Brendan Russell faces court after death of young mum Samantha Hegyi
SHOCK new details have emerged in the case of the first body modifier in the world to be charged with manslaughter including that his alleged victim rang him the night before she died of blood poisoning, a court has heard.
Central Coast
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- Brendan Russell faces court over mutilation claims
- Genital mutilation allegations prompt Erina Fair raid
SHOCK new details have emerged in the case of the first body modifier in the world to be charged with manslaughter including that his alleged victim rang him the night before she died of blood poisoning, a court has heard.
Brendan Leigh Russell was refused bail in Gosford Local Court today after spending his first night in custody following his arrest at Terrigal yesterday.
In summarising the police facts Magistrate Bruce Williams revealed young mum Samantha Hegyi had gone back to Mr Russell with a severely infected hand after he inserted a “snowflake” implant into the back of it using anaesthetics, scalpels and other medical equipment.
“He advised her to come back to his shop and he would fix it,” Mr Williams told the court.
After reopening and draining the wound he told her to ring him if she needed any assistance.
Mr Williams said the 30-year-old woman did call him on April 11 and arranged to come into his shop and complained of the pain to a neighbour who told her to go to hospital.
Her seven-year-old daughter found Ms Hegyi dead at their Toowoon Bay home the following day.
In another shock revelation Mr Williams said police allege Mr Russell accepted $800 to perform a “tummy tuck” on a woman who was “nervous” about the procedure.
“He indicated at the time he had done heaps of them,” the magistrate said.
“The victim ended up being in horrific pain and started bleeding that night.
“He told her to take Nurofen and remove the compressive bandage. The accused told her it was just the body’s way of healing.”
The 38-year-old woman ended up in hospital where doctors discovered her stomach muscles had been severed, allegedly by Mr Russell trying to remove excess skin, and she was left with a hole the size of a 5c coin.
Mr Russell — who has already been charged with using a branding iron to burn off parts of a woman’s genitalia — was arrested at his Terrigal home and charged with the manslaughter of young mum Ms Hegyi.
He was also charged with causing the other woman, 38, grievous bodily harm.
In refusing bail Mr Williams described the alleged offences as “reckless” and brought about by the accused’s “self promotion”.
“Whether its reckless or not these are very serious circumstances,” he told the court.
“Victims have approached him, but one has to say why? (Because) he has held himself out to be an expert in under taking procedures on people.”
Later he said “it cannot be said this is a week Crown case”.
Detectives from the Brisbane Water and Tuggerah Lakes police districts formed joint strike force Nellievale to investigate allegations of mutilation and the unregulated use of anaesthetics by the self-proclaimed body modifier.
Police arrested and charged him in May with mutilating a third woman’s genitalia last year.
Charge sheets tendered to court in that matter allege he used a branding iron to burn off a 33-year-old’s labia major at a Newcastle West tattoo parlour.
It is understood the woman went to the parlour for a procedure but then later made a formal complaint to police of mutilation.
However in applying for bail Mr Russell’s solicitor Marc Riviere told the court while the charges were serious it was not like Mr Russell was violent or sought out his victims.
He said police would have known the circumstances of Ms Hegyi’s death back in April 2017 when “a full brief” was provided to the coroner.
He said police also knew about it when they raided his Terrigal home and Erina business in May but after charging him then deemed he was not a risk to the community “when they granted him bail”.
‘The police did not consider Mr Russell a risk between April 12 (last year) and May 1,” he said.
Mr Riviere said Mr Russell had alway abided by his bail conditions and should the matter proceed to trial it would not happen until late next year or early 2020.
It is understood strike force detectives had been had been awaiting the results of an expert medical report in relation to Ms Hegyi’s death before formally charging him with her manslaughter.
Body modification is currently not legislated in NSW however members of the so-called skin penetration industry are required to follow public health regulations.
Mr Russell is not a qualified medical practitioner but has posted on social media a statement of attainment from Queensland TAFE for “maintain infection control standards in office practice settings”.
On social media Mr Russell has said he performs body piercing, scarification, tongue slitting and subdermal implant procedures.
It will be alleged Mr Russell performed the procedures using local anaesthetic, which he is not qualified or legally entitled to do.