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Wicked Doll

Trusted Member
OAKTON, Va. -- A cold case in Virginia has finally been solved, but the killer will never see justice.

John Bell, 68, was killed during a burglary in his Oakton home on Hunter Mill Road in January of 1979. His sister, Mary Bell, who was 84 at the time, was also injured during the incident.

Fairfax County Police say Bell was stabbed as he scuffled with an intruder, but was able to pull out some of his killer's hair.

Police have now linked that killing to Douglas Lee Simmons, who was 18 at the time. They used DNA from Simmons' hair to solve the crime.

But Simmons will never see trial or prison time. When police started looking for him, they discovered he had died in a car crash in 1995 when he was 34.

Mary Bell died of natural causes in 1988.

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1586174

This happened across the street from where I lived at the time and some of John Bell's relatives lived behind us. I was too young to remember much about the case, but heard on NPR that it had been solved a few weeks ago. Simmons is no longer in the genepool, but it's too bad this didn't come to light prior to his death.
 
It's quite refreshing when cases like this get solved.
Equally as disappointing that the perpetrator got away with murder.

on a side note, Ive always been intrigued by a different Mary Bell, the infamous 10-year old child-killer.

Rot in pieces, Douglas Lee Simmons.
 
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