Millicent man Cody Edwards charged with murder after police find Synamin Bell, 25, dead inside her home

A young mother-of-three has been identified as the woman killed in the South-East town of Millicent, with a man facing charges over her death.

Police at the scene in Poole St, Millicent. Picture: Frank Monger

A young mother-of-three has been identified as the woman killed in the South-East town of Millicent.

Police have charged a man with the murder of Synamin Bell, 26, who was found dead in her Poole St home on Saturday night.

Officers were called to the house just after 11pm.

They found Ms Bell’s body inside and arrested the man, understood to be Cody Edwards, 25, at the scene.

Police said they were known to each other but were still investigating the relationship between Ms Bell and Mr Edwards, who they found on the street outside the rental property.

Synamin Bell. Picture: Facebook

Ms Bell was a mother of three. Picture: Facebook

Neighbours told The Advertiser Ms Bell moved into the property last month and was regularly seen sitting on its front doorstep with the man arrested by police.

One elderly woman, who asked not to be named, said she had only spoken to her new neighbour once when she walked up the street with a pusher containing two toddlers and a school-aged child.

“She was very pleasant, she told me her name was Synamin and spelt it out for me,” she said.

“Then she gave me a hug which I thought was lovely because we had only just met.”

The neighbour’s husband, who also asked not be named, said he understood the man worked for the Wattle Range District Council.

Neighbours said Ms Bell moved into the rental property following the death of its previous tenant, a 45-year-old woman who died from a heart attack.

Toys and play equipment in the back yard of the house where Synamin Bell was killed. Picture: Colin James

“When she walked up to me while I was at my mailbox she said she had three children,” she said.

“There were two in the pusher and another one hanging on the side.

“We just talked in general and I told her to tell me if you ever needed anything.

“When the police detective came to interview me today he told me the children were at their nanna’s when everything happened.”

The female neighbour said she saw Ms Bell sitting with another woman on her doorstep around 7pm on Saturday.

“We saw them there chatting and we went to bed around 11,” she said.

“We didn’t hear anything. The first we knew about it was when we opened up our shutters at half past seven this morning and saw police cars and people everywhere.”

A trampoline in the back yard. Picture: Colin James

Major Crime detectives and forensic officers spent most of Sunday at the crime scene, gathering evidence and interviewing neighbours.

Two cars parked in the front yard of the property contained toys and child-restraining seats while the backyard had a swing, trampoline, plastic cubby house and more toys.

Mr Edwards was taken to the Mount Gambier Police Station to be interviewed by detectives.

He will remain in custody until he appears in the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Limestone Coast officer-in-charge Superintendent Campbell Hill told a media conference that police needed public help to establish the relationship between Ms Bell and Mr Edwards.

“They were known to each other but exactly what the dynamic of the relationship was is something we are working to establish,” he said.

“We are talking to family and friends so we can put together the picture of exactly how they knew each other.

Police at the scene in Millicent where a man has been charged with murder. Picture: Frank Monger

“If anyone else knows these two people we urge them to contact us.”

Supt Hill said the death of Ms Bell was “tragic”. Both she and Mr Edwards were known to police.

However, he was reluctant to classify the incident as a situation of domestic violence until police determined the precise nature of the relationship.

“It is devastating and it is shocking,” he said.

“It is a tragic circumstance which will reverberate and has reverberated across the community.

“If people have information, if they know how these two people knew each other, we urge them to contact us so we can fill that knowledge gap.”

Supt Hill confirmed Ms Bell’s three children were not at the public housing property when she was killed.

“Thankfully, there were no children involved or present,” he said.

It is understood Mr Edwards went to a workmate who lives across the road from Ms Bell and asked him to call police.

Police are expected to remain at the crime scene for several days, with further forensic examination scheduled on Monday.