Accused Carson City kidnapper released; claims she believed she could take children and ‘they were having fun’
However, Bell still faces false imprisonment charges due to taking the children after their parents told her no or agreed because she lied about having a son
On Wednesday, Katryna “Katie” Bell of Carson City appeared virtually for the second time from the Carson City Jail on another reading of charges after her initial three felony counts of kidnapping were dropped yesterday evening.
At her previous hearing, she’d already pled not guilty to one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and today, she had her felony charges replaced with three new gross misdemeanor charges for false imprisonment.
Both the state and Bell’s attorney claimed it was due to “misunderstandings.”
Deputy District Attorney Tyson League said that when certain circumstances arise, it’s the obligation of the DA’s office to ask for a hearing on an amended criminal complaint.
He said there is a requirement for intent on kidnapping charges, and the DA’s office felt they were unable to substantiate an intent to keep or harm the children “in any way.”
He said on the morning of September 14, 2024, there were three children present at the Bell home, one of whom was Bell’s child. At some point, those three children went to John Mankins Park.
For privacy and clarity, we previously assigned the children randomized initials to discuss them without releasing personal information. Those descriptors are as follows:
The first juvenile is a 10-year-old boy we will refer to as NI.
The second is an 11-year-old boy we will refer to as BD.
The third is a 10-year-old girl we will refer to as GA.
The fourth is a 12-year-old boy we’ll refer to as ML.
League said that to their understanding, the three children went to the park and, while there met up with NI and later, BD. NI’s mother did not know NI was at the park and had not given permission for him to be there. BD had been taken to the park by his mother, and while she took a younger child home to the Parkway Plaza Apartments, he stayed behind to continue skating at the skate park with his friends.
You can read his version of events as reported by his mother to Carson Now in our previous story below.
League said that Bell received a call from one of the parents of the three children who had been at her house indicating it was time for them to come home. He said Bell then gave that child a ride back home, which was at the Parkway Plaza Apartments, when NI asked if he could also get a ride to check in at his home.
Bell gave NI a ride back to the apartments along with the other child, who was returned to her parents.
While there, League said NI went to his home and checked in with family, while Bell waited for him so she could take him back to the park where the rest of the children had remained. League said NI returned with ML in tow, and that ML wanted to come with them to the park.
According to League, it was later learned ML had been in an altercation with the two boys NI and BD earlier in the day, and ML’s mother did not want him to be around the boys anymore. ML reportedly asked Bell to lie to his mother and tell her that Bell had a son who ML was going to go and play with at the park, rather than with the other boys.
“Unbeknownst to the state as to why anyone would ever do this, the defendant complied and went to ML’s mother and told her that [Bell] had a son, which she does not, and that she was going to take [ML] to the park to play.”
League said ML’s mother agreed, and Bell and NI returned to the vehicle.
However, League said it was at this point that NI’s older sister saw NI and ML getting into the car with Bell. A “verbal altercation” occurred between NI’s sister and Bell. League said ML’s parents came out to break up the dispute, and ML’s parents informed Bell that NI was not allowed to leave the apartment complex.
Within the initial investigation report, NI’s sister had explicitly told Bell that NI was not allowed to go with Bell during this exchange.
League said it’s his understanding that NI and his sister went back to their apartment. ML remained on scene with his parent(s) and Bell, and after some discussion between the adults, League said that ML’s parent(s) again agreed “even after what happened,” that ML could go with Bell to the park, and gave permission for Bell to drive him.
As Bell and ML were leaving, NI returned and allegedly told Bell he now had permission from his parent(s) to go back to the park, and that he was afraid to stay alone with his sister after the altercation.
NI gave Bell his mom’s cell phone number, and Bell asked via text message if she could take NI to the park. NI’s mother texted back stating that NI was not allowed to leave the complex because he was grounded according to League.
League said that Bell gave ML her cell phone so he could “attempt to convince [NI’s] parents to allow him to go to the park,” and League said they now believe that when the text message from NI’s mother stating again that he was not allowed to leave, ML was in control of her phone, not Bell. However, League added, Bell had already been told beforehand that by multiple parties NI was not allowed to go with her.
It should be noted that none of the parents had ever met or spoken to Bell before.
League said Bell took the boys back to the park and dropped them off with BD, GA and Bell’s child. She then returned home alone, changed, and went to the gym.
League said the children walked from the park “on their own accord” to Bell’s home, but on the way, ML decided halfway that he didn’t want to go any longer and went back to the park.
BD’s mother Roxanne still disputes this, and states BD was at the park until Bell coerced him into her van and took him to her home. Roxanne said that her son’s story is “the only one that hasn’t changed” since the incident occurred.
League said the rest of the children continued walking to Bell’s home, “and from the reports we have, they are playing in the living room and playing in the backyard of the home for approximately an hour.”
We have photos of everyone having a wonderful time, they were having fun, and how she’s believing that everything is above and beyond and appropriate, and nothing is wrong.
Bell’s Attorney
During this time period while Bell was at the gym and the children were at her house, League said Bell’s husband contacted Bell and told her “I have seven children at our home, I’m trying to cook dinner, they’re all hungry, and we don’t have enough food for all of them.”
Bell then responded, “Wait, there should be eight.” Bell has four children of her own.
League said Bell immediately came home and asked the children where ML was, and learned he’d gone back to the park, so she put all of the children into the vehicle and they drove to the park to find him.
On the way back to the park, a deputy had already found ML and together they were driving around the area in an attempt to locate the other two boys. That’s when Bell was stopped and the other children were removed from her vehicle.
League did mention that one child, BD, has consistently stated that they had been coerced or threatened to go with Bell, which his mother said has not changed.
However, League said that it is “inconsistent with every other statement that we have received, and it is inconsistent with the other extensive evidence that we have been able to find at this point.”
However, League did not go into what the evidence was, only that it led to the DA’s office amending the charges against Bell.
He said Bell is being charged with three counts of false imprisonment because children cannot consent to being taken, and for at least some of their parents, Bell had received outright denied that she could take them, or consent had been received through false pretense which invalidates the consent.
“Because there was no intent to harm these children as far as we can tell or we can prove, and there was no intent to confine them for an extended period of time … that’s why [the kidnapping] charge was removed.”
League said he believed releasing Bell on her own recognizance (i.e. without bail) was appropriate given the new charges. As part of her release, she was ordered to not have any contact with children other than her own, to wear an ankle GPS monitor, to not go where children congregate, and to stay away from the Parkway Plaza Apartments.
Bell’s attorney said that in his 38 years of practice, he has rarely “or ever” come across a case of this situation.
He said he has “facts in his possession” that are “so far different than what the original complaint was alleging,” and that family members of the children had jumped to conclusions which caused misunderstandings to occur.
He said amending the charges is appropriate, but “we’re not finished yet,” and that there were “so much more facts that are going to be exploratory, that are going to help explain situations.”
He said they’re seeking justice not only for Bell but for the community as a whole, and once the facts are “fully fleshed out,” everyone involved including the community will have a better understanding of what happened.
He said that Bell believed she was authorized to take the children, and that what had occurred was nothing more than several misunderstandings, and that she had tried to work with some of the parents to get ahold of them for authorization or permission to take their children.
“She’s looking forward to showing that everything she did was for the purpose and the benefit of these children going to a park, and she took very seriously having them ending up at her household and how to handle them,” he said. “And there’s a party. We have photos of everyone having a wonderful time, they were having fun, and how she’s believing that everything is above and beyond and appropriate, and nothing is wrong. Everyone thought everything was good and that they were doing absolutely nothing wrong.”
He added that anytime you’re “dealing with kids,” the situation is going to be unique, in that “kids can be influenced, sometimes their memories aren’t great, sometimes there’s some confusion and they judge the person probably more than adults do, and misunderstandings can occur. But there’s good faith misunderstandings, and misunderstandings based on mal-intent.”
Judge Melanie Bruketta asked if there were any victims of the case who wished to speak, and League said that the DA’s office had met individually with each family the day before and the date and time had been provided for the hearing, and they had all declined to attend.
Bruketta then released Bell on her own recognizance with the pre-trial conditions in place, and the next hearing has now been set for October 24 at 9:30 a.m.
Kelsey is a fourth-generation Nevadan, investigative journalist and college professor working in the Sierras. She is an advocate of high desert agriculture, rescue dogs, and analog education.
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