On March 14, Carolyn Bell lost her son Kevin to a gunman’s bullet — a bullet investigators are still searching for but follows Carolyn around in her dreams.

Kevin Bell, 41, was shot once in the face in a small lot at Higgins Court Apartments in Athens. His mother was around the corner, sitting on her front porch. Shortly before noon, Carolyn, 61, said she heard a woman up the street scream, “They got a gun back there!”

“I heard the cock and then I heard the shot,” Carolyn said. “When I went to the end of the porch, I looked and I saw who was standing and who was on the ground.”

Amid her shock and horror, Carolyn said she saw the gunman “strut” back to his car, which was parked in front of her apartment, and say “Now that n—-r is dead,” before getting in the driver’s seat and pulling away out of the neighborhood.

“I’ll never forget it,” she said.

Carolyn and her daughters, Tiffany Bell and Caren Bell, believe the gunman was Frank Harper Franklin IV, 28, of Decatur. Franklin later turned himself over to Decatur Police and was eventually taken into custody by Athens Police and charged with Bell’s murder, according to Athens Police Chief Floyd Johnson.

Franklin was booked into Limestone County Jail the evening of the shooting. Bail was set at $200,000 cash, which was later lowered to a $100,000 surety bond, meaning he was able to put up property as collateral to secure his release. Franklin made bond and was released from jail March 16, court records show.

The Bell family said they now live in a constant state of anxiety knowing Kevin’s alleged killer is walking free.

“I’ve got a paranoia problem because he can go wherever he wants to go,” Tiffany Bell said. “He knows where all of us live. It’s having to watch over your shoulder and stuff.”

Never a stranger

More than dealing with their worry, the Bell family is coming to terms with a life without Kevin, a man who his sisters and mother say never knew a stranger.

“He just loved everybody with welcoming arms,” Tiffany said. Speaking directly to a reporter, she said, “He would tell you you are our cousin; he just welcomed everybody.”

After his death, the Bell family said rumors circulated that the shooting was over a drug deal gone bad. Tiffany said her brother was a “homebody” and that he kept himself occupied with Facebook and taking care of his family. Until 2009, Kevin worked a full-time job. He later became disabled and devoted his time to caring for Carolyn and helping his siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins and any other family that needed him. Caren Bell described her older brother as the family’s protector.

“If you wanted five dollars, he’d give it to you,” she said. “He’d be stingy about it but he’d give it to you. He was a Facebook junkie; he was so funny.”

Kevin was also a devoted father to James Walker, 12, of Decatur, and Taniya Chatman, 10, of Athens, the family said. He would do anything for his children, and they loved him, the family said.

Listening to family members, Kevin seemed like the least likely person to ever be killed. At his funeral, dozens of people came out for their “cousin” and help Carolyn in the wake of her loss. She said they knew it’s what Kevin would have wanted them to do and they seemed aware of it.

“There was a lot of people to help with this because Kevin was so close to everybody,” she said. “I can only truly say I’m so grateful everybody did exactly the way he wanted. He was a sharp guy and loved all who was around.”

Knowing all these things about Kevin also made it hard for the Bells when they were told bystanders came up to Kevin’s body after the incident and shot videos on their phones or shared photos on social media. A rumor spread that Kevin was even pick-pocketed as he lie bleeding on the ground.

“They were totally disrespecting him,” Tiffany said. “It was real embarrassing.”

Coming days

Tiffany said her family is thinking about moving Carolyn to another home. They don’t feel safe with her where she and Kevin used to live.

“We have to keep reliving this scene because it happened right next to my momma’s home,” she said. “I mean, how cold was that — sitting on her porch and got to hear her son (dying)?”

The women are trying to figure out why Kevin was killed. Police haven’t released an official motive, as the investigation is ongoing, but the Bells have their own ideas.

Kevin was advising a younger sister (not Tiffany or Caren) to break away from her relationship with Franklin, they said. Carolyn said she and some of the other family members had a bad feeling about Franklin and Kevin was trying to help his sister out of what might end up being a bad situation. On the day of the shooting, Carolyn said Kevin was acting anxiously, as if he knew something major were about to happen. They suspect Franklin might not have liked his interference in the relationship.

“Why was he that angry?” Carolyn said. “You are not God to come to someone’s home, call them out and kill them — who does that?”

There are many sides to this story, but the only one incapable of telling their version is Kevin Bell. His mother and sisters say they are now on a quest to speak for him and feel they will get support from his “cousins” in coming days.

“My brother doesn’t have a voice to speak on behalf of himself,” Tiffany said. “We’re not vengeful, we just want justice because, right now, (the gunman) is winning.”

Carolyn wants justice for Kevin, too, but has a message for Franklin, whom she believes is the killer.

“You didn’t do nothing that God didn’t allow.”