Bound Male Body in Galveston Bay[Gary Wayne Bell/ 6 Arrested-William Perry Convicted)

[Kaylynn]

GALVESTON, Texas -- Construction workers found a man's body in Galveston Bay on Sunday, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Galveston police said the body was found on the edge of the bay in the 8100 block of Channelview Drive near 81st Street at about 11:15 a.m.

Investigators said the man was only wearing socks.
Foul play was suspected, police said. The man's arms and legs were bound, detectives said.

The man was in his 20s, officials said. His name and cause of death were not released.

Anyone with information about the man's death is asked to call Galveston police at 409-766-2100.


http://www.click2houston.com/news/15873739/detail.html

:1222423:

[Roamer]

The poor man's arms and legs were bound and they suspect foul play. :shock:

How sad that someone's son/brother/husband was killed and discarded this way.

[packy]

Hope they can ID him and find who did this.

[Nut44x4]

Three arrested in case of dead man found nude, hog-tied in Galveston

03:53 AM CDT on Tuesday, April 15, 2008

KHOU.com staff report

HOUSTON – Police arrested three suspects and believe they found the car of a Santa Fe man whose hog-tied, nude body was found along the northern shore of Galveston over the weekend. Authorities told 11 News that a silver PT Cruiser they had at a strip center on Highway 290 and Jones Road in Houston is likely the one that belonged to Gary Wayne Bell.

They car was found late Monday night after a sheriff’s deputy pulled a trio of men over after recognizing the description of the vehicle as that of the Bell.

Sheriff’s investigators said they had seen the three men at a Motel 6 on Highway 290 and Jones Road and followed them to where they were pulled over at the strip center. After the arrests, police also searched the motel room and gathered evidence.

Construction workers building a home on the island's north end near Harborside Drive discovered Bell’s body jammed up against a concrete bulkhead in the water just after 11 a.m. Sunday. Bell, 38, was hog-tied with a leather belt or straps and was naked except for a sock on each foot.

The Galveston County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Bell’s identity Monday afternoon, but had not determined the cause of death. Bell had been dead less than 36 hours when his body was discovered, the initial report found.

While police know who the victim is, they don’t have a motive for the crime.
http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou080414_tj_nudebody.63fbcaf6.html

[Nut44x4]

April 15, 2008, 12:49PM
Galveston slaying victim served jail time for drug convictions


GALVESTON — Six suspects are in custody today in the slaying of a man whose nude and bound body was found floating in Galveston Bay, Galveston police and the Harris County Sheriff's Office reported.

Authorities also said today that the victim, Gary Wayne Bell, was released on Friday from the Gist State Jail in Beaumont. Two days later, his body was discovered near a Galveston Island construction site.

Bell's body was nude except for socks, and bound at the wrists and ankles.

Three of the suspects were arrested Monday night in Jersey Village, in northwest Harris County, while in a silver PT Cruiser owned by the victim, Gary Wayne Bell, 39, of Santa Fe, sheriff's spokesman David Crain said.

Galveston police spokesman Jorge Trevino said the vehicle was tracked through LoJack, a transmitter that broadcasts a signal that can be traced by law enforcement.

The car was first spotted at a motel in the 1600 block of U.S. 290, Crain said. Deputies stopped the car in the 17700 block of the freeway and detained its occupants for transfer to Galveston, he said.

Trevino said the arrests were made within hours after Harris County authorities were notified that Galveston police were looking for the PT Cruiser. He said the other three arrests were made with assistance from the Galveston County Sheriff's Office and the Texas City, La Marque and Santa Fe police departments.

The suspects are being questioned and more information will be released later today, Trevino said.

Texas Department of Public Safety records show that Bell was arrested 14 times between 1990 and 2007 on drug charges and for drunken driving and driving without a valid license.

He was released from the state jail Friday after serving a year for possession of cocaine, said Michelle Lyons, spokeswoman for the state Department of Criminal Justice.

Bell's body was discovered by workers at a construction site at 11:15 a.m. Sunday, floating where a concrete jetty extends into the bay from bulkheads.

The bulkheads are near 81st Street and Channelview on northeast Galveston Island, about one-half mile south of the Galveston Causeway.

Police said the body appeared to have been in the water for a relatively short time. The cause of death and the motive for his slaying have not been determined.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5701742.html

[KittyMom]

wow...I wonder if someone thought he'd ratted them out?

[KittyMom]

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=6310930&version=3&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1

HOUSTON -- Police identify the cause of death of a body found floating in Galveston Bay on the same day three men are questioned in a possible connection.

Deputies in Jersey Village say three people were found driving the car of 39-year-old Gary Wayne Bell on Monday night.

Bell's body was found floating in Galveston Bay near Channelview, and his car was located by police using the LoJack system.

The men were taken in for questioning by Galveston Police, and their motel was searched by Harris County Sheriff's Deputies.

Police on Tuesday said Bell died of strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head. His feet were bound and his hands tied behind his back. They say Bell most likely died sometime late Friday night before being dumped in the bay.

Construction workers building a home along the shore discovered the body on Sunday morning.

Police have not determined if the three men in custody are directly connected to Bell's death.

[Grande]

http://i30.tinypic.com/r2lpvl.jpg

[annalyzer]

Murder of man found in Galveston Bay may have
been result of love triangle

07:55 PM CDT on Tuesday, April 15, 2008

The Santa Fe man whose nude body was found hog-tied in East Galveston Bay over the weekend was an ex-convict who was released from prison last week. The Galveston County Medical Examiner determined that Gary Wayne Bell was severely beaten, but still alive before being tossed into the water.

Medical Examiner investigator John Florence said Bell, 38, died as a result of blunt-force trauma, strangulation and drowning. Six people are now in custody in connection to his murder.

State authorities confirmed that Bell, who had been serving state prison time for a drug offense, was released from the Gist State Jail in Beaumont on Friday. His body was found along a bulkhead on Galveston’s north end Sunday morning.

The first major break in the case came late Monday night when police found Bell's silver PT Cruiser in Houston.

Authorities told 11 News that a silver PT Cruiser they had at a strip center on Highway 290 and Jones Road in Houston is the one that belonged to Gary Wayne Bell.

The car, officials say, was found late Monday after they got a signal from the car’s LoJack device

The three men inside the vehicle were arrested.

Sheriff’s investigators said they had seen the three men at a Motel 6 on Highway 290 and Jones Road and followed them to where they were pulled over at the strip center. After the arrests, police also searched the motel room and gathered evidence.

Early Tuesday morning Texas City police assisted in the arrest of three other suspects.

It is the Texas City connection to the case that 11 News sources said have investigators thinking Bell’s death might have come as a result of a love triangle turned violent.

Bell and others were spending the weekend in a Texas City motel room when some in the group accused of Bell with sleeping with another man’s girlfriend. Sources said, through questioning of a female suspect, they have been able to determine that a fight erupted and escalated to a group beating of Bell.

While severely beaten, investigators said the medical examiner determined that Bell was still alive when his body was dumped in the water. It’s believed his attackers dumped his body in the waters on the mainland side of the Galveston Causeway.

Texas City police collected evidence at the motel located on State Highway 146 Tuesday afternoon.

Construction workers building a home on the island's north end near Harborside Drive discovered Bell’s body jammed up against a concrete bulkhead in the water just after 11 a.m. Sunday. Bell, 38, was hog-tied with a leather belt or straps and was naked except for a sock on each foot.

The Galveston County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Bell’s identity Monday afternoon. Bell had been dead less than 36 hours when his body was discovered, the initial report found.

http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou080414_tj_nudebody.63fbcaf6.html

[annalyzer]

Police: Man found in Galveston Bay killed because
he didn't pay prostitute

07:22 AM CDT on Friday, April 18, 2008

TEXAS CITY -- Police in Texas City are trying to untangle a strange tale of an identity theft ring that's twisted into a case of brutal murder. Investigators said they've linked the ring to a body that washed ashore in East Galveston Bay over the weekend.

On Thursday night, murder charges were filed against two members of the group, while a third has been charged with her part in dumping the victim’s body into the bay.

http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/M_IMAGE.118eaf352b3.93.88.fa.d0.747210f6.jpg
William Perry and Brian Richardson have been charged with Gary Wayne Bell's murder. Richardson has also been charged with tampering with evidence for dumping the victim's body.

But Gary Wayne Bell’s murder also uncovered a substantial, albeit not real sophisticated, identity and credit card theft ring.

Piles of photocopies of people’s driver’s licenses and credit cards make up some of the evidence Texas City police have against eight people who, police said, found the identity thief’s treasure in the dumpster of a Galveston motel.

Police said the eight people used the credit cards for about a week to rent hotel rooms and buy items online.

They intended to use them a lot longer than that. The group was staying at various motels in Texas City and Galveston.

http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/M_IMAGE.118eaf352b3.93.88.fa.d0.74758361.jpg
Mary Kay Jowers is the alleged prostitute that had a tryst with Gary Wayne Bell. Police said when Bell didn't pay, Jowers' boyfriend and another man beat him and dumped his body into Galveston Bay. Jowers has also been charged with tampering with evidence for her part in dumping Bell's body.

Police said two members of the group used the stolen credit cards to make purchases over the phone and Internet.

But it all unraveled after Bell's body was found in east Galveston Bay on Sunday.

Police say Bell met up with the group and it is believed hired Mary Kay Jowers, a suspected prostitute.

In a taped confession to police, Richardson said Bell didn't pay her for the tryst, so her boyfriend Brian Richardson and William Perry killed him because of it. Police say the men hog-tied and beat Bell inside a Texas City motel room.

Police say Jowers and Richardson then dumped bell's body into the bay. According to Richardson’s confession, the body was dumped not on the Texas City side of the bay as first thought, but rather near where his body was found by construction workers at 81st and Harborside.

On Thursday night, murder charges were filed against Richardson and Perry. In addition, Richardson and Jowers were also charged with tampering with evidence because they are the ones who police allege dumped Bell’s body into the bay.

Richardson had his bail set at $250,000 for each new charge. Jowers’ bail was also set at $250,000.

Perry, meanwhile, had his bond set at $500,000. All three still face charges related to the credit card scheme.

Perry also faces an aggravated sexual assault charge out of Galveston.

No murder charges were filed against the other members of the crew, but charged with felony theft and being held on $100,000 bond each is Arnoldo L. Garza, 36, of Alvin while Terrell Wayne Mitchell, 30, of Texas City has been charged with felony credit card abuse. Two other members of the crew Joshua Lynn Coleman, 25, and his girlfriend April Mowers, 19, of Bourbon, Mo. are each charged with two counts of burglary of a motor vehicle and felony theft.

All remained in the Galveston County Jail on Thursday night.
The eighth person is the group is a 19-year-old woman who was charged and then released on a misdemeanor marijuana charge.

http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou080417_tj_garybellfolo.74586d00.html

[Nut44x4]

Man guilty of murder in torture slaying

By Chris Paschenko
The Daily News
Published October 27, 2009

After two days of deliberation, a Galveston jury returned a guilty verdict Tuesday in the trial of a man accused in a brutal motel slaying.

A tentative punishment hearing for William Henry Perry, 50, was set for Nov. 20, following Tuesday’s guilty verdict on a murder charge, court officials said.

Perry was one of two people charged in the slaying of Gary Wayne Bell, 39, who died April 12, 2008, in a Texas City motel room.

Jurors in Judge John Ellisor’s 122nd District Court heard testimony that Bell was severely beaten and tortured with a restraint, which was repeatedly tightened around his neck to deprive him of air.

Bell had just been released from prison on a drug charge and sought the company of a prostitute, who accused him of raping and refusing to pay her.

Mary Jowers, the admitted prostitute, told her boyfriend, Brian O’Neal Richardson, 28, of the ordeal and said she rode to Galveston with him to dump Bell’s body.

Authorities found Bell hogtied and bobbing in Galveston Bay near 81st Street.

Bell was alive after Perry left the room, testimony revealed, but Jowers implicated Perry and Richardson in the Bell’s severe beating. Bell was kept in the Comfort Inn and Suites for several hours after Perry left the room.

Bell was convicted despite the state being unable to recover DNA from him inside the hotel room or inside Bell’s car, which was used to drive his body to the bay.

The hotel’s video-surveillance cameras, however, captured Perry changing shirts in the parking lot.

Jurors heard evidence from two witnesses, who left the scene with Perry. Joshua Coleman and his girlfriend April Mowers testified Perry had blood on his shirt after leaving the room.

http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=b4be7e07e2a9ba94
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[packy]

That third paragraph from the bottom says "Bell was convicted. . ." is wrong. Or am I reading this wrong

William Perry found guilty but has Brian Richardson had a trial yet?