Body modifier Brendan Leigh Russell on trial for alleged manslaughter, female mutilation

A woman who received a tummy tuck from a body modifier was left with gruesome problems afterwards, a court has heard. WARNING: Graphic

A woman who received a tummy tuck from a NSW body modifier collapsed after waking at home in “extreme pain” and covered in fresh blood, a court has heard.

The trial of Brendan Leigh Russell, who conducted the procedure in late 2016, began on Monday and heard the woman needed corrective surgery after her gaping stomach wound became infected.

Mr Russell, 40, has pleaded not guilty to charges including manslaughter, female genital mutilation and causing grievous bodily harm before the NSW District Court.

The charges relate to procedures the Central Coast man who marketed himself as BSlice DotCom performed on three different women between January 2015 and April 2017.

Brendan Russell was first charged in 2018.

One woman died from an infection after Mr Russell implanted a plastic snowflake under the skin of her hand in 2017.

He is also accused of burning off part of a woman’s labia using a branding iron in 2015 and botching a tummy tuck surgery in 2016.

Mr Russell does not deny performing the procedures, which they consented to, but refutes allegations his work caused medical complications.

On the first day of the trial one of the alleged victims gave evidence before the court of how she came to know Mr Russell and brought her kids to have their haircut at his workplace Transitions at Erina Fair.

During one visit she mentioned that she wanted some skin removed from her stomach and Mr Russell allegedly told her he could do it, saying she “wouldn’t have anything to worry about”.

The woman said she eventually booked in for November 13, 2016, after being assured by Mr Russell that he was skilled at administering local anaesthetic.

A woman died after a plastic snowflake was implanted under her skin.

After the $800 surgery Mr Russell allegedly told the woman to go home, take some advil and rest. Her husband bought a compression bandage for her stomach, as advised by the body modifier.

As she left the store to walk to her car the woman started to feel “stinging and burning” around her wound, she said, as the anaesthetic began to wear off.

With the pain increasing, the woman said when she got home she took some Nurofen and Valium and lay down on the lounge.

“I remember nodding off and when I woke up I started feeling extreme pain,” she said.

She was dizzy and soon realised there was blood on the lounge and on her nightie: “All I remember was (my husband) saying there’s blood everywhere.”

She allegedly later collapsed after getting up from the lounge.

Her husband called Mr Russell, the court heard, who allegedly said not to take any more Nurofen and remove the bandage.

On a follow up days later Mr Russell removed some stitches, replacing them with medical tape, from either side of the wound and allegedly told the woman not to be concerned at the continued bleeding.

“He just said ‘That’s just how you body’s healing, that’s just the way you are’,” the woman claimed he told her.

Mr Russell is appearing in court remotely. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

He told her he was travelling to Italy and she should go to a local medical centre to have the remaining stitches removed in a few days’ time.

Over the next few days, she told the court, she noticed the wound opening up where Mr Russell had removed the stitches: “It looked like little holes on the left side of my tummy.”

She presented to a clinic in West Gosford where a doctor was unable to remove the stitches because blood had dried all over them.

The woman was told to go home and take a salt bath to dissolve the blood and came back again.

This time a doctor looked at the wound and urged her to go to hospital, which she was reluctant to do.

Then a friend, who worked as a nurse, visited the woman and on seeing her stomach proclaimed, “What have you done”.

The next day on December 6, at her friend’s insistence, she went to Gosford Hospital where she was immediately hooked up to a cannula and stayed for two days.

Doctors demanded she tell them who conducted her surgery, informing the woman that one of her stomach muscles had been cut in the original procedure.

The woman refused to name Mr Russell because she didn’t want him to get in trouble, she told the court.

Brendan Leigh Russell ran a body modifying business at Erina. Picture: AAP Image/Peter Rae

Texts messages allegedly sent to the woman’s husband on behalf of Mr Russell were shown to the court as his lawyer made an application to postpone the trial, claiming they prejudiced his case.

The court was also shown a photograph purporting to be of the woman’s wound, which was showing signs of blood oozing from under the stitches.

“That’s is (sic) totally normal … it’s looking awesome,” one text, allegedly sent on Mr Russell’s behalf on November 29, 2016, read.

The court heard that Mr Russell allegedly told the woman’s husband in another conversation not to take her to hospital because her wound was “fine”.

“The nurses and that don’t know what they’re talking about. Come see me,” he allegedly said.

Mr Russell denies many of the purported conversations he had about the procedures took place.

Brendan Leigh Russell called himself BSlice DotCom in body modification circles. Picture: AAP Image/Peter Rae

On December 8, 2016 another message was sent to her husband reading: “We’re not just sittingback (sic) not giving a sh-t, Brendan’s in a real bad way n (sic) just wants to talk to u (sic).

“Please please no (sic) you are our family n (sic) we love you so much please … please call.”

The woman said Mr Russell visited her at home after she was discharged from hospital and told her she should have come to come because he could have “fixed it”.

Her agreed to refund the $800 she paid for the procedure.

The woman said she later reported him to police after seeing media reports of a body modifier being charged with allegedly mutilating a woman’s genitalia.

Michal Mantaj, Mr Russell’s lawyer, objected to the texts and photo being tendered, saying they had only been served on Sunday night and defence had no time to seek expert opinion the material.

Mr Mantaj also said it appeared the messages had been “cherry picked”, stating the defence wanted a full download of the witness’ phone to see the entire conversation.

Judge Helen Syme ordered the prosecution provide the data from the mobile phone by 10am on Tuesday morning.

The trial continues.