Two men have been charged over the alleged murder of Melbourne woman Isla Bell, 19, six weeks after she went missing.
Marat Ganiev, 53, a suspected Russian heroin addict was charged with murder and Eyal Yaffe, 57, who appears to be Israeli and wears a Jewish Star of David necklace, was charged with assisting an offender.
Yaffe, who lives in Hampton, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday represented by top barrister Ian Hill KC for an intended bail application, and Mr Hill will ask the court for his client to be released in another hearing on Friday, Daily Mail Australia reported.
Victoria Police allege Yaffe was carrying drugs and $6,000 cash when he was arrested and had booked a ticket to Bulgaria leaving the following day. Police allege he is a flight risk with connections in Israel.
Ganiev also faced court on Wednesday where he lawyer Adrian Lewin said his client needed 70mg of methadone, used to treat heroin addiction, as he had not had access to medication since his arrest on Tuesday. He was remanded in custody until March 2025.
Neither man has entered a plea.
According to court documents Ms Bell was last heard from on October 7 when she told a friend on Snapchat that she had found the “best Russian sugar daddy” who had been giving her gifts and had rescued her from sex traffickers, the Herald Sun reported.
Police allege she met Ganiev on October 5, and alleged in a summary released by the court that the pair were seen on CCTV just after midnight on October 7 in “what appears to be a fight”.
Ms Bell was allegedly seen again in Ganiev’s St Kilda East apartment up until 2am.
Police allege CCTV shows Ganiev cleaning the home over the next few days, and allege that on October 9 Yaffe arrived with a trailer containing a black fridge. The pair allegedly moved the fridge to the rear of the apartment.
Then on October 17 they were allegedly seen removing the old fridge and placing it on a trailer.
“It is clearly visible that the fridge has been wrapped in a clear plastic and the black tape has been placed on the edges of the doors,” the summary alleges.
The fridge was allegedly moved to a property in Caulfield South where a neighbour reported a foul smell to police.
Police allege Ganiev then moved the trailer and fridge to Bentleigh East on October 22, and then to Mulgrave where he allegedly put the fridge in a removal van.
A resident then found Ms Bell’s remains inside on November 18.
Header image: Left, Isla Bell. Right, Eyal Yaffe. Inset, Marat Ganiev (Facebook).
