A man accused of helping to cover up the alleged murder of Melbourne woman Isla Bell joked with prison staff during his first court appearance.
Eyal Yaffe, 57, of Hampton, faces a charge of assisting a felon in murder.
He appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday hours after his partner and alleged killer Marat Ganiev, 53, faced a murder charge in the same court.
Placed behind protective bulletproof glass in the dock at the courthouse, Yaffe was seen laughing with a security guard during his brief appearance.
Sitting across from him at the front of the court appeared to be members of his family, with whom he smiled and attempted to communicate.
A woman was seen crying as the court heard that a planned bail application could not go ahead due to delays in the matter.
Yaffe is represented by prominent Melbourne lawyer Ian Hill, a top Kings lawyer who helped exonerate convicted cop killer Jason Roberts after years behind bars.
Hill will return to court on Friday, where he will fight to have Yaffe released.
Eyal Yaffe appeared jovial within the confines of the dock on Wednesday. He is accused of helping the man who allegedly murdered Isla Bell hide his crime.
Social media accounts show the pair were friends on Facebook, and Ganiev’s profile photo apparently contained a text alert from Yaffe in a strange profile picture.
Yaffe is accused of helping his heroin addict partner cover up the murder of Ms Bell, whose body was found in a rubbish tip more than a month after she disappeared.
Ganiev is accused of murdering the 19-year-old on October 7 in St Kilda East. Her family last saw her on October 4.
On Wednesday, her heartbroken mother, Justine Spokes, issued a heartbreaking statement in memory of her daughter as Ganiev appeared in court.
“I am so sorry, my dear daughter,” he said. “I couldn’t protect you from your complex illnesses and this cruel world.”
Dressed in black and apparently emaciated, Ganiev, from St Kilda, looked visibly ill as the brief presentation hearing took place.
His lawyer, Adrian Lewin, told the court his client desperately needed his methadone medication, a drug used by addicts trying to quit heroin.
The court heard Ganiev needed 70mg of the medication, which he had not received for the past two days.
It is still unknown how or why police allege Ganiev killed the teenager, who was reported missing in October.
Two men have been charged after police found suspicious human remains in their search for 19-year-old Isla Bell.
Marat Ganiev, 53, from St Kilda, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with Ms Bell’s murder.
Ms Bell was last seen leaving her home in Brunswick, Melbourne, around 6pm on October 4, just days before her 20th birthday.
His remains were found at a landfill site in Dandenong on Tuesday night and have yet to be formally identified.
Spokes paid a touching tribute to her “kind and adventurous” daughter on Wednesday.
“I felt very proud of your decisions this year, of your strength to resist despite the suffering,” she said.
‘All you ever wanted was to create, make and nurture life, love and be loved.
‘We were looking forward to being reunited as a family again; My heart hurts and I can’t reconcile that it’s not going to happen.’
He said Isla was “the gentlest soul, the kindest, free-spirited human.”
“I will connect with you in spirit, my Care Bear, and no one can take that connection away from us,” he added.
Victoria Police are investigating whether Ms Bell’s remains were dumped in a household waste bin before ending up in landfill.
Ms Bell was last seen leaving her home in Brunswick, inner-city Melbourne, at around 6pm on October 4.
Missing Persons Squad detectives arrested three men after executing search warrants at two properties in Bentleigh East and Mulgrave.
A 63-year-old Mulgrave man has been released pending further investigations.
The Missing Persons Squad formally took over the investigation at the end of October.
Shortly after her disappearance, Bell’s best friend revealed that their last conversation took place on October 7, three days after she was reportedly last seen and the day police allege she was murdered.
During that conversation, Ms. Bell was willing to talk about a recent night out and a new friend.
He was about to tell me all about his night. “He suddenly stopped responding before giving me more details,” the anonymous friend said.
“She was very anxious and excited to tell me all about this, then radio silence.”
Another friend said Ms Bell had struggled with mental health problems and sometimes disappeared for days, but her recent disappearance was out of the ordinary.
“The messages her friend received the night she disappeared were really suspicious and unreliable,” they said.
“The police have been calling her and things like that, but without much immediate success.”
Bell’s mother, Justine Spokes, also shared her concerns online.
“My girl is missing and we miss her very much,” he wrote on Facebook.
‘She leaves an impression, it is difficult to forget. He has a fighting spirit, sometimes strong and sometimes soft, always lasting.
‘We’re here for you, friend. I love you my care bear.’
Spokes later revealed that the family had been planning to visit the Great Barrier Reef for Bell’s 20th birthday and were alarmed when they could not locate her.
‘Hi, friend. We look forward to our trip to the reef for your birthday,” his mother wrote in a public message after his disappearance.
We have been trying to call you to book flights. Let us know your opinion.
‘We love you, darling.’