Cody Edwards on trial for murder of Millicent mother-of-three Synamin Bell

A man bashed a mother to death with a baseball bat and dumbbell during a drug psychosis, then called her friend to confess, a court has heard.

A man beat a young mother to death with a baseball bat and dumbbell bar during a drug-induced psychosis, a court has heard.

The trial of Cody James Edwards, 27, started on Wednesday in the Supreme Court sitting at Mount Gambier before Justice Adam Kimber.

Mr Edwards has pleaded not guilty to the murder of 26-year-old Synamin Bell – who he was living with – on the evening of March 12, 2022.

Cody James Edwards. Picture: Facebook

Prosecutors allege Ms Bell, a mother of three, was “brutally beaten to death” by Mr Edwards in the master bedroom of her Millicent home and stabbed five times in the lower back post-mortem.

The court heard a baseball bat and kitchen knife were found in the bedroom alongside Ms Bell’s body and a dumbbell bar found outside the room showed evidence it was used in the fatal attack.

Mr Edwards’ defence counsel said they would not dispute he inflicted the injuries that caused Ms Bell’s death, but would argue he was in the thralls of a drug-induced psychosis – which caused him to think Ms Bell intended to kill him, leading him to attack her in self defence.

A toxicology report from the night of the alleged murder revealed Mr Edwards had ingested DOI, a psychedelic drug, the court heard.

A close friend of Ms Bell, Emma Farley, 32, told the court she received an anonymous call on the night of the alleged murder around 11pm and recognised Mr Edwards’ voice when she answered.

Mother-of-three Synamin Bell was allegedly murdered in her Millicent home in May 2022. Picture: Supplied

“He said, ‘Emma I’ve killed her, call the cops’,” Ms Farley said.

“I said ‘what do you mean?’ and he said, ‘we took some LSD and things were going to come to a head and it either was going to be good or it was going to be bad and it’s really bad and I killed her, call the cops’, and then he hung up.”

The court heard Mr Edwards called her again just minutes later, prompting Ms Farley and her fiance Sean Sparks, 35, to call the police and check on Ms Bell.

When Ms Farley and Mr Sparks arrived, they saw Mr Edwards on the neighbour’s doorstep, then walk into the street with his arms up, mistaking their car lights for a police car, the court heard.

In his evidence Mr Sparks said he then approached Mr Edwards, who said to him, “she’s gone, I killed her”.

“He had blood all over his face (and) down his hands … it was then I realised he may have actually done something,” Mr Sparks said.

Mr Sparks then “threw a punch at Cody which he dodged,” the court heard, and ran back to the car. As he and Ms Farley went to drive away, police arrived.

“As soon as Cody was on the ground (at police orders), I hopped out of the car and said I was going to look for Syn,” Mr Sparks said.

In her evidence, Ms Farley said Mr Sparks ran inside the house and told her not to enter.

“He was yelling for her and then I heard him scream,” Ms Farley said.

The trial continues on Thursday.

Originally published as Cody Edwards on trial for murder of Millicent mother-of-three Synamin Bell