Weymouth Murder Suspect Arrested In Florida

WEYMOUTH, MA — The man who was wanted in connection with the 2017 murder of Weymouth woman Michelle Clarke has been arrested in Florida, officials announced Friday. Cornel Bell is charged with killing Clarke at her Weymouth apartment in August 2017. He was apprehended in Dana Beach, Florida.

Bell was indicted in connection to the murder in October 2017. Since then, Norfolk District Attorney's Office and the State Police have been "working tirelessly on finding Mr. Bell and bringing him into custody," said District Attorney Michael Morrissey. By working closely with the U.S. Marshal Service, officials have been working to identify any trace of his whereabouts, he said.

"We released the model and registration of a dark blue pickup truck he was believed to be driving, and that vehicle was eventually located abandoned in the Miami area," said Morrissey. "Florida has been a focus of our investigation and search, but it has included other areas as well."

Information that recently came to light has led the U.S. Marshals to a Dana Beach construction site on Friday morning, Morissey said.

"They confronted him and he was taken into custody following a brief pursuit," he said.
Norfolk County prosecutors and the State Police will be working with Florida officials to arrange Bell's return to Massachusetts, where he will be arraigned in Norfolk Superior Court. The timing of that process has not yet been determined.

"Weymouth Police have been excellent partners in this homicide investigation," said Morrissey. "It is also true that the Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section of the State Police has been dogged in their work on this case, and their coordination with us and their good working relationship with the Marshals made this apprehension, far from Massachusetts, possible."