Man charged with murder after body discovered in Chinatown
The family of alleged murder victim Natalina Angok say they are “heartbroken” by the Geelong woman’s death as they turned out to see her accused killer front court this morning.
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The family of alleged murder victim Natalina Angok say they are “heartbroken” by her death.
Her grieving family today released a statement detailing their immense sorrow.
“Our family is finding the strength to come to terms with this tragedy and the loss of Natalina Angok,” the statement read.
“We are heartbroken.”
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It came as Ms Angok’s boyfriend and accused killer Christopher Bell, 32, faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court this morning.
The short filing hearing lasted a matter of minutes with Bell remanded in custody to appear for a committal mention in August 30.
Several members of Ms Angok’s family broke down in tears when Bell was walked into court flanked by two guards.
Bell looked nervous as he stared down at the floor and did not look at the large group of his alleged victim’s supporters.
At one point he put his face into his hands as the proceedings drew to a close shortly after midday.
The body of Ms Angok, from the Geelong suburb of Highton, was found by a passer-by about 6.30am on Wednesday, near the corner of Little Bourke St and Celestial Ave.
Bell did not apply for bail when he appeared before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court yesterday, and he is a diagnosed schizophrenic who was released from a mental health facility only a week ago.
She and Bell are believed to have been in a relationship for more than a year.
Her sister, Helina, last night told the Herald Sun her family was devastated by the death. Helina said Natalina, 32, was a “loving” person and a “nice and caring sister.”
Natalina’s cousin Ash Atar described her as an “entertaining loving girl” and the “circumstances of her death is extremely painful.”
“She made us laugh at all times. I’m shocked and in disbelief,” said Ms Atar.
“Justice must be served though it will not bring her back nor erase this difficult ordeal. We are deeply saddened and heartbroken. No one deserves to die this way.”
Community advocate Ahmed Hassan, founder of Youths Activating Youths, said Ms Angok’s death was a tragedy, particularly for the state’s Sudanese community.
“It’s not something you want to hear … a young woman losing her life in this way. It’s not something we will accept as a community,” he said.
“We will do everything we can and work closely with authorities to find out what led up to this and how Natalina ended up on the street.”
Bell’s defence lawyer, Steve Pica, told the court his client was a diagnosed schizophrenic and was released from an inpatient facility only the week before.
The court heard Bell had a long history of mental illness and had not been recently treated with an antipsychotic drug that he required.
Mr Pica said there were a number of custody management issues and his client “needs mental health facilities as soon as possible”.
Bell, dressed in a grey tracksuit, stared straight ahead during yesterday’s five-minute court hearing.
The court heard Bell, from Cowes on Phillip Island, needed the drug Seroquel but had not been treated for some time.
Magistrate Catherine Lamble remanded him in custody before a scheduled reappearance at a filing hearing today.
Kim Bignell, a former classmate of Bell’s, said the accused murderer was a popular student at Mornington Secondary College and was known as the class clown.
“He was always telling jokes and being silly in class,” she said.
A post-mortem examination was conducted on Ms Angok’s body on Wednesday night, but the cause of death has not been made public.
A source told the Herald Sun the body had “no obvious signs of injury”.
Police cordoned off Little Bourke St — a restaurant strip normally bustling with cars, vans and pedestrian traffic — between Russell and Swanston streets after a passer-by made the grisly discovery early on Wednesday.
Paramedics were called as soon as the body was found, but Ms Angok could not be revived.
Restaurant workers and traders were refused entry to premises within the police cordon for most of the day as homicide detectives began their investigation.
Dozens of onlookers gathered at either end of the cordon as the murder probe continued throughout Wednesday.
Police earlier escorted traders into their shops to review CCTV footage from overnight. Forensics officers took photos in Celestial Avenue near where an SES tent was erected in the small laneway.
At 5pm on Wednesday police announced they had arrested Bell and he was charged less than five hours later.
He fronted the magistrates’ court at 3.30pm on Thursday.