Woman vanished in 2019, CO cops say. Now, two accused of tossing her body in dumpster
More than five years after the disappearance of a Colorado woman, two have been indicted in her death, deputies say.
Javier Martell, 30, was charged with murder, and Jennifer Bremer, 38, was charged with being an accessory in the death of Kimberly Bell, who was reported missing in 2019, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said in an Oct. 15 Facebook post.
“We’re excited about these arrests being made, but we have a lot more work to do on the case,” Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly said at a news conference.
Bell goes missing
Bell, who was living with her sister in Franktown, was last seen in late July 2019, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
At the time of her disappearance, she was working as a limousine driver in the Denver Metro Area, the sheriff’s office said in a February Facebook post.
She “stopped showing up for work around July 22, 2019,” CBI said.
Her sister reported her missing the following month, Weekly said.
Bell was last known to be driving a rented Ford sedan, which was later found in Estes Park, according to deputies.
“Unfortunately, there was very little information or evidence in the investigation as to what actually happened to Kimberly,” Weekly said. “Detectives, however, did not give up.”
Cold case teams takes case
In 2021, the sheriff’s office’s cold case team took up Bell’s case, an “arduous investigation (that) took years to complete,” Weekly said.
Weekly said that through investigation, detectives learned Martell and Bremer were inside her rented Ford sedan with her at a Regional Transportation District parking lot in an unincorporated area of Douglas County on July 22, 2019.
Martell sat in the back seat of the car, while Bell was in the driver’s seat, Weekly said.
At some point, “Martell became enraged with Bell,” Weekly said.
He put his arm around her neck and pulled her into the back seat, according to Weekly.
Martell then told Bremer, seated in the front passenger seat, “to get into the driver’s seat and to begin to drive,” Weekly said.
“Martell continued to choke Kimberly Bell,” according to Weekly.
He paused for “just a few moments” before he “decided to finish the job,” choking Bell until she died, Weekly said.
The pair drove with Bell dead in the backseat to multiple locations around the Denver Metro Area, including a Home Depot in Aurora, Weekly said.
There, they bought “several items,” including an ax, according to Weekly.
The duo “drove to a remote location near Estes Park” later that evening, Weekly said.
Martell pulled Bell’s body from the car and “proceeded to dismember” it, Weekly said.
He then put her dismembered body in trash bags and into the trunk of the car, according to Weekly.
The pair “then disposed of the trash bags in a nearby veterinary clinic in a dumpster,” Weekly said.
Bell’s body has not been found, Weekly said.
Michele Kennedy, crime analysis supervisor for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, told The Denver Gazette investigators have been speaking with Bell’s family.
“They’re definitely struggling,” Kennedy told the newspaper. “It’s been over five years since they’ve known what’s happened to their sister and, you know, their family member. So it’s been a struggle.”
Bremer was released from jail custody after posting bond, according to court documents obtained by KUSA. Martell is being held on $10 million bail, the outlet reported.
The investigation into Bell’s death is ongoing, Weekly said, adding that anyone with information about Bell or the two suspects is asked to contact the sheriff’s office cold case team at 303-660-7528.
This story was originally published October 17, 2024 at 10:50 AM with the headline "Woman vanished in 2019, CO cops say. Now, two accused of tossing her body in dumpster."
