William Dwane Bell

William Dwane Bell (1978) is a convicted New Zealand murderer who is serving a 30 year non-parole prison sentence at Paremoremo Prison, the longest non-parole sentence ever passed in New Zealand.

Criminal case

In the early hours of December 8, 2001, Bell entered the Panmure RSA clubrooms, where he had been fired from a job as a bartender three months earlier. He killed the club president, a club member and an employee. He also seriously injured another club employee. His co-offender, Darnell Tupe, had gone with him to the club but remained outside while Bell committed the murders inside. Bell was initially jailed for a minimum non-parole period of 33 years but that was reduced by three years on appeal.

Injury

On December 10, 2007, Bell was admitted to Auckland Hospital suffering severe head injuries initially described as life-threatening, but subsequently described as moderate to superficial. Dean Joseph Shepherd has since been charged in court with assaulting Bell.