Benkelman woman charged in 2017 killing in Culbertson

A Benkelman woman is in jail in Hitchcock County, facing charges in connection with the 2017 killing of a Culbertson man.
    Samantha Bell, 33, also known as Samantha Strohm, was arrested for first degree murder and conspiracy to commit robbery.
    Bell is the second person arrested in the incident. Also in jail in Cass County is Darin Mason, 42, who faces the same charges.
    Prosecutors could not be reached for comment, but media reports quoted court documents as saying Todd E. Miller, 49, was killed on Aug. 16, 2017, during a robbery attempt at his home in Culbertson. Miller’s body was found tied up at the bottom of some stairs and an autopsy determined he was killed by blunt force trauma to the head.
    Court documents said Bell or a co-conspirator bought a BB pistol and zip ties to be used in the robbery Aug. 15, then committed the crime sometime then or the next day.
    There is no bail for a first degree murder charge in Nebraska, so both remain in jail.

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