Man Arrested For Killing Girlfriend Who Went Missing In 2003 And Was Found In Shallow Grave 17 Years Later: Cops

A man is in custody after he was identified as the prime suspect in the slaying of an Illinois woman who was fatally shot and buried nearly 20 years ago, authorities said.

Prince L. Cunningham, 49,was indicted on two counts of first-degree murder on June 14, and he was being held on $5 million in connection to the death of 22-year-old Tyesha Bell, WFLD reported.

According to prosecutors, on May 9, 2003, Bell, left the Aurora apartment she shared with her sister to meet Cunningham — the father of the victim’s nearly 2-year-old girl.

She “left the television on, candles burning in her bedroom and her two young children with family members,” Aurora Police Commander Jack Fichtel said of the last time anyone heard from or saw Bell alive, according to Patch.

On December 11, 2020, a surveyor in Kane County discovered Bell’s skull and investigators located additional remains belonging to the woman who hadn’t been seen or heard from in over 17 years.

An autopsy determined Bell was shot in the back of the head.

“This has been a long and painful 19 years for Tyesha Bell’s family and friends, not knowing what happened to her, and then learning she had been killed. Although the outcome of finding Tyesha’s body is not what we had hoped for, we are grateful that we can charge Mr. Cunningham for his criminal actions and bring him to justice," said Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie L. Mosser.

He added: “Although the outcome of finding Tyesha's body is not what we had hoped for, we are grateful that we can charge Mr. Cunningham for his criminal actions and bring him to justice.”

Anyone with information regarding the ongoing investigation is asked to call the Aurora Police Department’s Investigations Division at (630) 256-5500 or email tips@aurora.il.us.