Sylvester Bell was from Canada but would settle with his first wife in Fairfax, Vermont. They would have several children together, but he would treat his wife cruelly. One day he locked her in a room in an attempt to kill her. Their son would break into the room and fight his father and pushed him on the bed which collapsed underneath him causing him unable to move and saving his wife from his wrath. He would be acquitted of the attempted murder. They would divorce.
He would soon move on to his next wife and would marry Emma Locke in 1887. Just like his first wife he would treat Emma in the same awful way. This would cause Emma to return to her home and stay away from him.
On December 26, 1889, 29-year-old Emma would return to their home to gather her things with constable Hull. Sylvester would tell him "I want Emma to live with me." He would then "help" Emma get her things all while trying to act pleasant and asking her to come back to live in their home.
Emma would walk past Sylvester and go upstairs. He would refuse to bring down her sewing machine. So constable Hull and Emma would bring it down. She would then go to a trunk and he would help her bring that down. He would then ask her to open the chest because he had something of his inside. This was when she noticed her rings missing from it. She asked him where they were and he claimed he didn't take them out. He would bring a paper out of his pocket with the rings inside and gave them to her anyway. She would put the rings on her fingers.
Emma would go back upstairs to gather more things and he would follow her up. Constable Hull would stay downstairs but rushed upstairs when he heard a gunshot. Sylvester was standing there composed with a sixshooter and Emma was standing there with blood on her face.
Hull would arrest Bell and take him downstairs. The doctor would be called and when he arrived Emma was lying face down on the floor still alive. She had been shot in the head. In her arms, she was tightly holding some of her son's toys. She would be unconscious, but alive for the next 28 minutes before dying. While the doctor was working on Emma Sylvester told him he shot her. He would ask if she would live.
The doctor would find that the bullet had gone all the way through her brain.
Sylvester would claim that he saw that Emma had found his gun and had it under her arm. He claimed he told her that she better behave. She was bent over when he went to grab for the gun and it went off when he grabbed it. He claimed he didn't mean to kill her.
This was not believed as he had a history of domestic assault. He had also attempted to kill his first wife. So his story of an accidental shooting was not ringing right. He had also mentioned that she wanted to live alone and wanted $500 from him and he wouldn't do it because it would cause him to go to the poorhouse, but would rather be there than for her to be dead. At the trial he would claim there was no motive for the murder, The jury did not believe him and found him guilty.
On Jan. 1, 1892, Sylvester would be set to hang. At 1:15 a crowd began to form in the neighborhood of the state prison, but only a few would see the execution. At 1:44 he would be taken from his cell and where he was having an earnest conversation with Chaplin Wassel.
At the gallows, Chaplin would give him a prayer. He stood up there pale and trembling for his fate. He would be allowed to speak for 34 minutes talking about his life and how he was innocent. He would stand bravely over the trap and say, " Gentlemen I am dying as a man; goodbye.". In 14 minutes he would be pronounced dead.
In several articles Sylvester's name was Stephen.
SOURCES:
St. Albans Daily Messenger September 13, 1890
Argos and Patriot September 17, 1890
St. Albans Daily Messenger September 18, 1890
Vermont Pheonix Jan. 1, 1892
The Burlington Free Press Jan. 2, 1892
