Bones found are those of missing Warren teen

JEFFERSON

The bones found in the yard of a former Warren man on U.S. Route 6 in Roaming Shores are those of Alesha Bell, 18, of Warren, Ashtabula County officials announced at a news conference at the Ashtabula County Sheriff's Offices here this morning.

The bones were found during the execution of a search warrant at the home of James Brooks, 40, Aug. 20. The warrant related to drug activity, but investigators were also aware that Brooks had been seen with Bell in recent months. Warren police had come to Brooks' house Aug. 8 to question him about Bell's disappearance.

Bell was reported missing by her mother, Tiffany Knepper, of Southwest Boulevard Southwest, July 23.

Knepper told the Vindicator’s broadcast partner, 21 WFMJ-TV: “I never expected anyone to do anything like this to my daughter."

Family, friends and neighbors gathered outside Knepper’s home Wednesday night, trying to comfort her after she received news from police that the remains found at the home of James Brooks, 40, were her daughter’s.

Tiffany Knepper said she didn’t know the relationship between her daughter and Brooks, who was arrested on drug charges and abuse of a corpse. He once lived not far from Knepper and Bell.

“I heard he was threatening her ... threatening to do something to her family. The rest I don’t know,” Knepper told 21 anchorman Bob Black.

Knepper doesn’t believe Brooks acted alone.

“He wasn’t the only one. I don’t believe he was the only one. He didn’t do this by himself,” she said.

She remembers the last time they spoke. “She was going to stay with me and her son and watch movies. But she never came back. You always believed she’d come back. I don’t believe she’s not coming back now.”

Knepper provided her own DNA to enable authorities to determine whether the bones belonged to her daughter.

Investigators say Brooks admitted spending time with Bell in Warren on the day she was last seen. Knepper reported her daughter missing Aug. 23.

A couple from Farrell, Pennsylvania told the TV station that their daughter, Jasmaine Smith, was also known to have contact with Brooks.

Smith has been missing since June 5.