PALM BAY, Fla. — More than two years after a Palm Bay woman was stabbed to death in her home, her live-in boyfriend has landed in the Brevard County Jail.
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Police discovered the body of Desiree McClendon in the Lyons Circle home she shared with 60-year-old Rodney Bell. Bell is facing a manslaughter charge. He’s already been sentenced to prison time in an unrelated case.
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Investigators noted there were more than 20 sharp-force injuries concentrated around the victim’s neck, chest and face, and there was a heart tattoo on the left side of McClendon’s chest where as many as 10 sharp-force injuries were located.
At the time of McClendon’s death, Bell had an open case in Broward County for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He is serving a four-year sentence on that aggravated battery case and now faces the other charge.
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Bell’s current charge of manslaughter with a weapon carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in state if convicted. However, the state attorney’s office may ultimately choose to file a different charge.
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