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Bryce Bell -
Anthony Wilson
Bryce Bell was just 15 years old when he shot Anthony Wilson six times and stole the victim’s truck on April 11, 2019. At sentencing for the crime, Jefferson County Criminal District Court Judge John Stevens sentenced the teen to serve 30 years in prison – a sentence the victim’s widow said is not nearly enough.
Glenda Wilson, wife of murder victim Anthony Wilson, testified as to the events that led up to the murder of her husband from her perspective.
“We were at home,” she said, along with the couple’s two children, ages 8 and 4. Glenda had also been in recent receipt of news that she was going to be a mother again. Glenda and “Goods,” as she affectionately called her husband on the stand, were celebrating their anniversary that day, winding down with the children before they settled in for the evening.
“He went out to his truck and saw vehicles had been plundered,” she said. That, Glenda added, “changed the trajectory of the night.”
The Wilsons viewed video surveillance and identified the suspects as children. Anthony was determined to reach out to the suspects’ parents, over the objection of his concerned spouse.
“He just drove off,” she said.
Glenda dozed off until 10:30 p.m., and “got this feeling” when she realized her husband still had not made it home. Later that night, two detectives arrived at the door.
“They informed me my husband was no longer with me,” she said. “It was totally devastating.”
The shooter’s mother, Deborah Bell, took to the stand to defend her son’s character: “When the murder happened, I didn’t see it coming,” she said. “I had no idea he was hanging with kids on that level.”
Prosecutors contend that Bell’s mother should have known he was on a downward trajectory: The teen had been kicked out of West Brook and sent to Pathways for smoking marijuana in the bathroom; then, he was kicked out of Pathways for assaulting a teacher and sent to the Jefferson County Youth Academy. Within months, Bryce was arrested for murder.
Bell’s former basketball coach, Thomas Sigee, also appeared in court on the defendant’s behalf, saying, “He did not have a father figure in his life.”
Wilson’s widow promised the defendant she would see him again – at every parole hearing Bell ever receives. Along with the prosecutor, Judge Stevens chided Bell for failing to take responsibility for his actions – and the hurt he’s caused the entire Wilson family.
“There’s lots of people that don’t have daddies that don’t kill people,” the prosecutor said.