do that. Yeah, and also at the time he says he picked them up They had already been reported missing. Yeah, this isn't looking good. No

So that makes literally no sense. And finally, he says that he choked them, but there was no evidence to support that. Yeah, so that was him just being like, I guess that's how I did it. I choked him. I guess so. So there's no evidence against him.

Like there's no physical evidence at all. It was just, I think everyone was really happy to have an answer. And the community was like, we think everyone was really happy to have an answer. And the community was like, we just need somebody in jail for this. It's the same exact thing as the West Memphis 3. Exactly. You just need to nail someone so you can go, we got them.

It's like a comfort thing. Yeah. So Michael's self so weird, he was actually only convicted of Sharon's murder, even though there was like no evidence at all, but they could only get him on that murder. Wow. And he spent the rest of his life in jail. Wow. The rest of his fucking life in jail.

I don't think he did it. Such shocking. David Coburn also doesn't believe that Michael did it, because he says that he saw Don Morris do this exact like Russian roulette thing to make another inmate do whatever he wanted them to do. So this is like his thing. This is his thing.

And then Tommy and Don became even more unreliable because it came out that the entire time that they were working on this case and also for years after, they had been committing a string of bank robberies around Texas. Tommy and Don. But like, doesn't Don Morris and Tommy deal like you

were not born to be police officers. No you were born to be outlaws. Born to be wild. She were born to be wild. So they weren't exactly like your hometown heroes. That everybody thought they were? No definitely not. They actually they both got released from prison after they like served their time and then Tommy got put back in prison when he pretty much immediately robbed another bank. Yeah, he just can't help himself. And it's weird. Tommy deal. He's Tommy deal. Well, he says that Don Morris is like the one that like made him get into it. Of course. And he's like, but it's like cool, but then Don stopped and he didn't. Yeah. So it's like really doesn't matter. It's like also

nobody believes you at this point because you was a liar. You's a liar. Tommy deal. A liar. So well, let's get back to Ed Bell. Let's do it. So at this point, you're a liar. He was a liar, Timmy deal. A liar. So, but let's get back to Ed Bell. Let's do it. So at this point, you're probably like, okay, yeah, like he's a pretty solid suspect and he's like definitely a shitty individual, but like does that make him a murderer? I think it does.

I think so, but if you don't, I'm gonna need you to hold on to your butt. All right, hold on to it. Well, you don't even need to, but like somebody else might. I'm holding on though. Okay. So August 24th

1978 Ed Bell was doing what he does best being a big old motherfucking creep He was driving around in his red pickup truck Looking for a group of girls to expose himself to God as one does God, he ended up in this like super nice neighborhood in Pasadena He does. God, Ed. He ended up in this like super nice neighborhood in Pasadena. He parked his car in the middle of the street,

stripped from the waist down, got out of his car and just began masturbating right there in the middle of the fucking neighborhood. My God, if only someone would walk by dudes who do this with hedge clippers and just go, snap! Oh, yeah, seriously, that's what they need. And then just keep on trucking.

Just keep on trucking. Just be trucking be like have a nice day Well, somebody did try to save the day here So it was former marine Larry Dickens. Yes His mom lived in that neighborhood and he was just there to mo the lawn for her that day Which I might do oh my god, and he brought his three-year-old daughter with him Oh, so I hope he fucked this guy up So the family saw what was going on because Larry's like out there mowing the lawn

and Dorothy's like, that's the mom. She's like, what the fuck? Like there's this naked dude jerking off in the middle of the street. So she calls the police and she's like, my son is going out there. Like he's gonna try to detain this guy and like make it so young girls don't see this dude.

Fucking jerking off in the street. So he tried to get Ed Bell to cut the shit. Larry goes over and he's like, what the fuck are you doing, dude? And he reaches in to Ed Bell's truck to take his keys to make sure that like he can't get away once the cops get there. Well, Ed Bell was fucking pissed.

He like Larry wasn't able to like reach him or anything or he was like trying to like get away with the keys. So Ed Bell reaches in to his truck and pulls out a pistol and shoots Larry in the chest four times. No! Now Larry was 26 years old. No! Larry was able to get back to his driveway after being fucking shot that many times and his mom came like running out. He collapses onto her and Edbell walks up to him again, shoots him again while he's

laying in his mom's arms. Then calmly walks back to his fucking truck. He tosses the pistol back in, grabs a hunting rifle, walks back over, and at this point, I think Larry had gotten up up again to like or try to get away Like the mom went inside to like get the get the daughter He shot him in between the eyes with a hunting rifle I Am beyond words like this all happened because you wanted to get out of your fucking car and jerk off and brought daylight

and this guy was like, no, you can't do that. So you shot him like multiple fucking times. And as he's laying in his mother's arms, he shoots him again. You are the most evil fucker. Not only that, like he's literally shoots him all he's in his mother's arms, then goes back and gets a hunting rifle to shoot him again.

Wow. So obviously Larry Dickens died, unfortunately. But I feel like he died a hero. Yeah. Um, fuck, that sucks. Bell was able to hop in his car and fucking get away. What? So he wasn't super familiar with the area, though,

and he ended up driving down a dead end road, like fucking more on that he is. Domaz. He was arrested, but he posted his $125,000 bail and skipped bail and escaped to Panama for the next 14 years. Man, you know what, you tell him this story is very 2020 of you. It is very 2020.

The next 14 fucking years. That's bullshit. And that's not even it. That's where I'm gonna leave you, but that's not even the end of the fucking story. Back. So in part two, I'm gonna get a little more into like Ed's potential crimes.

I think they're all as fucking crimes. Ed did it. He did his weird ass life. I'm gonna tell you all about that. I'm gonna tell you about the rest of the 11 because I've only told you about six. So we have a ways to go. We have five more.

We have five more. All these girls that I'm gonna talk about in part two disappeared by themselves. Oh, that's different. And they met, a lot of them met the same fate of being let out to like water or something like that and being killed in the middle of nowhere. What a terrible, terrible way.

And especially like a loan. Like, obviously you don't want to die no matter what, but I feel like being a loan must be a whole mother. Yeah, it's like the whole fucking thing is awful. Oh gosh. Yeah. So that's what we're going to get to in part two. Wow.

Motherfucker escaped. I hate that story. I know, and we're not even done with it yet. I hate it. Well, I feel like there's a lot that we we're not even done with it yet. I hate it. Well, I feel like there's a lot that we can post to the Instagram for this one. If you want to go check that out. Yeah, because that's bonkers. Insane.

You can follow us on Instagram though at Morvid Podcast. Hit us up on Twitter. A Morvid Podcast. Send us a Gmail that is where Listener Tills go. Don't send them anywhere else or else we won't see them. We will not see them and that's a bummer because we want to see them. I want to see them. More of it podcast at gmail.com and make sure you put Listener Tales and then a fun little title. Y'all, and we hope they keep listening. We hope you keep it weird.

But that's the way that you've got out of your car in the middle of the broad daylight and you start drinking off because that's just not okay and honestly I hope that like you end up shot if you do that. Yeah and you know what if you do that I'm gonna come out of nowhere with some hedge clippers and just go Trump. Yeah keep it that weird. We will keep it that weird. I'm gonna keep it that weird. Bye. Hey, Prime Members! You can listen to Morvid, Early, and Add Free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen Add Free with Wondery Plus and Apple podcasts. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey. about yourself by completing a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey.