Miami

Chewing Gum Helps Solve 35-Year-Old Cold Case Murder

The killer used a piece of bubble gum to seal the lock on the storage cupboard where the victim's body was hidden

DNA extracted from a 35-year-old piece of chewing gum helped detectives connect the dots in the murder of a mother in her apartment in England. Nova Welsh was found dead in the storage cupboard three weeks after her family moved to Miami.

"We were trying to reach her to confirm that we had arrived safely, but we could never get any answer,” said Valerie Welsh, the victim’s sister.

The father of her children, Osmond Bell, was arrested in 1981 in connection to Welsh’s death, but he was later released due to insufficient evidence. Welsh’s sister was not convinced Bell was innocent, because she said Bell was a possessive ex-boyfriend.

Years later, British police re-opened the case and focused on a piece of bubble gum used to seal the lock on the storage cupboard in which Welsh’s body was found. DNA from the gum matched with Bell's, and forensic scientists also found a match of Bell’s DNA on an envelope that contained an anonymous letter which had been sent to one of Welsh’s friends.

“There will always be advances to technology, and we will always seek to use them and bring people to justice,” said Det. Justin Spanner of the West Midlands police.

Jurors were presented with this evidence at Bell’s trial, and they convicted the now 60-year-old of manslaughter on March 22. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Welsh’s family members said they are happy their loved one’s killer has been brought to justice.

“We forgive him, but he still needs to pay for what he’s done. He never admitted to that,” said Welsh’s sister. Bell has not answered any questions regarding the murder since his arrest, police said.

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