A Mother’s Murder Reveals That Water Is Not Flint's Only Crisis

Police arrested Malek Thornton, 18, an acquaintance of Bell's, in connection to the murder the following day.

Bell's mother, Audra Bell, tells Broadly that the coroner believes Bell was dead for two days before she was found, which turns this tragic crime into an even more horrific nightmare, especially for Bell's young son. On Monday evening, Flint police confirmed that they arrived on the scene only after being alerted by a family member, who was concerned after not being able to reach Bell. Police do not know when Bell and Reed were murdered, but they confirm that the bodies were not immediately discovered.

This unfortunate blow shows that tainted water is just one of many problems plaguing the struggling city, once considered the capital of American industry and optimism. In September of last year, Flint was named the third most violent city in the nation, with 49 homicides within city limits in 2015.

"I was born and raised here, so I've seen so many changes in Flint," Bell's mother tells Broadly over the phone. She says that after General Motors left the city, the city's economic conditions severely declined, causing a domino effect of dire straits. "There used to be four or five, if not more, GM factories in the city of Flint and surrounding areas. And they've just vanished. As they've vanished, there's been nothing to substitute, economy-wise—crime's been horrible; people are fleeing from here, running as fast as they can because they need to be able to take care of their families."

Trying to take care of her family is just what Audra Bell's daughter was trying to do.

The young woman, who had graduated from Southwestern Academy High School just two years ago, had dreams of one day working with special-needs children. "She loved kids," her mother says, adding that Bell was the type of person to get along with everybody. "She would defend those being bullied—she didn't like injustice, she didn't like when kids were treated poorly." According to her mother, the kind-hearted young woman "was just a really outgoing girl."

Now, Bell's parents will take care of their grandson. Bell's mother is concerned that the two days her grandson apparently spent alone were traumatic for the young boy, but she and her husband are trying to help him get adjusted to being with them full-time, instead of just occasionally.

"Right now, we are just trying to help him know that we are here, that nobody's gonna leave him," she says.

Bell's mother has also confirmed that her daughter and the alleged killer did know each other. According to her, the two had formerly dated, although she says it has been "quite a while" since they were a couple.

Bell's mother will "most definitely" continue the lawsuit that her daughter initiated against the city, saying that her grandson still has lead in his system, and added that taking care of him is her top priority.

Flint's water supply was contaminated after the source of the city's drinking water was switched from Detroit to the Flint River in April 2014; the city of was found to have been knowingly providing the poisonous water to its working-class, majority-black residents late last year. Children have been among the most affected, a large number of whom have fallen ill due to lead poisoning—Bell's young son included. Even small amounts of lead can cause lasting health and developmental problems in children. The lawsuit Bell filed—the one her mother will continue pursuing—was on her son's behalf. The city's water source was switched back to Detroit on October 16, 2015.

Marc Edwards, who leads the Virginia Tech research team in charge of testing Flint's water, tells Broadly over email that Flint's water "is improving, but it is not yet safe to drink, as pieces of lead rust and scale are falling off sporadically at a rate higher than other cities." To him, Bell's death is a tragedy that "reinforces how precarious life is for so many in Flint."

"Betrayal by government agencies and a drinking water crisis was the last thing on Earth this community needed," he says.