Missing teen’s final hours caught on CCTV: police
Holly Hales |
The final hours of missing teen Isla Bell’s life have been captured on CCTV from the Melbourne apartment building of her alleged killer, according to court documents.
The documents released on Wednesday afternoon detail how the 19-year-old allegedly ended up at Marat Ganiev’s St Kilda East apartment on October 7.
Ms Bell was last seen leaving her home in Brunswick on October 4 but family members said she was active on social media until three days later.
Ganiev, 53, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with Ms Bell’s murder.
Eyal Yaffe, 57, from Hampton, faced a charge of assisting an offender with murder.
Ganiev’s building was surrounded by a CCTV system that covered the front door and window of the apartment, according to a Victoria Police summary.
Ms Bell was seen entering the apartment for the last time on October 5 and was never seen to leave again, according to police.
Two days later, police allege a fight can be seen through a gap in the front kitchen window of Ganiev’s apartment.
“What appears to be a fight can be seen through a gap in the front kitchen window of Ganiev’s apartment,” the summary says.
“Investigators observed what appears to be Bell’s head whipping around as if she has been struck.
“She falls to the ground and Ganiev can then be seen striking her on the ground of the kitchen.
“What appears to be Bell’s head can be seen rising up before being pushed back down by Ganiev’s arm.”
Ms Bell was captured on CCTV through the same window up until 2am on October 7.
During the next few days, Ganiev is shown allegedly cleaning the apartment.
A fridge wrapped in clear plastic and black tape was allegedly moved from the apartment in a trailer attached to a RAV4 by the two men and taken to Caulfield South where it stayed until October 22.
Police allege the fridge was used to store Ms Bell’s body.
A neighbour reported the fridge to police because it was attracting flies and had a “foul smell”.
The trailer carrying the fridge was allegedly moved to a Bentleigh East property before being shifted to Mulgrave days later in a Hino removal van.
A resident discovered Ms Bell’s remains on November 18 after he removed the plastic wrapping, the fridge door swung open and a bag fell out.
He believed the bag contained animal remains, and dumped the fridge on a street corner near hard rubbish in Bentleigh.
The man then placed the bag holding Ms Bell’s remains in a residential rubbish bin before later contacting police.
Human remains, which are yet to be formally identified, were found at a waste management facility in Dandenong, in Melbourne’s outer east, on Tuesday evening.
Detectives raided homes in Bentleigh East and Mulgrave on Tuesday.
Ms Bell’s family have been notified of the discovery and police say they will be provided support services.
Her mother Justine Spokes had previously made emotional pleas for information about her whereabouts including at a press conference on October 22, the day Ms Bell would have turned 20.
There has been no activity on Ms Bell’s bank or social media accounts and her phone has not pinged to any telecommunication towers.
AAP