Larry Gene Bell

   COLUMBIA - Larry Gene Bell, 47, passed away October 4, 1996 in Columbia, SC. Larry was born October 30, 1948 in Ralph, Tuscaloosa, AL. He is survived by a son, three sisters and one brother.

     Due to his family reported moving frequently during his youth, he attended Eau Claire High School in Columbia, SC from 1965 to 1967, but graduated high school in Mississippi and trained as an electrician. He returned to Colombia, married and had one son.

  Larry joined the United Marine Corps in 1970, but was discharged the same year due to a knee injury suffered when he accidentally shot himself while cleaning a gun. The following year, he worked as a correctional officer at the Department of Corrections in Columbia for one month. Bell and his family moved to Rock Hill, SC in 1972, and the couple divorced in 1976. He worked at the Eastern Airlines Reservations Center in Charlotte during the early 1980s.

    On August 24, 1987, Larry was found guilty of murder and kidnapping, was given two death sentences and was executed in Columbia on October 4, 1996.