Danielle Bell

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2:00purposes. Listener discretion is advised. My name is Sarah Turney and this is Voices for Justice.

2:13Today, I'm discussing the case of Danielle Bell. After 14-year-old Danielle goes missing from a party in September 2001, investigators treat her case as just a runaway. But as more information came to light, they began to unravel an intricate web of lies and abuse. This is the case of Danielle Bell.

2:39In September 2001, Danielle Bell's older sister, 20-year-old Bonnie Bell, wanted to capture a really special moment with her siblings. So she made arrangements for a photo shoot on the beach with her brother and sister Danielle. They got matching outfits, posed for the pictures, did the whole thing, and just enjoyed their time together. But before they knew it, it was time for Bonnie to drop them off at their respective homes. Bonnie dropped her brother off at his father's house, and then planned to drop Danielle off at their grandmother's house where she and their mother, Susan Bell, currently lived before Bonnie headed back to her home.

3:15Bonnie was in college and out of the house by this time. But 14-year-old Danielle had other plans. She asked Bonnie to stop and let her use a payphone so she could get picked up by some friends. Now, Bonnie's in full older sister mode. She's like, it's Sunday, it's a school night, there's no way that's happening. I'm gonna drop you off right where I picked you up, at home. When they get to their grandmother's house, Bonnie stays for a bit. She says this wasn't unusual for her to come over on the weekends for a meal. So she makes herself a plate of food. But then she hears Danielle ask their mother if she can hang out with someone, a man Bonnie would later know as Alfredo Sanchez.

3:56At this point, Bonnie has no idea who this person is, but Danielle convinces their mom to let him come over. And when Alfredo and two other men show up to meet Danielle, Bonnie is shocked to see that not only are they older than Danielle, they were older than Bonnie too. She quickly learns that Alfredo wasn't just a friend from school or the neighborhood. He was a 24-year-old man, who, according to their mother Susan, Danielle babysat for. Bonnie was kind enough to interview with me for this episode, and she told me that while her mother seemed perfectly fine with this, she wasn't ready to just let this slide.

4:37She told Danielle and their mom that this just wasn't right. I had taken my sister and our brother to go get pictures made on the beach. On the way back, I dropped my brother off at our dad's house where he was living. And on the way out of that neighborhood to take my sister home, she asked me if I could stop at a payphone so she could call her friends to come get her. And I said, no, I'm going to drop you off where I picked you up. You got to go home. It's Sunday night anyways. It's tomorrow's school night, right? So I get to get to their house. Now, they were living with my grandmother at the time.

5:17So my grandmother was there, but she was taking care of her dad, who was dying of cancer at the time. So she wasn't there full time. And my grandma was a wonderful, wonderful person. But when I get back, I make a plate of food. and I hear my sister ask my mom, can Alfredo come over? Can I hang out with Alfredo? We're just going to hang out like in the front yard to hang out. Well, he shows up with two other dudes that later find out were his cousin cousins. Um, and they were all older than me. I could tell just by looking at them. I was like 20 at the time. And my mom says hello to them, like no big deal.

6:05And so I asked my mom, I'm like, first of all, why is she hanging out with these two or like this 24 year old dude and these older guys? And Danielle was standing right there. And like I said, this is about two weeks before she went missing. And she, Danielle was like, Bonnie, you know, don't worry about it. It's none of your business. And my mom and I got into an argument. My sister and I got into an argument and I left because my mom was going to let my sister actually leave with them. Danielle and Bonnie were really close while they were growing up together in Florida. Danielle is the youngest of the three kids, and she and Bonnie always shared a room.

6:46Bonnie told me that the best way to describe their relationship is to liken it to the 90s MTV show Daria. Yeah. So Danielle was the youngest of three children. I'm the oldest. So there were six years between us. We shared a room the entire time that she and I were together. Danielle was extremely outgoing, personable, happy. She was a risk taker. And the best way I like to describe my relationship with her is, I don't know if you remember the MTV show Daria. It was on in the mid-90s, late 90s, and she used to say, Bonnie, you're Daria, and I'm Quinn. So if you're not familiar with it, Daria is the dark, mysterious, emotional one, and Quinn is the popular cheerleader.

7:42And Danielle was a cheerleader for a little league football team her entire life. She started when She was like four or five. And she, towards her middle school years, I started driving. And she was always with me. She was hanging out with me and my friends. And, you know, I was trying to get out of our home life and I took her with me when I could. Bonnie really did take on a motherly role to Danielle. So she has no problem telling both her and their mother that she's not okay with Danielle, a freshman in high school, who had just turned 14 at the end of July, hanging out with men in their 20s.

8:26Their mother's boyfriend also agreed with Bonnie, like I imagine most adults would. But this had become Danielle's new normal. Their parents got divorced about a year prior, and while Danielle had your typical teenager rules at their dad's house, it was at her mom's house that she was allowed to basically do whatever she wanted. According to Bonnie, their mother was struggling with substance use disorder, and Danielle was severely neglected. So she began partying with friends and apparently older men to escape her home life. In the end, unfortunately, Bonnie just couldn't get through to their mother, so she threw her plate in the sink and left.

9:08The next time she spoke with her mom was about two weeks later on Monday, October 1st. Bonnie called her mom at 8 a.m. before she was due at her English comp class. And when she answers the phone, she's sobbing, really just hysterical, to the point that Bonnie couldn't even understand what she was saying. So her grandmother gets on the phone and tells Bonnie that she needs to get to the house right now because Danielle is missing, and has been missing since Friday.

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10:49On the night of Friday, September 28th, 2001, 14-year-old Danielle Bell went to a party at Heritage Park just a few miles from her home. This seems like your typical teenage party slash hangout, music, drinking, and likely some other activities. At some point, possibly around 10pm, Danielle leaves the party at the park to go to a second party in cantonment. But this wasn't like the party at the park. It was at the house of a man named Robert Bassett, who, according to Bonnie, was best friends with Alfredo Sanchez and also in his 20s. This party was, let's say, more mature. We don't know the entire guest list, obviously, but it's definitely a mix of adults and teenagers, including Alfredo and Danielle.

11:39What we do know is that Danielle knew many people at this party, was extremely intoxicated, and never made it home. Now, according to statements from Susan Bell, Danielle was technically grounded that Friday after she and Danielle got into a fight, but she decided to let her stay the night at a friend's house anyway. and Susan goes to a football game. While Bonnie has a hard time believing this story, this is what Susan tells the media. The classic teenage move. You tell your parents you're going to a friend's house when you really plan to go to a party. But by Saturday afternoon, Danielle still isn't home.

12:16So Susan calls her friend Stacy to see what's going on. Now, Stacy has no idea what's going on. Danielle isn't with her. According to Bonnie, Stacy said that she left the party before Danielle and hadn't seen her since. But Stacy does what I think a lot of teenagers would do in that position. She covers for Danielle, assuming she's just somewhere she shouldn't be. She says, yeah, Danielle is here, but she's busy. I'll make sure to have her call you later. But that call never came, and on Sunday night, Susan reports Danielle missing to the Escambia County Sheriff's Office. They quickly classify Danielle as a runaway.

12:55According to reporting by the sheriff's office, Susan gave them a few names of people they might want to follow up with. One of those names was 18-year-old Alex Sanchez, Alfredo's younger brother. The investigator taking this report wrote, quote, Alex told me there was a party Friday night in the village area on the corner of Escambia and Lakeview Avenue in the park. He said Danielle left there on foot around 9.30 p.m. He did advise that Danielle and her mother were having problems, and he said Danielle told him that she was not going home. End quote. So really, at this point, it does look like Danielle ran away from home.

13:35The sheriff's office makes some calls, and they drive around near the park where Alex Sanchez told them he last saw Danielle. But that's really it. It wasn't until Monday when Susan told Bonnie, and really the rest of the family that Danielle was missing, that the first search for her was conducted. This was without law enforcement's help. It was really just about 15 of Danielle's friends and family going over the immediate area, going to local teen hangouts, knocking on doors, handing out flyers, but no one had seen Danielle. And when the family gets together and starts running through scenarios of what might have happened, Susan gives them some crucial information.

14:16Danielle had come to her a few weeks earlier and told her that she thought she was pregnant, and 24-year-old Alfredo Sanchez was the father. It probably goes without saying, but these next parts, the rest of this episode, might be extremely difficult to hear. According to records from the Escambia County Sheriff's Office, Alfredo had been raping Danielle for months, starting when she was just 13 years old. This wasn't even the first time she thought she was pregnant with his child. and Danielle shared something else with her mom. Alfredo told her that he'd kill her if she told anyone. While Susan had scheduled a doctor's appointment for Danielle to confirm the pregnancy, she went missing before that could ever happen.

15:06As this information and information about the parties came to light, the sheriff's office does begin to investigate Danielle's case. When they speak with Robert Bassett, he tells them that Danielle was at the party at his house that night, but he saw her leave with her friends Stacy and Kevin, that same Stacy that would later cover for Danielle. However, Stacy and Kevin have both denied this, and say that they left the party before Danielle, and despite their attempts to get her to leave with them, she ultimately declined. When investigators speak with Alex Sanchez, he tells them that Alfredo told him that he hadn't seen Danielle for about three months.

15:48But as investigators are conducting these interviews, they quickly learn that that just isn't the truth. I mean, obviously, even Bonnie saw Danielle with Alfredo just a few weeks prior. And as they continue to speak with other witnesses, they begin to learn a lot more about Alfredo, the night Danielle went missing, and the absolutely horrific abuse she suffered. Now, because many of these witnesses were minors at the time, and most of the documents that I have protect their identities, I'm going to do the same. But according to a long list of witnesses, here's what we know. Many people saw Danielle with Alex and Alfredo Sanchez at the party in the park.

16:31They also recall seeing Danielle leave the party in Alex's Lincoln town car. They say that in general, Alfredo was, quote, in the company of juvenile females between the ages of 12 and 17 years, and hanging out with them while he and they consumed alcohol and controlled substances, end quote. End quote. quote, Alfredo Gomez Sanchez Jr. has engaged in illegal sexual conduct with then 13 and or 14-year-old Danielle Arian Bell, end quote. At least two other women have come forward to say that Alfredo sexually assaulted them when they were minors and he was in his 20s. Many witnesses told investigators that Danielle confided in them that she believed she was pregnant and was really upset about it.

17:28It seems that her period was about two months late. Danielle and Alfredo were seen drinking and smoking marijuana together, and had spent the night together in a hotel on at least one occasion, and at Alfredo's home on multiple occasions. They were often seen cuddling or kissing. Another friend recalled another incident at Alfredo's neighbor's house. Alfredo came through the front door and appeared to be extremely intoxicated. After Danielle refused his attempts to sexually assault her, he got very upset, punched the arm of the couch next to Danielle, and yelled, quote, man, fuck you, end quote.

18:13Now, I feel like I just need to be very clear here. A child who is being sexually abused is not engaging in a relationship with their abuser. It's just abuse. But for Danielle, she clearly was manipulated into thinking that this was a romantic relationship with Alfredo. And according to one friend, she became pretty upset when that came to an end. This friend told investigators that about a month before Danielle went missing, she appeared to be, quote, on the edge of a nervous breakdown, end quote. And that Danielle had confided in them that she and Alfredo ended what Danielle considered to be a romantic relationship.

18:56Then, not long after, Alfredo and an unspecified number of his friends raped Danielle. According to this statement, Danielle said that she was given a large amount of drugs by these men before they raped her. This friend also observed Danielle with a black eye, And when they asked her about it, Danielle said Alfredo hit her. Of course, obviously, investigators want to speak to Alfredo Sanchez. When he speaks with investigator Franklin Fillingham from the Escambia County Sheriff's Office on October 3rd, he tells them that he hasn't seen Danielle in about three months, the same story his younger brother gave investigators.

19:40Now, according to Bonnie, Alfredo was pretty hard to find after he first spoke with police. and his family told investigators and the Bell family that Alfredo went to Guatemala to spend time with family. She also says that Alfredo initially denied knowing Danielle at all, before finally telling investigators that she babysat for him, a story that's never been confirmed. And he does eventually break down and admit to some of the sexual abuse. He actually describes it in uncomfortable graphic detail that I will not repeat here. In the months and then years following Danielle's disappearance, he gives a variety of statements to investigators.

20:25In December 2001, he sits down for an interview. Here, Alfredo tells investigators that on the night Danielle went missing, he was with his cousin at a bar until about 2.30 in the morning. After that, they went to the Waffle House to grab some food, and went home to sleep after that. Again, he's saying that he hasn't seen Danielle in months, and definitely wasn't with her on the night she went missing. In 2005, he further expands on this, saying he was with a woman at her home prior to the night Danielle went missing and through that next Tuesday, October 2nd. He adds that he hadn't spoken with Robert Bassett, the owner of the home Danielle was last seen at, for at least a few months prior to Danielle going missing.

21:10But all of this is quickly countered by a large number of witness statements placing Alfredo with Danielle in the days and weeks before the party, at the party at the park, and with both Danielle and Robert Bassett on the night of the party. They were also all seen together that night at a local convenience store, and in another location purchasing marijuana. Alfredo was lying, and investigators knew it. Even the woman he claimed to be staying with came forward to say that he was not with her that night, and on top of that specifically told her that there was, quote, something we have to do, end quote.

21:53She and investigators believe that by we, Alfredo meant he, a cousin, and Robert Bassett. The report goes on to say, quote, The witness also advised me that a few days after September 28, 2001, Alfredo Gomez Sanchez Jr. visited her at her home. He seemed to her to be upset and stressed, and he had then explained to her that my cousin had raped some girl named Danielle, and then had directed her to advise any law enforcement who might question her in the future that he had instead been with her during the entire night of September 28, 2001. The witness also reported that a few years after September 28, 2001, Alfredo Gomez Sanchez Jr.

22:40had approached her and had asked her if she would still be his alibi. She had replied in the affirmative, end quote. When Alfredo was confronted by investigators in 2006 about the conflicting information, he said that the witness was lying and changed the subject. While Alfredo Sanchez did admit to sexually assaulting Danielle, he was sticking with his story that he hadn't seen her on the night that she went missing. But he is now admitted to and has been caught committing several crimes as it relates to Danielle and her disappearance. So between 2006 and 2007, he was charged with and pled no contest to the following crimes.

23:23Making false reports or giving false information to law enforcement. Unlawful sexual activity with minors. Lewd, lascivious battery sex with victim 12 to 15 years old. And two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation of a victim 12 to 15 years old. One of those counts was for another minor who was not Danielle. As of recording this episode, Alfredo Sanchez is still in prison, serving a 45-year sentence that he has tried to appeal. One court document I found said that his defense was basically that he didn't do half of what he pled to. While investigators have been very outspoken about their belief that Danielle was likely killed shortly after she went missing, no one has been charged with her murder.

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25:38Select Hulu content via Disney+. Additional content on Hulu app. Terms apply. Visit Disneyplus.com slash Hulu for details. Bonnie says that the Lincoln Town Car Danielle was in that night was destroyed by the time law enforcement could get to it. Both Alfredo Sanchez and Robert Bassett's homes have been searched, but nothing related to Danielle's disappearance or murder has been found. Or if it has, that has not been shared with the public or family. Now, you're probably wondering about Robert Bassett. And don't worry, I have not forgotten about him. After Danielle went missing, Robert changed his story several times.

26:17And pretty much just taunted her family. Here's Bonnie. Robert Bassett started making threats to us and any, you know, family and friends that were in the neighborhood searching for Danielle in Alfredo's neighborhood. That was the first time I believe he came out with a baseball bat and threatened someone at once one point in time. He would call and leave me voicemails about how he was watching my stepdad on his property and threatening me to keep my mouth shut. Anytime I posted on social media, he got extremely angry and would call and leave me messages. But one time, it's been a long time ago, about 10 years ago, he posted in a Facebook group and he was harassing some of the women in that group.

27:13And one girl asked him, what did you do with that missing white girl, Danielle Bell, that you were last seen with? And he responded, in a hog pen where you belong. I asked Bonnie how investigators responded to this comment. She said that she sent them the screenshot, but they never followed up. You can actually see this screenshot over on Bonnie's TikTok, which is linked in the episode description. In that video, Bonnie explains that after posting the screenshot, Robert Bassett's then-girlfriend asked her to take it down, saying he was just joking. Now, while I was doing research for this case and reading through the honestly pretty limited number of articles available, I found a 2012 article from NorthEscambia.com.