Fresh charge for man accused of helping dispose of Isla Bell’s body

A man accused of helping an alleged killer move his victim’s body around Melbourne suburbs in a fridge is facing a fresh charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Eyal Yaffe, 58, and co-accused Marat Ganiev, 54, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday over the death of 19-year-old Brunswick woman Isla Bell, whose body was found at a suburban tip in November last year.

Isla Bell had been missing for more than six weeks before her remains were found inside a fridge dumped at a recycling facility.

Court documents show Yaffe, who is on bail, was previously charged with assisting an offender.

Recently, he has also been charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice by concealing and disposing of evidence between October 19 and 30 last year.

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On Monday, the court heard forensic experts had been unable to determine a cause or time of Bell’s death because of the length of time between her alleged murder and her body being discovered.

Associate Professor Hans de Boer, a pathologist at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, said it was unclear if the bone fractures and lacerations on Bell’s body were caused during or after her death.

He noted Bell’s body had been collected by a rubbish truck before being taken to a Dandenong tip.

The bone fractures, the court heard, included blunt force or compression-type injuries to her skull and eight ribs.

De Boer said an examination of Bell’s hair revealed the previous consumption of substances including methamphetamine, a cocaine metabolite, cannabis and non-prescribed methadone.

These, the expert agreed, could severely alter a person’s conscious state and cause death.

Eyal Yaffe is accused of covering up Isla Bell’s death.Credit: Facebook

He also said that during his investigation he was made aware through Bell’s medical records that she had lived with borderline personality disorder, ADHD and post-traumatic stress disorder, and had a history of domestic violence and alcohol challenges.

The pre-trial hearing is expected to continue on Tuesday.

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Police allege Ganiev, of St Kilda East, murdered Bell at his home on October 7 last year. Yaffe, of Hampton, is accused of helping Ganiev get rid of Bell’s body.

Police allege that after Bell was murdered she was sealed inside a fridge that was driven across Melbourne for days before it was dumped at a recycling facility.

In opposing changes to Yaffe’s bail earlier this year, police revealed the father had family in Israel and had planned to travel on a return ticket to Bulgaria.

More than 20 of Bell’s friends and family packed into a two-row courtroom on Monday to hear details of the case.

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