John Jefferson
Jeffrey Bell Jr. (Washington County Sheriff’s Office).
An Indiana man who allegedly faked his own death to avoid paying child support has apparently been found alive and well at his girlfriend’s house in the same county.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Indiana State Police announced that an investigation into Jeffrey Bell Jr., 51, culminated in an arrest on several charges including false informing. Specifically, Bell falsely reported that he was dead in April 2024 and therefore unable to pay the large amount of child support payments that he owed. But when an Indiana State Police detective showed up at the home of Bell’s girlfriend after the emails reporting his demise, the alleged deadbeat dad was alive and well.
According to the release, Bell’s alleged lie about being dead was not his only attempt to circumvent the truth. Police said that once the definitely-alive Bell was tracked down, he initially denied he was Jeffrey Bell. After he was positively identified, he was given a Jan. 23 court date at Washington County Circuit Court in Indiana. Bell allegedly claimed that he was out of state and would have to appear via video call. Police said that “officials came to believe Jeffrey Bell was still in Indiana and attending the virtual meeting from the same Washington County residence where Detective [Travis] Baker had initially contacted Bell.”
Washington County Sheriff’s deputies went to the home to see if Bell was, indeed, in the state and not out-of-state, as he claimed, and “[i]nformation gained at the house after the officer’s arrival confirmed Jeffrey Bell Jr. was inside the residence and not out of state, prompting presiding Judge Larry Medlock to order Bell taken into custody and transported immediately to his courtroom.”
Bell was booked into Washington County Jail where he was held on $100,000 for the charge of false informing. He was also charged with three counts of failure to appear in court, one of which carried a $500 and two of which carried no bond.
Bell remains in custody. He is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 6 related to the contempt charge. A jury trial on the false informing charge is scheduled for May 13.
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