Son of woman charged in Wake Forest
Child Abuse case: ‘We never had a
stable home’

WAKE FOREST, NC  –  Two Wake Forest parents were charged with child abuse causing serious physical injury, arrest records show.

Records state Michael Daniel Bell and Rebecca Ann Bell, of Washhouse Lane in Wake Forest, failed to enroll at least one child in school, abused at least one child and exposed a child to domestic violence and let at least one child live in a condemned home for a week.

The home that was condemned had no electricity and no running water and had holes in the ceilings, exposed nails in the floor and mold and raw meat throughout the house, according to warrants.

According to the couple’s Facebook page, they have nine children.

Rebecca Bell’s oldest son, 21-year-old Matthew Shirely, lives in Nevada and said that Michael Bell abused him and his siblings for years.

“You know, just getting like smacked around to like actual fistfights between me and my stepdad,” he said.

Shirely said his family lived in Nevada prior to living in North Carolina, where Rebecca Bell moved to get back together with Michael.

“Growing up, none of my siblings, me included, we never had a stable home.  We bounced around.  Off the top of my head, I could probably give you around anywhere from 16 to 20 addresses we’ve lived at,” Shirely said.

Shirely said he feels helpless being across the country while 10 of his siblings are split up in foster care.

“You know, they’ve gone through it in the past.  They went through it when I was there.  I went through it when I was with them, and it hurts knowing my siblings, like I’m not there to do anything about it,” he said.

A father himself, Shirely said he doesn’t understand how his mother could watch her children suffer.

“She’s seen the fights, she’s seen abuse, she’s seen the way Mike treats the kids, and it just amazes me someone could watch their kids go through that and not want something better,” he said.

Michael Bell was charged in February with sexual exploitation of a minor

Records stated he possessed three photos of child pornography: an infant girl, a girl about 6 years old and a girl about 7 to 10 years old.

Michael Bell and Rebecca Bell were also charged with contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.