Man charged with murder in the death of girlfriend in North Ogden

On her MySpace page, Brittany Nichols wrote, "You can't buy love, but you can pay heavily for it."

Her boyfriend, 21-year-old Johnny Maurice Bell, is accused of stabbing her to death after she tried to break up with him. On Tuesday, Bell was formally charged with first-degree felony murder and domestic violence in the presence of a child, a third-degree felony. North Ogden police revealed that Nichols' daughter may have witnessed the slaying.

"She has a child, a 2- or 3-year-old," Chief Polo Afuvai said Tuesday. "As far as we know, she was in there."

The chief said Bell had lived with Nichols, 23, "off and on" for the last four months. She had lived in her North Ogden condo for about a year, police said.

After he hadn't heard from her in a while, Nichols' father went to her home to check on her. Letting himself inside the home, he found blood and his daughter dead inside her bedroom. She had been stabbed numerous times in the torso, police said.

An acquaintance told investigators that Bell was on a bus headed to California. Utah Highway Patrol troopers stopped the Greyhound bus in Cove Fort, taking Bell into custody.

"He confessed to the crime," Afuvai said, declining to reveal what Bell allegedly told officers.

Police have had no documented history of domestic violence involving the couple.

Bell is scheduled to make his first appearance in 2nd District Court on Wednesday. He is currently being held in the Weber County Jail without bail.

Funeral services for Nichols are pending.

E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com