Daniel Arthur Bell Obituary, Suspect identified in 50 year old Uintah County cold case

Daniel Arthur Bell Obituary, Death – In a 50-year-old cold case involving the death of a 21-year-old army veteran and the sexual assault of the 18-year-old lady he was with, investigators and police have named a suspect, Daniel Arthur Bell. Bell was one of two men who killed Gregory Dahl Nickell and sexually raped his date on the evening of November 26, 1972, according to thorough DNA testing. Bell was cremated in 2019, according to investigators with the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office, who also confirmed that he passed away in Yakima, Washington. Investigators are still unsure of the second suspect, but they are optimistic that this development may yield additional details.

“The Greg family deserves explanations. Sheriff of Uintah County Steve Labrum stated that the woman who was sexually abused that evening “deserves answers.” “Please come forward right away and speak with our investigators if you’re the one who can help us provide them with answers.”

Gregory Nickell and his date were at a picturesque overlook in 1972 when a stranger knocked on his window shortly after one in the morning. Before shooting Nickell with a.22-caliber revolver, the man informed Nickell that there had been a wreck and requested him to report it in Vernal. According to the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office account of the incident, the guy shot Nickell at least three more times before pushing his corpse on top of the woman, who was 18 at the time. Then, as they were driving, the man grabbed Nickell’s car while threatening the woman with his gun. The woman claimed realized the man who shot Nickell had a partner when a second car drew up behind them and flashed its headlights.

According to the woman, the men placed her in the second car’s back seat with her head covered before setting Nickell’s car on fire with his body inside. Each man allegedly sexually abused the woman once before abandoning her on the side of the road close to Duchesne, about 60 miles from where they had first taken her. The woman claimed she couldn’t obtain a clear view of the assailants and couldn’t give a detailed description. She was also unable to describe where they had brought her between the original attack and the time of her release because her head was covered.

Nearly 50 years later, with new science and technology, detectives were able to identify Bell as one of the two attackers using forensic evidence gathered from the victim. Bell was living in the Uintah Basin and working on a ranch in the Book Cliffs south of Vernal at the time of the incident, according to an investigation done by investigators Vance Norton and Chase Hall of the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office. Further investigation revealed that Bell had relocated from Utah to Oregon, where he had been found guilty of a second sexual assault in 1988. He relocated to Washington State and remarried after being released on parole in 1999.

Bell’s two adult children who reside in Utah as well as his widow are said to have cooperated with the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office. The kids agreed to give their DNA samples, which the lab compared to the 1972 evidence and found a positive match that was compatible with a parent-child relationship. Sheriff Steve Labrum said, “It’s tragic that it’s taken 50 years to identify one culprit.” “I’m hoping the public will help us identify the other suspect much, much sooner,” he said.

The investigation is still ongoing, and according to the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office, detectives are pursuing new leads. Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact the investigators at 435-781-6700 or coldcase@uintah.utah.gov. Information providers have the option to remain anonymous.

Daniel Arthur Bell Obituary, Death – In a 50-year-old cold case involving the death of a 21-year-old army veteran and the sexual assault of the 18-year-old lady he was with, investigators and police have named a suspect, Daniel Arthur Bell. Bell was one of two men who killed Gregory Dahl Nickell and sexually raped his…