Faribault Woman Gets 35 Years for Killing Disabled Man

Faribault, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Faribault woman has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for murdering a Faribault man two years ago.

Court records state that 76-year-old Gary Lehmeyer was found dead in his home on February 5, 2024, after Faribault police conducted a welfare check at the request of a family member. Police reports indicate he had been stabbed several times and strangled. His body was found wrapped in blankets, sheets, and a heated mattress pad, with his ankles bound.

Guilty Plea Entered Last Month

Thirty-four-year-old Arlene Theresa Bell was charged with second-degree murder. The criminal complaint says she had been living with the victim, who was physically disabled and had been diagnosed years earlier with Parkinson’s dementia. Bell entered a guilty plea to the murder charge in Rice County Court last month.

According to the criminal complaint, Bell admitted to repeatedly stabbing the victim and strangling him with an electrical cord. She told investigators that she and the victim got into a physical altercation and that he threw a dehumidifier at her, despite his physical disabilities.

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Arrested in Iowa

Bell was arrested the same day as the murder near Des Moines, Iowa, after she was pulled over by a state trooper while driving the victim’s vehicle. The criminal complaint says the trooper suspected she was under the influence of narcotics, and a search of the vehicle led to evidence of methamphetamine use. It also says she told the trooper she was headed to Mexico.

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