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March 14, 2007
MONTH 2007
Answers at Last in Asia Bell Murder
suspects in custody. They told her noon that if not for Perlia, they
to go do w n to w n because they would not be announcing the ar­
rests.
m ents were held on M onday for needed to talk to her in person.
For Bel 1, the press event was one
A lexander Daniel Klein, 28 and
“ 1 knew this w as big,” she said.
Deprinee Romey Hale, 29, each fac­ “ I w alked in and saw ten detectives, o f happiness mixed with relief.
“ From day one I haven’t lost
ing one count o f m urder with a two o f the original ones from the
firearm , two counts o f attem pted case, and I broke down. I said is it faith," she said with much emotion
while standing at the podium. "1 am
aggravated murder with a firearm w hat I think it is?”
They told her yes, we found
and conspiracy to com m it murder.
Police said there is a possibility your daughter’s killers.
She had not expected the break­
o f m ore arrests.
A la rg e cro w d o f B ell's support­ through, but had recently paid d e­
ers, many wearing Rest in Peace tectives a phone call at least once a
shirts with her photo. Hooded the week.
“It m ade us feel bad that we
Justice Center on Friday to attend
the first arraignm ents, held shortly co u ld n 't tell her w hat was going
before a press conference announc­ on,”said Sgt. W ayne Svilar, head
Perlia
o f the Cold Case Unit.
ing the arrests.
She spoke at F riday’s press co n ­
Bell's husband James arri ved just
m inutes after being notified o f the ference, and was credited by the overw h elm ed ... and em otionally
cold case squad for her tireless touched. This is ju st the begin­
events.
ning."
Portland detectives called Perlia work since her daughter’s death.
D escribing the past five years as
Svilar
m
ade
it
clear
that
after­
on Thursday night with new s o f the
continued
fro m Front
unem otional rollercoaster. Bell said
there were clues in her personal life
leading her to this moment, particu­
larly with other local cold cases.
Her cousin Isaiah Strickland was
fatally shot a year after A sia, and
between the two. Bell believed clo­
sure was on its way.
■------
From day one I haven’t
lost faith...this is just the
beginning.
Bell, mother of Asia Bell
“2007 is a y e a ro f com pletion for
me,” she said.
Svilar said in the past six m onths
the cold case unit focused alm ost
exclusively on Bell. Her case re­
quired help from the Drug and Vice
Squad, G ang Enforcem ent Team ,
T actical O perations Unit, U.S. and
District A ttorney’s office and the
rest o f the detectives at the police
bureau.
“T h e b ureau used m ore re ­
sources for B ell’s case than any
o th er,” said detective Sgt. Paul
W eatheroy, w ho was assigned to
th e c a s e a b o u t a y e a r a g o .
W eatheroy joined his brother Sgt.
G eorge W eatheroy, one o f the ini­
tial investigators in the case.
T h ere have been 270 u nsolved
m u rd ers in P o rtlan d since 1996.
In 2004 fo rm er p o lice c h ie f D er­
rick Foxw orth in stated the cold
case unit, the first o f its kind in
P o rtlan d .
T h e squad has so lv ed eight
cases so far, and Bel I ’ s has remai ned
am ong the highest profile.
The distinction o f “cold” applies
to cases older than tw o years, but
“I d o n ’t know if A sia’s case ever
w ent cold,” Svilar said. "H er case
was one o f those that keep us up at
night.”
W ould Bell’s m urder have been
solved without the cold case unit?
“ H onestly, no,” Svilar said.
"T hese cases require a Io, o f
support and m oney for travel,”
police ch ief Rosie Sizer said.
W eatheroy agreed. He said long
lapses in tim e - w hich can be costly
- often w ork in detectives’ favor.
“ People w ho w eren’t w illing to
cooperate originally can change
their associations or m ature,” he
said. "A sia's case was a com bina­
tion o f persistence and people w ill­
ing to com e forw ard.”
A Mother’s Loss Eases a Father’s New Grief
continued
fro m Front
When they confirmed him as M oaning’s
son she contacted her old friend. She knew
she could help prepare him for the mental
and financial burden, and the physical
changes the trauma would create.
“It’s hard on the body," Bell said. "People
you haven't seen in 20 years come around
and you have to tell your story over and
over again.”
She sat quietly through Davis’ funeral
service on Jan. 9. and then gave the grieving
father a hug and a card stating her services.
From family friend to advocate. Bell has
continued to support Moaning as he talks
with the media, keeping the community
aware o f his son’s death, just as Bell has
done in Asia’s case.
For years she carried a torch for her
daughter through her unwavering advo­
cacy. Her daughter had no criminal record
and no known enemies, and a police inves­
tigation provided no arrests for nearly five
years. Bell’s murder had become a cold
case, but her mother refused to let the
tragedy fade from the community’s memory.
Then a phone call just three days after
speakingwiththe Observer i 11 u m i nated how
meaningful her life’s work is.
Detectives with the Portland police told
her they had arrested four individuals in­
volved in her daughter’s murder.
It is too soon to say what will happen to
her daughter’s killers, but Bell has pledged
to carry on her non-profit and continue
helping friends like Moaning find closure.
“It’s important for me to advocate for
families going through scary situations,”
she said. “W e’ve been taught not to say too
much and sit in the back, but what happens
is that we get forgotten fast if you don ’ t keep
it abreast in the com m unity.”
As M oaning awaits information in his
son’s case. Bell’s success story gives him
optimism.
“There is hope that there can be justice,”
he said.
Bell has set up Moaning with grief coun­
seling, and he said he is ready to return to
work. He knows someone will come for­
ward, but he's no, sure those answers will
diminish the pain o f his loss.
“ I love him so much. I still wake up in the
pitch black night to look for him,” he said. "I
look for his spirit."
Crime Stoppers isofferingarew ard o f up
to $5,< X X) for information leadi ng to an arrest
in Davis’murder. Call 5O3-823-HELP(4357).
Also, donations benefitting D avis’ twins
can be made to an account at all US Bank
locations, under the name "Children of
Jermaine Nyron Davis."
Jermaine Nyron Davis, pictured with his three-year-old twins Amariah and
Aaron, shortly before his death.
MHBM
■MMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMI
Women’s Day
Call to End
Violence
con tin u ed
fro m A 3
key le sso n s le arn ed fro m h er
tribunal's probe o f sexual violence
duringthe Balkans w arsofthe 1990s.
O ne o f the key lessons learned,
she said, w as that "the co m m it­
m ent to fully ad d ressin g violence
against w om en m ust be enshrined
in the g o v ern in g d o cu m en ts o f
the co u rts that are ch arg ed With
the task o f ach iev in g ju stic e for
w om en."
She urged a reassessm ent o f "our
traditional approach to witness pro­
tection" to make it less invasive for
W ELLS
FARGO
The Next Stage
RUN WITH US
women" seeking justice for violent
crim es but for w hom cross-exam i­
nation is a traum atic experience
am ounting to "a sort o f torture,
doubie suffering."
In T he H ague, UN H igh C o m ­
m is s io n e r fo r H u m an R ig h ts
L ouise A rb o u r turned the sp o t­
light on w hat she ca lle d "ram ­
p an t" se x u al v io le n c e a g a in st
w o m en in S u d a n 's strife -to rn
D arfu r region.
T here is a "very clear pattern o f
system atic recourse to gender vio­
lence. I see very little sign that there
is any im provem ent," she noted.
Advance.
Rosanne M. Sizer
a lw a y s le a d t h e p a c k .
Chief of Police
Wells Fargo is one o f rhe proud recipients o f Working Mother Magazines, “ 100 Best (ximpanies
for Working Mother’s,” and in Dn’ersitylnc. Wells Fargo ranked 5th in the, “ Top 10 Companies
for Women Executives,” fo r 2006.
A w orrying trend is that rape of
w om en is increasingly used as a
w eapon war, UN and human rights
officials note.
The W orld H ealth Organization
m eanw hile released a report saying
one girl in five is a victim o f sexual
violence before the age o f 15.
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