After nearly three hours of deliberation, a Cape Girardeau County jury on Thursday convicted Kenneth Bell of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of armed criminal action for the Feb. 7, 2013, shooting deaths of Misty Cole and Shannon James in their apartment at 401 S. Pacific St.
In convicting Bell, jurors rejected public defenders' attempts to portray him as a terrified man who shot the couple in a panic after James threatened him on a sidewalk behind the apartment building where both men were tenants.
Bell's face crumpled briefly as bailiffs handcuffed him after the verdict was announced, but he regained his composure quickly.
"Tell my kids I love them," he told his mother and other supporters as he was led out of the courtroom.
In the wake of the verdict, public defender Cynthia Dryden declined to comment.
Assistant prosecuting attorney Angel Woodruff expressed appreciation for the jury and the police officers involved in the case.
"I'm happy with the jury's verdict, and I'm sure the families would like to thank them for their service and the police department [for its] hard work investigating the case," Woodruff said after court adjourned early Thursday evening.
In court Thursday morning, jurors saw a video of Bell confessing to detectives in an interview room at the Cape Girardeau Police Department the day after the shootings.
In the video, Bell -- who appeared calm and soft-spoken -- told the detectives he thought James was going to get a gun after the two men were involved in a short verbal altercation on the sidewalk outside Bell's apartment.
In testimony Wednesday, crime-scene investigators said no weapons were found on or near James, in his apartment or in the hall outside the apartment, where Bell began shooting as soon as Cole opened the door.
David Johnson, a longtime friend of James who lived across the hall from the victims at the time of their deaths, testified for the defense.
He said he witnessed the exchange between James and Bell on the sidewalk and heard an intoxicated James tell Bell, "I'll kill you, nigga. You ain't from here."
Johnson said he knew James well enough that he didn't take the threat seriously, but a stranger might.
Under cross-examination by assistant prosecuting attorney Julie Hunter, Johnson -- clad in an orange jail jumpsuit -- acknowledged his own criminal record, which includes several drug offenses, and said he initially told police he wasn't present for the altercation because he didn't want to be involved.
In closing arguments delivered Thursday afternoon, Woodruff reviewed the evidence in the case, including eyewitness testimony; physical evidence connecting Bell to the murder weapon; and Bell's own statements to police.
"This was a brutal and senseless crime," she said. "Misty Cole and Shannon James were killed for absolutely nothing -- a shoulder bump on the sidewalk? Wounded pride? A show of disrespect? Nothing worth dying for."
But public defender Beth Kerry, who with Dryden represented Bell in the case, suggested James was responsible for the entire sequence of events by threatening Bell.
Kerry noted Bell and James lived under the same roof, in a building originally constructed as a single-family residence and lacking security doors of the type found on most modern apartment complexes.
"Home is the place where you need to feel safe," Kerry said. "Kenny was at home, but he didn't feel safe."
Kerry also contrasted the initial behavior of Bell, who told police he was intoxicated at the time, with that of James, describing Bell as a "mellow drunk" frightened by threats from a belligerent drunk who was looking for trouble.
Woodruff dismissed Kerry's words, pointing out Bell killed Cole and James in their own apartment.
"If this -- this! -- was Kenneth Bell as a mellow drunk," Woodruff said, gesturing to crime-scene photographs of the victims, "then I would hate to see what he would have been like if he'd been angry."
Sentencing is set for March 9.
epriddy@semissourian.com
388-3642
Pertinent address:
401 S. Pacific St., Cape Girardeau, MO
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