Deseret News | Kidnapping trial ends in acquittal

Reader comments
Kidnapping trial ends in acquittal

101 comments | Read story

Page:
1
2
3
Next >

The Whole Story | 3:04 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

boils down to this one statement, ""He had no authority to take those kids."

Free "pee wee" | 3:11 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

Is it just me or does this guy lot alot like pee wee herman?
It seems that the police messed this whole thing up. The only clear crime was the beating of Bell.
All the prosecution has is a bunch of felons and drunks.
And it has nothing to do with them being polynesian, but it has everything to do with him being gay.

Anonymous | 3:15 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

"Home is where you're supposed to be safe,"
Obviously the kids did not feel safe in their home which is why they wandered to the neighbors house.

The parents have been lying through their teeth to save face and not have their children taken away because they are unfit parents.

Comments continue below

Anonymous | 3:32 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

So using the gay defense. Gay people are allowed to kidnap other peoples children because they are gay?
That doesn't make sense. Especially since they want to be treated equally.
He's obviously guilty. He snuck in and took the children while they were asleep in their home. Why would someone need to do that?
It would be interesting instead of hearing the gay card, have Bell explain why he had two kids that were not related to him, that he took out of a home while they slept, to be in a bedroom with him and his partner.

It wasn't right when Michael Jackson did it, it's not right when a gay person does it, and it's not right if a heterosexual does it. Kidnapping is wrong. I don't care if you're black, white, gray, yellow, purple, green, lgbt, straight, muslim, atheists, christian or anything else. Kidnapping is wrong no matter who or what you are.

OJ trial | 3:36 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

Throw up everything you can to distract the jury from the fact that 2 kids were taken.

Distract Distract Distract.

The beating has nothing to do with this trial. Whether he is gay or not has nothing to do with this trial.

Simple, were the kids taken or not.

The beating, which clearly took place, must be dealt with also but the defense smokescreen of diversionary tactics hopefully does not work.

Too many times in America we let lawyers use sleight of hand (mouth) to get criminals off. don't lose sight of what happened.

Both the prosecution and defense have criminals they are working with it sounds like to me.

Messy | 3:47 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

This whole situation seems very circumstantial. Yes, the kids should not have been in this man's house. However, if he had intent to do harm, why would he take them to his home where multiple adults were present? Pedophilia usually involves secrecy.

It is entirely possible that these two kids really did wake up and wander out of the house looking for their parents. I understand why it looks suspicious, but you can't convict based on suspicion. There has to be evidence.

As far as I can tell, there is certainly a lack of evidence, enough of a lack to warrant "reasonable doubt." Hopefully, the jury can see that.

The worst part about this situation is that both sides are bickering so much that it's causing the most important issue to be forgotten - How in the world did these kids make it out of the house and into a neighbor's house and no one saw?! Where was the supervision?!

Brian | 3:47 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

He had no good reason to take those kids...who knows what he did to them? And as far a his courtroom behavior...blowing kisses to his boyfriend? Shameful and an abomination. May justice be served and put this pedophile behind bars where he belongs.

Well | 3:57 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

I may not agree with his life style, but he should've never been treated the way he was.

Personal Injury Attorney | 3:58 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

Now that he is not guilty, Bell should hire a personal injury attorney and sue the pants off his neighbors for his brain injury.

@anonymous | 4:00 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

Obviously the jury didn't agree with you. There was no proof that he took anyone.

Anonymous | 4:02 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

Some of you people are unbelievable. The man faced the justice system and was found not guilty. What more do you want? Would you like to keep having trials because you don't like the verdict. The presecution obviously did not present evidence that he was guilty beyond any doubt. That's it. The jury and justice system have spoken. Move on.

noise ordinance | 4:03 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

wouldnt you just call the police and report the next door neighbors for a 'noise ordinance' violation and then let the police come and take care of the party and have it stopped? not only that but the kdis involved ARE in their own parents home safe and secure from being harmed in any way (even a loud party). why would you then go into your next door neighbors home since you feel that the kids are unsafe and then take the kids into your house instead in order to keep them safe. that makes no sense at all. if my next door neighbor pulled that on me then they'd have their hind end kicked to the curb by me personally. if this man is not convicted then it'll be a bit surprising.

Really?! | 4:04 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

Renteria, home is where you're supposed to be safe...with every adult in the home drinking 16-20 beers each?! Sounds GREAT for a couple of toddlers. These parents are unfit and they should be thanking their lucky stars that they were not all charged with a crime. LOVE the description of "drunkfest." Congrats to DJ Bell! It was the right outcome.

@Brian | 4:05 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

The justice system said he was NOT GUILTY. Gay does not mean pedophile. Grow up.

Fredd | 4:06 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

He did not take them from the house. That is the prosecutions theory. He claims they were wandering around outside and the parents didn't even know they were gone so they don't know how they got there.

Batman | 4:07 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

Sounds like there wasn't enough evidence to show he took them. I doubt he did go into their house. That being said, if they did wander over he should have walked them home because it looks susp.

People People, People, | 4:09 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

your ignorance and prejudice are showing. Gay does not=child molester. They were probably safer with this guy than with their drunken family.

Anonymous | 4:09 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

NOT GUILTY. do you people know what that means? were you in the house the night of the incident? were you in the courtroom? no? then stop projecting your bigotry onto this man that was found NOT GUILTY by a jury of his peers.

Predictable | 4:09 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

Brian's comment is so predicatble and demonstrates the height of ignorance on the legal issues involved as well as the cultural issues. Just bait readers with inflammatory comments - predicatble from someone with such obvious homophobic views.

Anonymous | 4:13 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

Exactly what is being said above.

There is no proof.

No. Proof.

@Brian | 4:13 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

I agree. There is obviously predjudice in every courtroom on this planet when it comes to jurors. Your next door neighbors kids wonder into your house and you dont IMMEDIATELY take them right to their parents who live next door to you?! Ironically the defendant's behaviour during this trial should have locked him up for at least 50 yrs. We also live in a time where everyone is right and no one whatsoever is wrong with their opinions. Some of the comments on this article today have questioned where the parents supervision of the children was at. I would like to know why the crap this man did not just return either of the kids to their parents right away instead of feeling that they were much more safer in his house. Thats not anything gay, thats what you call a PEDOPHILE.

bigot prosecutor | 4:16 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

this man who happens to be gay takes in two kids that he found wandering while the parents are heavily intoxicated. yes he should of called the cops. but obviously didn't want any trouble with the people next door.

Messy-part2 | 4:19 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

There have been a few who said this case is simple because the kids should not have been in his house so it must have been kidnapping.

Normally, I would probably agreed. However, I have had the sad experience of taking care of two pre-school aged girls who basically wander the neighborhood. They have been at my home for hours, eaten meals with us, etc. because I would rather that they are safe. Their parents never come looking for them.

I have tried to let the parents know when the girls are at my home. Unfortunately, I am always met with indifference. It didn't take long for me to realize that the parents simply didn't care where there children were!

It's appalling! There are people who simply don't supervise their children properly. The lesson to be learned is this: whether or not he intended to hurt these kids, they NEVER should have been out of the family's sight!

Bell's Turn | 4:20 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

It is now Bell's turn to sue those aggressors who beat him up. I hope he gets a lot of money for his pain & suffering and I hope the children are removed from their unfit parents.

D and K | 4:20 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

What I find faulty with so many of these comments is that people still ASSUME that he took the kids. It was never proven that they were ever taken! I am glad to hear that justice was served. The whole case was ludicrous, and never should have taken place. Latu should have let the police take care of it (if anything actually happened, or perhaps did she send the kids over as an excuse to commit a hate crime? Assumption!), and her actions speak louder than words. Hurrah for justice. We don't see enough of it in this country anymore.

statute of limitations | 4:22 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

The statute of limitation on this can not have run out yet for felony attempted murder (against Bell and his room mates) burgulary, and numerous other crimes.
its time for the parents and family to be charged. Probably will not happen, which is why a federal investigation needs to be started against the family, and the police who denied Bell his civil rights.
So the police show up Bell and his roomates are beaten to a bloody pulp, they have numerous severly intoxicated people and a 2 and 4 year old in the mix.
The police arrest Bell, and leave the 2 and 4 year old for the drunks to take care of.
It seems to me that there was some prejudice and negligence on the part of the police.

Anonymous | 4:24 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

I call for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the perpertrators of the attack against these men.

bk | 4:26 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

i'm not gay and i've never kidnapped anybody. i do have kids and they tend to wander. i've got them from my neighbors house several times after they went over there without telling me. he is only guilty of not telling the parents immediately. based on the beating he received, you may understand why he was hesitant to do that.

Civics Teacher | 4:27 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

You know class, innocent until proven guilty. A jury comes back not guilty, as a society we view this as not guilty. Any other view point is a slap in the face of two millena of legal history.

djatheda | 4:28 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

It's not "no proof" It's insufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. These are two very different things.

noot | 4:29 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

all the poop slinging doesnt change a not guilty verdict you just going to except the finding, but of course if people kept to their own to begin with non of this would have happened including the gay bashing stupid is as stupid does

FOR SURE | 4:29 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

There will be another trail. Someone is going to jail. And guy rights get another push forward!

s | 4:33 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

So when do we see the trial of the men who did the beatings? Is the Salt Lake Prosecutor's office going to show us it will not stand for vigilantism?

RE Brian and @Brian | 4:35 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

Did you two Rocket Scientists ever stop to think that maybe he did not take the kids home immediately because "home" was where 20 drunken individuals were? I would have kept them too especially after finding them wandering about. Yes, he should have called the police but maybe he was scared of taking a beatin. Kind of like he did when the kids were found.
This man is not a Pedophile and you two are a couple of chuckle heads!

Anonymous | 4:35 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

I am so sick of the state of utah and there hateride of the gay and lesbiane and trygender community. It is time that bell and all of us stand up and sue the state more so Bell for the wrong doing south salt lake did to him. We love you bell.

anonymous | 4:40 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

The way it looks, Bell had the best of intentions on keeping the kids safe, he obviously knew the family of the 2 children, he had been over partying with them earlier in the night, he knows that the party is STILL going on, and if the kids had supposedly wandered over because they had no supervision, obviously the children weren't being looked after properly. He should've gone over to the party and said "hey ur kids made their way over to my house." but thats not what happened. It sounds like a drinking situation that got entirely out of hand, and there were some things that were "assumed". I think justice was served correctly...

Y Grad | 4:40 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

Sue these polynesians and see that their kids are taken away.

Helen | 4:43 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

Justice was served, 12 of his peers founf him Not Guilty, Now he needs to Launch a hugh cival rights lawsuit against the Salt Lake city police department the neighbors who beat him and his Boyfreind up and the Salt Lkae attorneys office who did not press charges when these men were beat up, this is wrong and disgraceful, I happen to be Mormon and conservative and I can read between the lines why isnt it half of these bloggers can't??
Being Gay and being a pudifile are two sperate things, Its sad when accusations are thrown around when people sont know what they are talking about, its kind of like all Mormons dont believe in Polygamy?? Maybe the negative commentors can get that concept??????

Way To Go | 4:48 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

Way to go jury!!!
Now prosecute the real offenders, the drunk parents!!!

A thought | 4:49 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

If the family "obviously" didn't see Bell "kidnap" the kids from their party, do you think that maybe they didn't see the kids wander over there at six in the morning? Negligence is rarely punished.

oh how they love to hate.. | 4:52 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

its sad to see that he was found NOT GUILTY and yet there are those nay sayers who still dont believe in THEIR own justice system. Prior to this THEY were the ones saying "justice will prevail" well it has so deal with it. Also before posting a comment make sure you know what you are talking about and have all the FACTS! Dont appear uneducated.. however difficult it is to get one in UTAH

my slc | 4:55 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

David James Bell, get a good attorney and sue the butt off the folks who beat you.

Next, you and your partner should consider leaving the state of Utah, you have evidence of how much of the state regards gays,

The best of luck to you and your partner.

Tery | 5:27 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

The court and the jury did the right thing. Now that this trial is over I want to encourage everyone to wish David James Bell, his partner, and their families the best of luck and as many blessings as you can. I wish them the best of luck and lots of happiness.

I'd have done the same thing | 5:54 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

He knew the party was still going on. I'm sure he didn't want to call the police because they are/were neighbors and friends. I'd have taken the kids in too. I wouldn't want the kids to go back into a house full of drunks...what would worry me worse is that the drunks WERE watching them....but in the end, God knows the intent. He will serve justice. Let it go.

Good decision | 6:11 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

So sad that one has to go bankrupt or $100,000 in debt to get justice in this "free" country.

Justice served for Bell | 6:31 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

I'm glad to hear Bell was found not guilty. It was bad judgment on his part to have those children in his home, but I really don't think he meant them any harm. I can understand where the neighbors are coming from to some extent, but it doesn't sound like they were being terribly responsible during the events leading up to the disappearance of their kids, and their actions after the children were recovered seem to constitute an obvious violation of Bell and Fair's civil rights.

Same old story | 6:54 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

Another case of the Salt Lake County attorney's office flipping a coin to decide who to prosecute. As usual, they chose the wrong party.

Pagan | 7:05 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

Bell is not guilty. The Jury agrees with this. If your drunk, don't use your kids as a defense. Now the beating he took over this false acusation will be the focus.

I would take pity on the family, however, no one deserves to be called a child abuser and then get beaten for a case that can be summed up in two words:

Not guilty.

you miss the point | 8:15 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

The Whole Story | 3:04 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009
boils down to this one statement, ""He had no authority to take those kids."
----------------------------

Yes, but you can boil it down even further, what he did by giving those kids a quite place to stay, while not wise, was understandible, and furthermore

It didn't even come close to kidnapping.

And thats the bottom line

Fire the DA | 8:24 p.m. Sept. 25, 2009

Fire the DA. They don't charge anybody for the beating.

Page:
1
2
3
Next >

Add your comment

Comments are monitored. Any comments found to be abusive, offensive, off-topic, misrepresentative, more than 200 words or containing URLs will not be posted.

Words Remaining

E-mail address: For internal use only. We may want to contact you to publish your comment (not your e-mail address) in the newspaper or for a separate story idea.