By Erin Pearson and Brittany Busch
A man returned early from a country getaway to help a friend dispose of the body of Brunswick teenager Isla Bell, police allege.
Fresh details about the case have emerged during a bail hearing for Eyal Yaffe, 57, who is accused of helping to cover up the 19-year-old’s death.
Eyal Yaffe applied for bail on Friday.Credit: Facebook
Bell was reported missing by family on October 10 and her remains were discovered at a Dandenong tip, in Melbourne’s south-east, on Tuesday.
Police allege she was murdered by Marat Ganiev in his St Kilda East home on October 7, and that he and Yaffe then transported her body around Melbourne’s suburbs in a fridge.
As the alleged grisly details of Bell’s final days were recounted in court, she was being mourned across town at a Walk Against Family Violence from Birrarung Marr to Treasury Gardens.
A message from Bell’s mother, Justine Spokes, urged attendees to: “Be seen, be heard, and rage like your life depends on it.”
Isla Bell, 19, has been described as a vibrant soul.Credit: Facebook
“My grief is paralysing, and I cannot function,” the message read. “Please give me and my darling Isla a voice.”
Outside court, Bell’s uncle Tom Hope – who attended the hearing on Friday after the march – said his family was heartbroken.
“We’re grieving right now, but we’re also angry,” he said. “Enough is enough. There’s been too many deaths of women by men, and it needs to stop.
“Isla should be remembered for who she was as a loving, beautiful, adventurous spirit – someone who was treasured by her family and friends.”
The Walk Against Family Violence.Credit: AAPIMAGE
Melbourne Magistrates’ Court heard on Friday that police had not only linked Yaffe to the fridge but also a number of the locations where it was stored.
In opposing bail, Detective Senior Constable Ben Curran alleged that on October 8, Yaffe had left the Caulfield area with a woman and travelled to Warburton, where he had booked accommodation for the night.
But after receiving a call from Ganiev, they didn’t stay and instead travelled back to Melbourne.
The next day, CCTV captured Yaffe driving to Ganiev’s apartment in a Rav4 towing a trailer to drop off a black fridge, police say.
Yaffe and Ganiev were then seen 10 days later removing an older fridge, wrapped in clear plastic and black tape from the home, putting it on a trailer and driving it to Caulfield South, police allege.
Curran said the fridge was moved multiple times, including once in Hampton, where a neighbour called Yaffe to complain about the smell.
“Upon arrival, Yaffe immediately clears items from the trailer and is seen attempting to mask smells. He removed items from the Rav4, leaving them in the open air,” Curran said.
“When it rains, he can be heard on CCTV audio saying, ‘It’s good that they’re being washed.’”
The court heard that Yaffe was also seen disposing of Bell’s “distinctive” black and brown bag and camouflage hat shortly after being spoken to by police.
Curran said police allege the fridge was later put in a Hino removalist van at a home in Mulgrave.
A resident there, known to Yaffe, later told police he drove the van to Clayton and upon noticing a strong smell opened the fridge, dumped it on a street corner in Bentleigh and disposed of the bag inside it, which he believed contained animal remains, in a residential rubbish bin.
Curran said that with the help of council, police tracked the bag of remains to the tip, where it was recovered still in the rear of a rubbish truck.
Yaffe told police when arrested that he had abandoned the fridge on Alma Road in St Kilda East the day it was removed, but later admitted lying, police allege.
Curran said police allege Bell’s remains had been in Ganiev’s house for 10 days before they were moved, which would have caused a distinctive smell.
“It is not a smell that can be mistaken, or forgotten.
“We say it’s not possible that the accused with knowledge of Ganiev, Ganiev’s behaviour, his use of drugs, violent history, and the fact he had had a young female with him at that apartment at the time … attended and did not believe she had been killed. And that he was transporting a body.”
Brunswick woman Isla Bell.Credit: Facebook
Curran said police feared Yaffe had the resources and ability to flee if released on bail.
He said Yaffe’s home had been found filled with designer clothing, bags and jewellery despite him having no full-time work, and he was found with mobile phones and bank cards in other people’s names, as well as $150,000 in his bank accounts.
“He appears to be living quite an extravagant life,” Curran said.
He also said Yaffe had an extensive criminal history for matters involving weapons and violence.
“I have spoken to the family of the deceased. They have expressed that they oppose the [bail] application,” Curran said.
Yaffe’s son Zid Yaffe told the court his father worked with him in his painting business and would regularly move furniture as part of their work.
He offered a $20,000 surety and for his father to live with him if released on bail.
Defence barrister Ian Hill, KC, said there was nothing but circumstantial evidence connecting his client to the alleged crime and no evidence he knew someone had been murdered.
He said there was also no evidence that Yaffe ever entered inside his friend’s apartment and was only captured on CCTV bringing and removing fridges.
A bail decision will be given on Monday.