Edwin Bell

Timeline

• February 12, 1999 — Edwin Bell shot his estranged girlfriend, their three young children and his mother before turning the gun on himself.
• February 12, 1999 (morning) — Markita King prepared her children to be picked up by their father, Edwin Bell, and Bell arrived along with his mother, Linda Farris.

Background

Edwin Bell was 23 years old. His estranged girlfriend was Markita King, who was 22. Markita King had left Bell three months earlier after fleeing an abusive relationship and moved to Tulsa to live with her aunt. Bell and his mother traveled together to Tulsa to visit the children.

Markita King’s mother was Linda Farris, 45. The children were Ebony, 4; Essyce, 2; and Marjonna Bell, 8-months old.

The offence

Police found all six bodies in the living room of a small apartment in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at 1925 N. Gary Ave. Authorities reported there were no signs of a struggle or that anyone had tried to flee the room.

Authorities felt certain it was a murder-suicide because the gun was located near the body of the children’s father, 23-year-old Edwin Bell. Edwin Bell killed Markita King, his mother Linda Farris, and all three children before turning the gun on himself.

Victims identified by authorities were Bell’s mother, Linda Farris, 45, and the children Markita King’s children: Markita King, 21; Ebony, 4; Essyce, 2; and 8-month-old Marjonna Bell.

Investigation

Police found all six bodies in the living room of the apartment in Tulsa. Police identified the victims and described the scene as having no signs of a struggle and no indication anyone had tried to flee the room.

Authorities described the event as the largest mass killing attributed to one person in recorded Tulsa history. Police also said the pace of homicides in Tulsa was sporadic and difficult to predict.

A sister of Markita King went to the apartment about 10:30 a.m. to check on the family because she had known that Bell was coming and feared for their safety. She saw a motionless baby on the floor and fled to call the police.

Police said it was the largest mass killing attributed to one person in recorded Tulsa history. Chilling police radio dispatches revealed the discovery of one body after another.

Arrest

Police did not report any arrest.

Trial

No trial information appeared.

Sentencing

No sentencing information appeared.

Appeals

No appeal information appeared.

Outcome

The killing was treated as a murder-suicide, and Edwin Bell died by suicide by shooting himself the same day.

Aftermath

Maurice King, who was 21 at the time, had to drive several miles to the scene after learning that four members of his family had been killed. He later described the moment he reached the area and saw the news trucks and people:

“It was hard getting there, but the thing that hit me was when I got to Pine and Harvard and I saw all the news trucks and all the people,” he said.

As he walked up, a police officer met him and took him closer, where he saw that the door to the apartment was ajar:

“I could see my little niece’s legs where she was lying on the floor. That is when I really lost it,” he said.

Maurice King later described talking to people he supervised about the impact of his family’s domestic violence-related slayings:

“I have had a couple of guys who were doing the same kind of thing. I told them about what happened, and they really seemed to turn their lives around,” he said.
“As much as I can, I really try to share what I know about the situation. If I don’t share, I am not doing anybody justice.”

Other details

• The killings occurred at the Kings’ apartment at 1925 N. Gary Ave. in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
• Authorities described Markita King as having moved to Tulsa to live with her aunt to get away from Bell in Oklahoma City.
• Maurice King was later described as a probation officer in Dallas County.
• Harold Alexander and Chaplain Danny Lynchard comforted Fannie King at the scene of the murder-suicide at 1925 N. Gary Ave.