Pathologists can’t ‘rule out’ drugs as cause of Isla Bell’s death

7 hours ago 3

A pathologist has been unable to determine the cause of death of Brunswick woman Isla Bell, who police allege was murdered and then sealed inside a fridge that was driven across Melbourne for days before it was dumped at a recycling facility last year.

Details of the toxicological analysis performed on the 19-year-old’s remains were revealed in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, as the man accused of helping to dispose of her body, Eyal Yaffe, made an unsuccessful bid to have his GPS ankle bracelet removed.

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

The court heard the analysis found evidence of multiple drugs in Bell’s remains, including methylamphetamine, cocaine, methadone and cannabis, which pathologists could not “rule out” as potential contributing factors to her death.

A woman wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Stop killing women” sat a few seats away from Yaffe inside the courtroom as his defence barrister, Ian Hill, KC, argued the 58-year-old should be allowed to vary his bail conditions.

Hill told the court Yaffe was prepared to report to a police station in Caulfield seven days a week – and twice a day if necessary – in exchange for having the tracking device removed, which was irritating his skin.

“It has been moved from one ankle to the other because of that. But the real concern is the cost,” Hill told the court.

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

Hill said Yaffe, who had been living on unemployment benefits and receiving NDIS support since his release on bail in November, had less than $10,000 in the bank and could not afford to continue paying $1500 a month for the device.

He said the case against his client was weak and circumstantial, and that there was no evidence that Yaffe knew Bell had died at the time. He said forensic experts had not been able to find Yaffe’s DNA or fingerprints inside the fridge or in the material used to wrap it.

“In this case, it’s conceded by the prosecution that at best, they have a circumstantial case. We would say it is a weak circumstance or circumstantial case, bearing in mind that the cause of death cannot be ascertained, and the pathologist cannot rule out the effect of drug usage as contributing,” Hill said.

“There is no suggestion, let alone any evidence, that he is planning on fleeing the jurisdiction. Indeed, it would be a very surprising thing [to do] for an accused who is facing a charge where he has – in our respectful submission – a good chance of beating.”

Asked by magistrate Rohan Lawrence about information in the prosecution summary that suggested Yaffe had $150,000 in his bank account at the time of the arrest, Hill said the money had gone into other expenses, including legal fees.

In opposing bail, the prosecution said it was unable to provide further information about Yaffe’s financial situation since there were no grounds for police to examine his bank accounts.

“He [the lead detective] wouldn’t get a warrant to look in bank accounts,” the prosecutor said.

The prosecutor said ankle bracelets reduced offending by encouraging those wearing them to do the right thing and allowed police to get daily reports of Yaffe’s movements, including whether he had travelled near an exclusion zone.

Isla Bell’s mother, Justine Spokes, and uncle, Kieran Dionysus, at a protest against violence against women in Melbourne earlier this year.

Lawrence acknowledged Yaffe had been compliant with his bail conditions so far but refused the application to vary them on the basis that the 58-year-old remained a flight risk.

Lawrence said Yaffe was facing a jail term if convicted and had financial means at the time of his arrest, including $150,000 in his bank account and a relatively small but still significant quantity of meth and cash.

“He also has family in Israel, and was born there, and at the time of his arrest, had planned to travel on a return ticket to Bulgaria,” he said.

Lawrence said reporting to the police station seven days a week would be less effective than the real-time monitoring offered by a GPS tracking bracelet, which was programmed to send alerts to the police in the event of a breach.

“The only way in which it could be said to be onerous would be that it is the financial impost. The lack of evidence here means it’s very difficult and perhaps impossible for me to assess particularly how onerous it is for Mr Yaffe at this time.

“I do view the condition of the bracelet as being reasonable. It was reasonable at the time of granting bail, and in my view, it remains reasonable given the absence of evidence to show that the condition is overly onerous.”

Yaffe will return to court in September.

Marat Ganiev, 53, has been charged with Bell’s murder. Police allege he beat her to death inside his St Kilda apartment on October 7, 2024, and enlisted Yaffe to help dispose of her body.

If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline 131 114, or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636.