A cleaner accused of helping to hide Isla Bell’s remains for three weeks is set to be freed on bail, as tears from the 19-year-old’s supporters filled a court.
Eyal Yaffe, 57, was granted bail in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday afternoon after being charged with assisting Ms Bell’s accused murderer Marat Ganiev.
Ms Bell was last seen leaving her Brunswick home on October 4.
Police will allege CCTV recorded a fight through a gap in Ganiev’s apartment window, about 12.43am on October 7, and he was then accused of cleaning the apartment.
Yaffe, who works as a residential cleaner, allegedly arrived at the apartment on October 9 in a RAV4 towing a black fridge on a trailer and helped Ganiev move the fridge to the back of the apartment.
It’s alleged CCTV captured Yaffe and Ganiev removing an old fridge from the apartment, containing Ms Bell’s remains, which was wrapped in plastic and placed on a trailer attached to the RAV4 on October 17.
Police allege Ms Bell’s remains had been placed inside a bag in the fridge and the fridge was transported across half a dozen locations in Melbourne’s southeast before her remains were found at a tip in Dandenong.
Yaffe is accused of moving and cleaning the fridge, with aerosols and other products, and disposing of a bag of items belonging to Ms Bell.
“The allegation is that Mr Yaffe assisted in concealment of the body of Ms Bell for just under three weeks,” Magistrate Rohan Lawrence told the court on Monday.
Prosecutors opposed Yaffe’s release on bail, as they argued he was an unacceptable risk to the community’s safety and may interfere with witnesses.
Yaffe was also claimed to be a flight risk as he had booked a flight to Bulgaria shortly after he was interviewed by police on October 28.
But Yaffe’s barrister Ian Hill KC argued police had no evidence to indicate Yaffe was aware of Ms Bell’s alleged murder or that her remains were in the fridge.
A supporter of Ms Bell, seated in the back row, started crying on Monday as it became clear Yaffe would be released on bail.
Mr Lawrence found Yaffe was not an unacceptable risk to safety and any perceived risks could be mitigated by stringent bail conditions, including a monitoring device.
He said Yaffe was unlikely to face trial until the end of 2025 or early 2026, and was facing a maximum term of five years in prison if found guilty.
“I will grant bail,” Mr Lawrence told the court.
Yaffe will reside with his son and must post a $20,000 bail surety.
He will surrender his passports and cannot attend any points of departure, nor leave the greater Melbourne area, under his bail conditions.
He must abide by a curfew, cannot contact any witnesses, and will be fitted with an electronic monitoring device.
Ganiev appeared in court on Wednesday charged with Ms Bell’s murder and will be back in court in March.
