For those of you that read Shutterbug and various other photo mags, the
following news story appeared in The Roanoke Times on Thursday, June
12th. I'm posting it without comment:
Thursday, June 12, 2003
Robert Edward Lee Shell faces 2 felony sex charges
Radford photographer jailed after model, 19, dies
The model, from Boone, N.C., died from an apparent drug overdose about 7
p.m. June 3 at Shell's studio on West Main Street, a police spokesman said.
By SHAY WESSOL
THE ROANOKE TIMES
RADFORD - A well-known Radford photographer was in jail Wednesday on
two felony sex charges after one of his models died of an apparent drug
overdose at his studio.
Radford police on Saturday charged photographer Robert Edward Lee
Shell, 56, with one count of sodomy against the model, 19-year-old Marion
Elizabeth Franklin of Boone, N.C., police spokesman Ryan Funk said. A
Radford grand jury brought a second charge of object sexual penetration
on Tuesday.
Shell, an author of photography books, the editor-at-large for
Shutterbug magazine and an internationally regarded instructor, is known
for his nude photography. He was being held without bond in the New River
Valley Regional Jail .
Franklin, who modeled under the name Chloe Jennings, died from an
apparent drug overdose about 7 p.m. June 3 at Shell's studio in the 200
block of West Main Street, Funk said. The official cause of death is
still being determined by the medical examiner's office, Funk said.
Radford police are investigating her death as a homicide, according
to a search warrant affidavit filed in Radford Circuit Court. Franklin
had taken an apartment in Radford to be Shell's resident model and studio
manager, and Shell described her as "my favorite model, assistant and
best friend," on his Web site.
Radford officers found drugs and paraphernalia in the studio the
night Franklin died, although the affidavit doesn't specify what those
drugs were. Shell told officers that Franklin had taken medication before
the two had sex, according to the affidavit.
"Photos and video found at the scene suggests she may have been
incapacitated at the time of the sexual act," the affidavit reads.
Investigators used the search warrant to comb through Shell's studio,
his Radford home and property he owns in Floyd County searching for
pornographic pictures of Franklin, evidence of drug abuse, and medical
and camera equipment.
Police declined to comment on the accusations made in the affidavit,
saying the matter was still under investigation.
Bonnie Paulk, managing editor of Florida-based Shutterbug magazine,
said Shell has written photography articles for the publication for 30
years and is a respected photographer.
"I'm kind of a little bit in shock by this," she said Wednesday.
John Kline of John's Camera Corner in Blacksburg said Shell was known
for his nudes.
"He's always taken classic nudes. He's given schools on things like
'professional approaches to nude photography,'" Kline said. "He's done
photo schools all over the world."
Kline hired Shell as a camera repairer 27 years ago and considers him
a nationally recognized photographer who understands the technical aspect
of the art.
"He's a fine photographer," Kline said. "He's not the kind of person
to do anything like this."
Police seized camera equipment, photos of Franklin, an empty package
of Valium and a bottle of Ultram, among other things, from Shell's
studio, the search warrant said. They took a blood-pressure monitor from
his home, according to the document.
Ultram is an uncontrolled pain medication similar to codeine or
morphine. Valium is a trademark for a brand of tranquilizer and muscle
relaxant.
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