Overview
- Pathologist Hans de Boer testified he could not establish a cause or time of death because Ms Bell’s remains were in advanced decomposition, noting the injuries could have resulted from rubbish-truck compaction.
- Forensic anthropologist Samantha Rowbotham reported skull warping and perimortem blunt-force trauma to the head and chest, while saying she could not pinpoint when the injuries occurred.
- Toxicology detected methamphetamine, MDMA, MDA, methadone, diazepam and a cocaine metabolite, with the expert agreeing many of these substances can severely alter consciousness or be fatal.
- Prosecutors allege Ms Bell was killed at a St Kilda East apartment after CCTV captured an altercation early on October 7, 2024, and that her body was sealed in a fridge moved across Melbourne before discovery at a Dandenong facility on November 19.
- Eyal Yaffe, previously charged with assisting an offender, now also faces a count of attempting to pervert the course of justice over alleged evidence concealment between October 19 and 30, as the committal continues with more witnesses.