By Erin Pearson, Cassandra Morgan, Lachlan Abbott and Brittany Busch
The mother of a missing teenager who police allege was murdered by a 53-year-old man on the day she was last in contact with family and friends says her daughter is “cherished forever and suffering no more”.
Court documents allege 53-year-old St Kilda man Marat Ganiev murdered Bell in St Kilda East on October 7. Remains were discovered during a search for the 19-year-old at a Dandenong tip, in Melbourne’s south-east, on Tuesday.
Brunswick woman Isla Bell.Credit: Facebook
Bell was last seen leaving her home about 6pm on October 4, but family had earlier said the last contact they were aware of was via social media on October 7.
Missing persons squad detectives raided two properties in Bentleigh East and Mulgrave on Tuesday.
The missing poster for Isla Bell that was posted up around Melbourne’s inner north and shared on social media after her disappearance last month.
Ganiev has been charged with Bell’s murder and faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday along with 57-year-old Eyal Yaffe, of Hampton, who is charged with assisting an offender.
Ganiev’s defence lawyer, Adrian Lewin, said his client was prescribed methadone but had not received it for two days.
Yaffe’s legal team, which includes barrister Ian Hill, KC, said their client intended to apply for bail on Friday and also needed to see a nurse for a back injury.
Yaffe, who sat in the dock flanked by two security guards, could be seen smiling and winking at his friends and family seated in the court, one of whom wiped away tears as he was remanded in custody.
Magistrate Justin Foster ordered both men be seen by the nurse, with Ganiev to be kept in custody until his next appearance in March.
On Wednesday, Bell’s mother, Justine Spokes, also paid tribute to her beloved daughter.
Isla’s mother, Justine, pleading in October for her daughter to return home.Credit: Justin McManus
“Cherished forever and suffering no more,” Spokes told The Age.
“I am so sorry I could not protect you, that your experience of the world was cruel and unsafe. Despite your challenges, you lived bravely, stood up for what was right and remained the kindest human, the gentlest soul … With the deepest love and respect, your Mumma.”
Bell’s family championed her search effort, setting up social media pages, blanketing Melbourne’s inner north with posters and repeatedly pleading with the public to help find the 19-year-old over the past six weeks.
About a fortnight after Bell went missing, her mother told reporters her heart ached for her daughter, whose disappearance was out of character.
“Isla, you’re deeply, widely loved by so many people, and your family and friends are just so distressed, darling. [We] just can’t wait to hold you up. We love you so much. We just want to know you’re safe, darling,” Spokes said on October 22.
“We were planning a reef trip for her birthday. She was really excited about that. We were looking forward to spending time together with her family up north. It’s her [20th] birthday today.”
At the time, police did not believe Bell’s disappearance was suspicious.
Eyal Yaffe will apply for bail on Friday.Credit: Facebook
When asked if police were slow to respond, given their first public appeal was weeks after Bell went missing, Detective Acting Sergeant Dion Martin said: “Isla was reported missing on the 10th of October. The investigation was commenced immediately.”
The missing persons squad formally took over the investigation in late October.
On Sunday, Bell’s family marked 44 days since she went missing, saying there was no activity from her bank account or social media, and her phone had not pinged to any towers.
She last made contact with friends via social media on October 7, her family said.
“It’s hard not to think the worst given the situation and the concerning circumstances in which she disappeared,” they said.
Violence against women has repeatedly been pushed into the national conversation in a year marred by the deaths of women allegedly at the hands of men.
According to Destroy the Joint’s Counting Dead Women tally, 46 women were killed between January and August this year. In Victoria alone women including Rebecca Young, 42, Samantha Murphy, 51, Chaithanya Madhagani, 35, and Hannah McGuire, 23, have been killed, allegedly by men.
Just last week, Bayswater woman Vicky Apostolopoulos’ neighbour allegedly stabbed her to death in front of her two teen children.
The rate at which men are allegedly killing Australian women is significantly higher in 2024 than in recent years, prompting women’s safety leaders to call on the federal government to act.
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