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Supreme Court orders
stay of execution
Edward N. Bell, 43, was sheduled for execution on July 24, but the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, May 12, agreed to hear his case over a technical issue and stayed the execution.
The Virginia death-row inmate was convicted in 2001 of the October 1999 shooting death of Winchester police Sgt. Ricky L. Timbrook.
Archive of stories in the Edward N. Bell case
Monday, May 12, 2008
Edward N. Bell's family speaks out to share the other side
Monday, May 12, 2008
Death row more solitary than standard prison life
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Edward N. Bell's long legal journey nears an end
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Ricky Timbrook's colleagues, friends hope Bell's execution will bring them closure
Friday, May 9, 2008
Timbrook's colleagues recollect traumatic night officer was killed
Friday, May 9, 2008
Investigators trekked as far as Jamaica for evidence on Bell
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Family and friends react to high court's decision to intervene
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Justices to tackle Bell's case at conference
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Va. court looking at procedures for man on death row
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Justices still mum on Bell petition
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Court ruling puts Bell back in cross hairs
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Political boost cited as governor's fast action hailed
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Officer's family jabs at Kaine's promise
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Bell: Another path taken with Supreme Court
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Governor postpones Bell's death while high court decides Ky. case
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Local legislators feel that Kaine broke promise
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
*Kaine stays Bell's execution; imposes statewide moratorium
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Lethal injection argument disputed
Friday, February 15, 2008
Bell set to die April 8
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Bell seems bound for death chamber once again
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Bell's appeal options starting to dry up
Monday, July 16, 2007
Attorneys file motion to spare Bell's life
Monday, July 16, 2007
Attorneys file motion to spare Bell's life
Friday, August 4, 2006
Judge tosses killer's appeal
Saturday, July 8, 2006
Numbers weigh against success of Bell's appeal
Friday, July 7, 2006
Judge rules Bell won't get new sentencing hearing
Thursday, July 6, 2006
Bell back in court, possibly for final time
Friday, May 5, 2006
Judge: Bell has enough help now
Wednesday, May 4, 2005
Convicted murderer's attorneys see uphill battle on final appeal
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Killer of city officer granted stay
Tuesday, December 7, 2004
Execution date set for Jamaican convicted in police officer's murder
Friday, June 25, 2004
State justices deny appeal from officer's killer
Tuesday, January 6, 2004
Judge deals blow to cop killer's case
Saturday, May 10, 2003
Officer remembered at Timbrook Park dedication
Saturday, March 15, 2003
Bell attorneys launch last-chance appeal
Tuesday, February 11, 2003
Taking shape: Timbrook Park expected to be completed in early to mid-spring
Tuesday, January 7, 2003
Justices to consider Bell's petition on Friday
Monday, November 11, 2002
Winchester dedicates city's new public safety building
Wednesday, November 6, 2002
Police to show off new digs
Saturday, August 24, 2002
Dispatchers report to work at Timbrook Public Safety Center
Saturday, July 6, 2002
Safety officials plan move to new facility
Saturday, June 8, 2002
Va. court rejects Bell's appeal
Wednesday, April 17, 2002
Bell begins appeal with Va. court
Monday, February 11, 2002
A new home
Friday, August 31, 2001
Changes push back safety center's opening
Wednesday, August 29, 2001
Bell's lawyers file appeal with state high court
Friday, June 29, 2001
Attorneys file appeal in Bell case
Tuesday, June 26, 2001
Demolition plans for homes on hold
Thursday, May 31, 2001
Bell sentenced to death
Wednesday, May 9, 2001
Bell attorneys seek to clarify jury's question
Saturday, April 21, 2001
City delays plans to raze house on Piccadilly
Monday, January 29, 2001
Bell attorneys promise appeal
Saturday, January 27, 2001
Onlookers quiet as jurors reach the decision in less than an hour
Friday, January 26, 2001
Penalty phase of trial will begin today
Thursday, January 25, 2001
Defense rests case in Bell trial
Wednesday, January 24, 2001
State witnesses testify, prosecution rests
Tuesday, January 23, 2001
Court gets to hear 911 dispatcher's tape
Tuesday, January 23, 2001
Quality of crime scene security questioned
Saturday, January 20, 2001
Witnesses tie Bell to Timbrook
Friday, January 19, 2001
Bell trial begins
Friday, January 19, 2001
Prosecution calls first witnesses to the stand
Tuesday, January 16, 2001
Selection of jury slated in Bell case
Thursday, December 21, 2000
Bell's criminal history exposed
Tuesday, October 31, 2000
Judge: Bell's lawyers can hire residue expert
Monday, October 30, 2000
Graveside memorial held to honor Timbrook one year after death
Thursday, October 26, 2000
Prosecutor: Vileness of police shooting is issue for jury to decide
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Multimedia
Photos
 View photo slideshow of images captured by nvdaily.com photographers during the week following the murder of police Sgt. Ricky L. Timbrook
Video
Video provided by Bell's attorneys, shot in Jamaica:
nvdaily.com video
Joanne Nicholson, grandmother of three of Edward Bell's children, talks with Daily staff writer Garren Shipley about Bell:
Daily staff writer Jim Heffernan talks with friends and colleagues of slain police Sgt. Ricky Lee Timbrook:
Audio
Links
Documents
Reference work compiled by Bell's appellate team and the office of Attorney General Bob McDonnell over the course of the death sentence appeal:
Timeline
The following is a timeline of events in the life of Edward N. Bell.
- Oct. 29, 1999: Timbrook is shot and killed after pursuing Bell. Bell is later found hiding in the basement of a house on East Piccadilly Street, not far from where police recover the gun used to kill Timbrook.
- Jan. 20, 2001: Bell goes on trial in Winchester Circuit Court after a long series of motions.
- Jan 26, 2001: A jury of nine women and three men find Bell guilty of capital murder.
- Jan 26, 2001: The same jury takes less than an hour to sentence Bell to death. The dearth of mitigation witnesses presented by the defense team will later become an major issue on appeal.
- May 30, 2001: Winchester Circuit Court Judge Dennis L. Hupp accepts the jury's death sentence.
- June 28, 2001: Bell's lawyers file their first notice of appeal in Circuit Court.
- Aug. 27, 2001: Bell's lawyers file their first appeal with the Virginia Supreme Court.
- Jan. 29, 2002: Lawyers for Bell file their first series of briefs with the Virginia Supreme Court.
- April 16, 2002: Justices of the Virginia Supreme Court hear oral arguments in Bell's appeal.
- June 7, 2002: The Virginia Supreme Court upholds Bell's conviction and sentence.
- Oct. 25, 2002: Bell's lawyers ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Bell's conviction.
- Jan. 10, 2003: The nine justices decline to hear Bell's appeal, sending the matter back to state courts.
- March 14, 2003: Bell files a habeas corpus petition with the Virginia Supreme Court.
- April 10, 2003: The high court returns Bell's brief for being longer than 50 pages.
- April 24, 2003: Bell's legal team files a smaller appeal with the Virginia Supreme Court.
- May 2003: The Virginia Supreme Court turns down Bell's state-level habeas corpus appeal.
- June 2004: State justices deny appeal from officer's killer.
- November 2004: Petition for re-hearing is denied by the Virginia Supreme Court.
- Dec. 7, 2004: Execution date is set for Jan 7., 2005.
- Dec. 23, 2004: U.S. District Court Judge James P. Jones issues a stay of execution while Bell pursues one final appeal.
- Jan. 3, 2005: A new legal team file paperwork in federal court in Abingdon, putting the court on notice that Bell intends to prove actual innocence.
- May 17, 2005: Bell files federal habeas corpus appeal, asking for a new sentencing on the grounds that his legal team at the time didn't put on an adequate case in mitigation at sentencing.
- June 16, 2005: Virginia Attorney General's office moves to dismiss the case.
- July 6-7, 2005: Judge Jones castigates Bell's initial legal team for their sentencing performance after a two-day hearing in Harrisonburg, but stuns the courtroom by not ordering a new sentencing. Jones also grants a certificate of appeal, allowing the case to move forward to the U.S. Court of Appeals.
- Sept. 18, 2006: Bell's case is docketed at the U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond.
- July 13, 2007: Bell's pleadings and other documents filed in Richmond.
- Oct. 30, 2007: A three judge panel hears oral arguments from Bell's attorneys and the Virginia Attorney General's office.
- Jan. 4, 2008: The three judge panel rules against Bell.
- Jan. 18, 2008: Bell asks the appellate court to re-hear the case.
- Jan. 29, 2008: The same three judge panel denies Bell's rehearing petition.
- Feb. 5, 2008: Bell asks the court to "stay its mandate" so as to leave the stay of execution issued in 2004 in place while he appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Feb. 12, 2008: The three-judge panel denies Bell's request.
- Feb. 14, 2008: A Winchester Circuit Court judge sets Bell's execution date for April 8.
- April 16, 2008: Gov. Timothy M. Kaine lifts temporary moratorium on Virginia death penalty
- May 12, 2008: U.S. Supreme Court stays execution
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View from the Cheap Seats podcast: Reactions of the stay from family members of Trimbrook and Bell, lawmakers, Winchester sheriff, governor's office 
