A 51-year-old California woman vanished without a trace in 2019 after her sister said she moved to Colorado for a “fresh start.”
Now, six years on, police have announced a major break in the case, alleging that she was choked to death in the back of a car and dismembered using an ax, with two suspects now facing charges.
Kimberly Bell, 51, was last seen alive in July 2019 in the Denver metro area.
Her sister reported her missing one month later, Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Bell had moved from California to Colorado and was living with her sister in Franktown, 9News reported, but suddenly stopped showing up for work.
According to police, on July 22 2019, Bell was driving her rental car with suspects Javier “Alex” Martell, 30, and Jennifer Bremer, 38, inside.
Police allege that Martell became “enraged” with Bell and placed his arm around her neck, pulling her from the driver’s seat into the backseat of the car.
He told Bremer to drive while he choked Bell to death, according to the sheriff’s office.
The pair then allegedly drove around the Denver Metro area with Bell’s body in the back of the vehicle.
Police said they stopped by a Home Depot in Aurora where Martell bought an ax, which they believe was later used to hack the victim’s body to pieces. The suspects allegedly also used Bell’s credit card to buy gas, according to 9News.
The pair are accused of then driving to a remote location near Estes Park that night, where Martell allegedly dismembered Bell’s body. He then allegedly stuffed her body parts into trash bags which were then disposed of in a dumpster at a veterinary clinic.
Bell’s remains have never been found.
Weekly said the net closed in on the two suspects thanks to witness statements which placed them in the vehicle with Bell on the day she was last seen alive.
Google location data also revealed details about Bell’s whereabouts that day, according to a grand jury indictment obtained by 9News.
Investigators also uncovered searches made on the victim’s Google account including how to “take a tracking system out of a Ford focus”, “Home Depot near me”, and “does phone ping location if off”, the documents state.
On July 27 2019, five days after the suspected murder, police officers had also contacted Bremer and Martell at a hotel in Louisville, Colorado, and found Bell’s driver’s license in the room, the indictment alleges.
Martell is charged with two counts of first-degree murder while Bremer is charged with felony accessory to a crime and identity theft.
Martell is being held on $10 million bail, reported KTLA5. Bremer has been released on bond.
The sheriff’s office is urging anyone with information or who knew Bell, Martell or Bremer at the time to contact the cold case unit at +(303)6607528.
