Effie BellCourtesy photo Karen Bollie
Effie Bell, August 1964

Effie Corelis “Cupie” Bell

Homicide

Effie Corelis Bell
46 YOA
DCI Case Number: 66-00666
Madrid, Iowa
Boone County
Body discovered at Madrid dump
Dallas County
Last Seen Alive: March 18, 1966
Est. Date of Death: March 20, 1966
Body Found: May 31, 1966

 

Case summary by Jody Ewing

 
At the end of the day on Friday, March 18, 1966, Effie Bell (known as “Cupie” to her family) got off work from her job at McRay Cosmetics Factory in Madrid, Iowa, just as she’d done since 1958 when first hired by the cosmetics manufacturer.

There was no telling what the weekend had in store for the wife and mother of three, or what her husband, Frank Bell, Sr., 49, might have in mind.

He’d just quit his job at the John Deere Des Moines Works plant the previous day.

Gone
Boone County in Iowa
Boone County in Iowa
 
Madrid in Boone CountyMadrid in Boone County

On Sunday evening, March 20, Frank Bell placed a call to his wife’s general manager, Irwin Wikstrom, at his home. He told Wikstrom that Effie was leaving for Illinois.

“He told me she was upset and nervous and that she would be leaving to visit a sister,” Wikstrom recalled.

The following Wednesday, March 23, Bell went into McRay Co. and picked up his wife’s $40.41 paycheck.

“I asked him when [Effie] would be returning and he told me she was not coming back,” Wikstrom said.

Mrs. Bell had given no indication on March 18 that she would not be returning to work, Wikstrom later told police, and she’d always been a “fast and conscientious worker.” She had gone before to visit her sister in Moline, Ill., he said, but each time she’d always notified him she would be absent.

Effie Bell homeCourtesy photo The Madrid Register News
Shortly after Effie Bell’s murder, her husband, Frank Bell, put the couple’s Madrid, Iowa, home up for sale.

Townsfolk had begun to talk. Several Madrid persons quoted Mr. Bell as saying around that time that he was moving to Des Moines. In fact, some remembered Bell’s comments from as early as Wednesday, March 16, and others as late as Saturday, March 19. Yet Mrs. Bell had said nothing about her husband — or even the two of them — moving to Des Moines or why.

A Madrid man for whom Frank Bell worked part-time as a household appliance repairman quoted Bell as saying his wife “had left town.”

Articles courtesy the Madrid Register News

Family scrapbook articles from the Madrid Register News, provided to Iowa Cold Cases by Karen Bollie

“He asked me if I’d be interested in buying a refrigerator,” the man said. “He told me he had put his wife on the train the night before, that she had left him and that he was selling their household goods.”

The explanations for Mrs. Bell’s disappearance weren’t adding up. Still, Frank Bell put the couple’s Madrid home up for sale.

The Body at the Dump

At about 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 31, Jane Comer, 18, and her 12-year-old brother, Jerry, of nearby Moran were poking around at the Madrid city dump in Dallas County when they stumbled upon something they never expected to see: skeletal remains.

Protruding from beneath a piece of tin, the skeleton’s head and shoulders lay partly hidden amongst tin cans and other refuse in a gully about 40 feet from the main gate.

They immediately notified Marion Johannsen, a Woodward policeman, who summoned Dallas County Sheriff John Wright of Adel.

The Madrid dump — south of Madrid but in Dallas County — fell under the jurisdiction of both counties, and Dallas County’s Sheriff Wright placed calls to Boone County Sheriff Jack Camelin and Madrid police officer William Allen. Wright also called in the State Bureau of Investigation to assist with the investigation.

Sheriff Wright, who saw the skeleton soon after it was discovered, said part of the skull was missing but that it could not be determined whether the skull had been crushed by a blow.

Scrapbook articles on Effie Bell's murder, provided

Family scrapbook articles on Effie Bell’s murder, provided to Iowa Cold Cases by Karen Bollie

While investigators found only shreds of clothing on the skeletal remains, three rings — including a gold wedding band and two diamond rings — remained on the fingers, and burned articles of clothing were discovered near the head. Beneath the body lay a newspaper dated February 26, 1966.

According to authorities, no women had been reported missing in Boone County or Dallas County.

Initial speculation was that perhaps the skeleton might be that of Mrs. Alma Stum, 63, who had been missing since leaving Friendship Haven December 13, 1965.

State agents took the remains to the University of Iowa in Iowa City, where associate professor and anthropologist Dr. Helen Dawson would examine them and conduct laboratory tests. Authorities said they hoped to determine the age, sex and time of death as well as the cause of death. Sheriff Wright said the shreds of clothing were also being examined to see if they belonged to Mrs. Bell.

In the interim, Frankie Bell, Jr., 23, of Ankeny, was asked to take a look at the three rings. He identified all three as belonging to his mother.

Frank BellCourtesy The Madrid Register News
Frank Bell Sr.
Frank Bell, Sr., Arrested

Early Saturday morning, June 4, 1966, an Iowa Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent spotted Frank Bell’s car in Des Moines and followed it to the home of Bell’s son-in-law and daughter, Mrs. Barbara Vest, who lived in the 3900 block of Oxford Street. In short order, Des Moines police, state highway patrolmen, sheriff’s officers and state agents had the house surrounded. Bell was ordered to come out with his hands up, to which he complied.

Bell was arrested on charges of forgery and uttering a forged instrument; by having signed his wife’s name to her final paycheck and then cashing it, officers had the justification needed to make the charges and the arrest.

Bell was taken to the Boone County jail, and later that morning was arraigned before Justice of the Peace E. H. White of Boone. Bell admitted he had taken and cashed his wife’s paycheck, but refused to answer questions about his wife’s whereabouts.

Courtesy Muscatine Journal, June 11, 1966

Courtesy Muscatine Journal, June 11, 1966

He was bound over to district court on charges of forgery and uttering a forged instrument, and returned to the Boone County jail in lieu of a $5,000 bond on each charge.

Looking for further evidence, the Bureau of Investigation tore up the sewer at the Bell home and took from the house a variety of items and articles of clothing, which they sent in for analysis.

Meanwhile, Frank Bell’s Madrid employer, who asked that his name be withheld, said Bell had been an “excellent worker” and a “nice guy who was always willing to work and anxious to please.”

X-Rays Tell Tale

On Saturday, June 11, 1966, Boone County Sheriff Camelin announced the skeletal remains had been identified as those of Mrs. Effie Bell, 46, of Madrid. Camelin said University of Iowa’s Dr. Helen Dawson made the identification with the assistance of other specialists, and that a foot x-ray played a large role in the identification.

Courtesy Des Moines Register, July 30, 1966

Courtesy Des Moines Register, July 30, 1966

According to a Muscatine Journal article dated June 11, 1966, Mrs. Bell broke bones in her right foot a year before her death and had x-rays taken. These were available for comparison to the skeleton found at the Madrid dump.

A report by Dr. Dawson also concluded that the woman’s body had been burned sometime after death. No theories were offered as to cause of death.

While the close-knit rural communities absorbed this shocking new development, Frank Bell remained in custody at the county jail.

University officials released Mrs. Bell’s body to her family on Thursday, July 28. Two days later on July 30 — and with Frank Bell now free on bond — Dallas County Medical Examiner Keith Chapler said the cause, time and place of Mrs. Bell’s death were not being listed on his death report because, “The matter continues to be under investigation.”

Effie Bell’s family buried her remains in Moline on Saturday, July 30.

By August, Boone County Attorney Stanley Simpson said death was listed as a suspected homicide. Frank Bell’s trial for forgery and uttering a forged instrument was scheduled for September.

He was never charged with his wife’s murder.

When the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) established a Cold Case Unit in 2009, Effie Bell’s murder was one of approximately 150 cases listed on the Cold Case Unit’s new website as those the DCI hoped to solve using latest advancements in DNA technology.

Although federal grant funding for the DCI Cold Case Unit was exhausted in December 2011, the DCI continues to assign agents to investigate cold cases as new leads develop or as technological advances allow for additional forensic testing of original evidence.

The DCI remains committed to resolving Iowa’s cold cases and will continue to work diligently with local law enforcement partners to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice for the victims and their families.

About Effie Bell

Effie Corelis was born September 14, 1919, in Moline, Ill., the daughter of Greek immigrants Angelos and Evangeline Corelis (also spelled Corellis).

Effie married Frank Bell, Sr., September 24, 1940, in Rock Island, Ill.

Effie Bell gravestone

Effie Bell’s gravestone at the Riverside Cemetery in Moline, IL (Courtesy photo John Lartz, findagrave.com)

In addition to her husband, she was survived by two sons, Frank, Jr. of Ankeny and William Craig of Des Moines; a daughter, Mrs. Barbara Vest, Des Moines; four sisters, Mrs. Geri Avegires of East Chicago, Ind., and Mrs. Julius Parien, Miss Katherine Corelis and Mrs. Angeline Fuller, all of Moline; and a brother, George Corelis of East Moline, Ill.

A 1-day-old daughter, Georgia Bell, proceeded her in death on June 2, 1943, according to findagrave.com records.

Services for Mrs. Bell were held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, July 30, at the Esterdahl Mortuary in Moline, with burial in the Riverside Cemetery.

Information Needed

If you have any information concerning Effie Bell’s unsolved murder please contact the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at (515) 725-6010 or email dciinfo@dps.state.ia.us. You may also contact the Boone County Sheriff’s Office at (515) 433-0524 or email sheriff@boonecounty.iowa.gov, or contact the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office at (515) 993-4771 or email dcsheriff@co.dallas.ia.us.

Sources:
  • One of these central Iowa cold cases could be solved,” by Kim Norvell, The Des Moines Register, May 10, 2018
  • Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, former Cold Case Unit, November 24, 2009
  • Personal correspondence with Effie Bell’s family members (who supplied information and photos to Iowa Cold Cases)
  • Effie “Cupie” Corelis Bell (1919 – 1966) — Find a Grave Memorial
  • Georgia Bell (1943 – 1943) — Find a Grave Memorial
  • Person Details for Effie Bell, “United States Social Security Death Index” — FamilySearch.org
  • Person Details for EFFIE “CUPIE” BELL, “BillionGraves Index” — FamilySearch.org
  • Person Details for Effie Corelis in household of Evangeline Corelis, “United States Census, 1930” — FamilySearch.org
  • Person Details for Evangeline Corelis, “United States Census, 1930” — FamilySearch.org
  • Person Details for Evangeline Corelis, “BillionGraves Index” — FamilySearch.org
  • Person Details for Angelos Corellis, “United States Census, 1940” — FamilySearch.org
  • Person Details for Katherine Corelis in household of Evangeline Corelis, “United States Census, 1930” — FamilySearch.org
  • Person Details for Angeline Corelis in household of Evangeline Corelis, “United States Census, 1930” — FamilySearch.org
  • Person Details for George Corelis in household of Evangeline Corelis, “United States Census, 1930” — FamilySearch.org
  • Person Details for Georgia Corellis in household of Angelos Corellis, “United States Census, 1940” — FamilySearch.org
  • “Bell Case Not Closed,” The Ames Daily Tribune,” August 2, 1966
  • Set Services for Mrs. Bell,” The Des Moines Register, Saturday, July 30, 1966
  • “SKELETON IS IDENTIFIED AS MISSING WIFE: Madrid Man Jailed On Forgery County,” by Jack Gillard, The Madrid Register News, June 11, 1966
  • “Identify Skeleton Found at Madrid,” The Muscatine Journal, June 11, 1966
  • “Identify Skeleton,” The Ames Daily Tribune, June 11, 1966
  • “Investigation Continues on Skeleton Found at Dump,” The Madrid Register News, June 9, 1966
  • “Skeleton found in Madrid dump,” The Ames Daily Tribune, June 1, 1966
  • “Georgia Bell: Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947, FHL Film Number 1983456
Copyright © 2024  Iowa Cold Cases, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

12 Responses to Effie Bell

  1. Michelle Vest says:

    This is my Grandmother and my Grandfather did not kill her. I was very young but I remember the love of both of them.

    • Vern says:

      Yes he did kill her. It’s 1000% obvious.

      • gina corelis says:

        This woman was my aunt, her brother was my dad. My dad always said over the years that she was killed by either Frank Sr. or Frank Jr. My father was instrumental in getting her body returned to Moline, IL.and having a proper funeral and burial in Riverside Cemetary, Moline, IL. This was a very devastating event for him. He remained adamant until he passed away that she was murdered by her family. I was only a child when this happened but I remember that she was a sweet lady. It was a very sad thing for my father and it bothered him terribly that no one was either brought to justice for taking her life.

  2. I would start with hubby

  3. Terri Gordy says:

    Why was the husband never charged with murder? He sure sounds suspicious.

  4. Is her husband still alive? Did they have any children?

  5. Diana Wilson says:

    It was her husband! Go out and prove it!!!!!

  6. Bernadette Butler says:

    May her soul rest in peace

  7. Emily Heldt says:

    my house now lays atop of where they found her body. this slightly creeps me out.

  8. Humm this should have been closed years ago,husband cashes her check tells her empolyer she isn’t coming back ,selling household goods says he put her on a train to her sisters but she ends up murdered and burned in a dump near Madrid,did I miss something in this story or should the spouse been charged and convicted many many years ago!!!!

  9. Wow, that is harsh. Hope somebody recalls this.

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