A 48-year-old man wanted for the 2017 murder of his estranged girlfriend in Weymouth was arrested Wednesday in Florida, authorities said.

Cornel Bell. —State police

Cornel Bell was taken into custody at a construction site in Dania Beach by U.S. Marshals and local police, according to the Norfolk district attorney’s office.

“They confronted him and he was taken into custody following a brief pursuit,” District Attorney Michael Morrissey said in a statement.

Bell allegedly murdered 33-year-old Michele Clarke in her Weymouth apartment on Aug. 19, 2017. The district attorney’s office said a friend of Clarke’s contacted police expressing concerns for the 33-year-old’s safety. When police responded to Clarke’s apartment, she was found dead with “obvious wounds.”


State police said after the murder Bell fled the scene in Clarke’s pickup truck, which was recovered several days later by law enforcement in Florida. He was indicted for the murder in October 2017, and state police added him to the department’s most wanted list.

“The ensuing investigation revealed that Bell, who was believed to be originally from Jamaica, had previously used numerous names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers in past encounters with law enforcement and had fraudulently obtained several driver’s licenses with different aliases,” state police said. “Additionally, besides the murder warrant, investigators determined that Bell was the subject of three other warrants under an alias for assault, robbery, and firearms offenses.”

The Norfolk district attorney’s office said prosecutors and state police are working with Florida officials on returning Bell to Massachusetts.

Clarke’s mother, Marcia Tyson, told The Patriot Ledger in August that her family was living in fear of Bell while he was on the run. Clarke left behind a son, Aiden, who is now 8 years old.

“She was a sweet girl,” Tyson said of her daughter. “If you were in trouble, she’d be the first one there to help you. She was doing good and was happy, and now she’ll never get to get married or see her son grow or talk with her son.”