Man convicted of murdering Aurora woman who was missing almost 18 years

A Yorkville man on Wednesday was convicted of murdering an Aurora woman who had been reported missing 23 years ago.

A Kane County jury found Prince Cunningham guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Tyesha Bell, who disappeared from her apartment May 9, 2003.

Her skull and other remains were found at a construction site in Montgomery in December 2020. Bell had been shot in the skull. A medical examiner testified she died from the injury.

Bell, 22, had an affair with Cunningham, who was married. Cunningham fathered one of her two children.

Bell lived with her sister, LaTasha, and her daughter with Cunningham. An older child lived with Bell’s mother.

LaTasha Bell and several of Tyesha Bell’s friends testified that on May 8, 2003, that Tyesha Bell had gone shopping with friends. The friends said Tyesha Bell believed Cunningham was going to come to her apartment that night to give her money to buy a car.

When she arrived home, Tyesha Bell inquired about her nearly 2-year-old daughter, who was staying with another relative, and decided to leave the girl at the relative’s for the night. LaTasha Bell testified she heard Cunningham call her sister, because Tyesha Bell had assigned a distinctive ring tone to him.

The next morning, LaTasha Bell found her sister’s bedroom door open, with a television on and a candle burning. She also said Tyesha Bell’s purse and identification were in the room.

Tyesha Bell’s mother reported her missing May 10.

Prosecutors said that Tyesha Bell had recently told Cunningham she intended to have the state start garnishing his wages for child support. He had been ordered to pay the previous year after a DNA test proved he was the girl’s father, but then Tyesha Bell had asked the state to stop collecting it.

Cunningham’s defense attorney, Elliot Pinsel, said Wednesday in closing arguments that Aurora police should have focused more on another man Tyesha Bell was dating at the time.

“This case is built on assumptions and not proof,” he argued. He noted there was no gun found, nor any evidence presented that Cunningham owned a gun.

Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser lead the prosecution personally.

Cunningham faces a minimum sentence of 45 years in prison — at least 20 for murder, and 25 more because the jury found that he personally discharged the firearm.