BOSTON — A Boston man has been charged with murder in the 1999 stabbing death of Dorchester resident Caryn Bonner inside her home, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.
54-year-old Cornell Bell has been charged with one count of first-degree-murder.
The incident occurred almost 27-years-ago on May 19, 1999. 34-year-old Caryn Bonner had not been heard from in several days. Her sister conducted a well-being check at her residence on 467 Columbia Road. There, she found Bonner stabbed to death in her kitchen.
The case had gone unsolved until July 2022, when Bell was convicted of murdering his girlfriend in Norfolk County back in 2022.
His conviction in 2022 helped link Bell’s DNA to the 1999 case, the DA’s office reports:
“[Bell’s] DNA profile was subsequently uploaded into the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS. Suffolk County investigators linked Bell’s DNA to that found on a cigarette butt in Caryn Bonner’s apartment. Investigators also re-discovered photographs of latent fingerprints in blood from inside the apartment and were able to individualize one of the prints to Bell.”
Bell is already serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. He is expected to return to court on February 19.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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