Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but this doesn't look good for Bob.
On the surface, there are a lot of strikes against him on this one.
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>
>Subject: [OM] Bob Shell: In the News :-((
> From: "John A. Lind" <jlind@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2003 11:32:33 -0500
> To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>For those of you that read Shutterbug and various other photo mags, the
>following news story appeared in The Roanoke Times on Thursday, June
>12th. I'm posting it without comment:
>
>>Thursday, June 12, 2003
>>Robert Edward Lee Shell faces 2 felony sex charges
>>Radford photographer jailed after model, 19, dies
>>
>>The model, from Boone, N.C., died from an apparent drug overdose about 7
>>p.m. June 3 at Shell's studio on West Main Street, a police spokesman said.
>>
>>By SHAY WESSOL
>>THE ROANOKE TIMES
>>
>> RADFORD - A well-known Radford photographer was in jail Wednesday on
>> two felony sex charges after one of his models died of an apparent drug
>> overdose at his studio.
>>
>> Radford police on Saturday charged photographer Robert Edward Lee
>> Shell, 56, with one count of sodomy against the model, 19-year-old Marion
>> Elizabeth Franklin of Boone, N.C., police spokesman Ryan Funk said. A
>> Radford grand jury brought a second charge of object sexual penetration
>> on Tuesday.
>>
>> Shell, an author of photography books, the editor-at-large for
>> Shutterbug magazine and an internationally regarded instructor, is known
>> for his nude photography. He was being held without bond in the New River
>> Valley Regional Jail .
>>
>> Franklin, who modeled under the name Chloe Jennings, died from an
>> apparent drug overdose about 7 p.m. June 3 at Shell's studio in the 200
>> block of West Main Street, Funk said. The official cause of death is
>> still being determined by the medical examiner's office, Funk said.
>>
>> Radford police are investigating her death as a homicide, according
>> to a search warrant affidavit filed in Radford Circuit Court. Franklin
>> had taken an apartment in Radford to be Shell's resident model and studio
>> manager, and Shell described her as "my favorite model, assistant and
>> best friend," on his Web site.
>>
>> Radford officers found drugs and paraphernalia in the studio the
>> night Franklin died, although the affidavit doesn't specify what those
>> drugs were. Shell told officers that Franklin had taken medication before
>> the two had sex, according to the affidavit.
>>
>> "Photos and video found at the scene suggests she may have been
>> incapacitated at the time of the sexual act," the affidavit reads.
>>
>> Investigators used the search warrant to comb through Shell's studio,
>> his Radford home and property he owns in Floyd County searching for
>> pornographic pictures of Franklin, evidence of drug abuse, and medical
>> and camera equipment.
>>
>> Police declined to comment on the accusations made in the affidavit,
>> saying the matter was still under investigation.
>>
>> Bonnie Paulk, managing editor of Florida-based Shutterbug magazine,
>> said Shell has written photography articles for the publication for 30
>> years and is a respected photographer.
>>
>> "I'm kind of a little bit in shock by this," she said Wednesday.
>>
>> John Kline of John's Camera Corner in Blacksburg said Shell was known
>> for his nudes.
>>
>> "He's always taken classic nudes. He's given schools on things like
>> 'professional approaches to nude photography,'" Kline said. "He's done
>> photo schools all over the world."
>>
>> Kline hired Shell as a camera repairer 27 years ago and considers him
>> a nationally recognized photographer who understands the technical aspect
>> of the art.
>>
>> "He's a fine photographer," Kline said. "He's not the kind of person
>> to do anything like this."
>>
>> Police seized camera equipment, photos of Franklin, an empty package
>> of Valium and a bottle of Ultram, among other things, from Shell's
>> studio, the search warrant said. They took a blood-pressure monitor from
>> his home, according to the document.
>>
>> Ultram is an uncontrolled pain medication similar to codeine or
>> morphine. Valium is a trademark for a brand of tranquilizer and muscle
>> relaxant.
>
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