State of Midlands v. Dylan Hendricks

## Synopsis

Authorities have charged Dylan Hendricks with the attempted murder of Kerry Bell-Leon, the spouse of Carmen Bell-Leon. Carmen and Dylan were engaged in a romantic relationship.

## Details

This case is described as a criminal case under the charge of Attempted Murder. It mainly centers around events taking place between January 2017 and July 2017 in downtown Midlands City, specifically in and around the Jaywood Building.

Kerry Bell-Leon is a pilot who lives on the sixth floor of the Jaywood building with Kerry's child Bailey and, until recently, Kerry's spouse Carmen. Kerry met Carmen in the early 2000s while in Ecuador for business, Carmen moved to the U.S. in 2002, and the two were married in 2003. The marriage started to fall apart in 2014 when Kerry got a promotion that took Kerry away from the family for longer periods of time, and by March 2017 Carmen was essentially ignoring Kerry.

Little did Kerry know that Carmen had begun using the Midlands-only dating app Tender to look for someone who could do a "special job." In February 2017, Carmen matched with a soup truck owner named Dylan Hendricks, and the two began having an affair. The prosecution alleges that throughout June 2017, Dylan and Carmen began plotting to murder Kerry via Tender messages, phone calls, and in-person meetings at the Bell-Leon apartment. July 2, 2017 marked a turning point, wherein Carmen told Kerry about the affair, claiming it was over, then immediately left on a flight back to Ecuador and hasn't been heard from since. After hearing the news, Kerry started using a drug called Everest with the help of Kerry's friend and neighbor, Morgan Jones.

July 16, 2017 was the night of the attempted murder. Kerry and Morgan went to Chuggie's Bar next door to the Jaywood Building for Morgan's birthday party, but Kerry left early. Kerry first went to Dylan's soup truck across the street and bought some soup, marking the first time Kerry and Dylan met in person. Kerry then bought Everest from a drug dealer and went up to the apartment. Kerry claims that in the apartment, Dylan Hendricks attacked Kerry, threatening Kerry with a gun and strangling Kerry with an extension chord. Dylan, meanwhile, claims not to have been anywhere near the Jaywood Building at the time of the attack. Morgan found Kerry unconscious in the apartment living room and called 911. As Kerry was wheeled out to an ambulance, Kerry spotted Dylan in the crowd (who had just returned downtown after driving the soup truck to Dylan's house and taking an Uber back to Chuggie's) and identified Dylan as Kerry's attacker.

The prosecution alleges that Dylan Hendricks acted knowingly or purposefully in a manner that, if successful, would have taken the life of Kerry Bell-Leon. They also claim that Carmen Bell-Leon, who is unavailable to testify due to failed extradition efforts, was a co-conspirator in the murder plot. The defense alleges that Dylan Hendricks, while guilty of an affair with Carmen, did not commit attempted murder and wasn't even near the Jaywood building. Furthermore, they claim that Kerry was too far under the influence of Everest to properly remember the events of the attack, and therefore misidentified the attacker.

## Witnesses

### Prosecution

* Kerry Bell-Leon
* Morgan Jones
* Sam Mitchell
* Detective M. Nichols
* Dr. Jordan Smith

### Defense

* Dylan Hendricks
* Jamie Morrison
* Dr. Ryan Reeves
* F.W. Longfellow

### Swing

* Bailey Bell-Leon
* Charley Waters

## Other Persons of Interest

* Carmen Bell-Leon
* "Mickey"
* Pat Sikorsky
* Paris Harmon
* Jesse Reynolds
* Wyatt McDaniel

## Other Case References

* The events of July 16 take place in and near a bar called Chuggie's, which was also where the events of Daniel v. Chuggie's Sports Bar and State v. Dawson take place. In State of Midlands v. Dakota Sutcliffe, this bar burned down. In Ari Felder v. Koller Campbell Air LLC, this bar was similarly paved over to become a parking lot.
* Right before Kerry was attacked, Kerry remembers watching an action film featuring Alex Grace, a witness from State v. Owens who would later reappear in MTS v. Kosack.
* A piece of case law in this case is *State v. Poole*. This may be a reference to Cameron Poole from State v. Bowman.
* One of the exhibits is a receipt for DeRosa's Firing Range. Likely, this is a reference to Ash DeRosa from Park v. Duran, who served as a a gun expert witness in that case.

* Bailey Bell-Leon also references Park v. Duran when Bailey recalls the shooting of Sydney, and how Bailey had to attend several gun safety presentations as a result of the shooting.
* Although not clear, the drug Everest may be a reference to Gilbertson v. The Everest Experience, although the drug could simply be named after the mountain with no intended relation to that case.
* Several references are made to this case in State v. Ryder, including the mention of the drug Everest, Mickey, the Jaywood Building, and the Souper Soups food truck.

## Trivia

* This is the first case to feature accompanying merchandise (see infobox image), and the first non-NCT case to have social media teasers from AMTA on Facebook and Twitter.