MILLICENT man, Cody Edwards, 25, appeared in court on Tuesday charged with murder following the death of a 26-year-old mother, Synamin Bell, in a domestic incident in Millicent last Saturday night.
Now in custody, Edwards appeared in the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court via an online video link for one count of murder.
Edwards did not apply for bail.
Police prosecutors sought a long period of time before the next court date to collate all the evidence, which they indicated included fingerprints, DNA, blood splatter, shoe marks and mobile phone evidence.
A court date was set for December 19 at the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court.
The incident occurred at a house in Poole Street, Millicent, and both Ms Bell and Edwards were from Millicent.
Police allege that just after 11pm on Saturday, patrols were called to the house after reports of an assault.
Officer in charge of Limestone Coast Police, Superintendent Campbell Hill told a press conference on Sunday that police called to the incident apprehended Edwards outside the house and arrested him before entering the house where they discovered Ms Bell’s body.
Edwards was taken to Mount Gambier Police Station following his arrest to be interviewed by detectives and he was subsequently charged with murder.
Supt Hill said Major Crime detectives and forensic officers flew from Adelaide on Sunday morning, and the house where the incident occurred would be the focus of their investigations for a number of days.
He said Edwards and Ms Bell were known to one another but he would not confirm what their relationship was.
The cause of death of Ms Bell, or other details of the murder, was also not revealed except to say some evidence had been seized for further analysis.
“Out of respect for the families involved I am not going to go into detail at this stage,” said Supt Hill.
“Police have to piece together the chronology of how this has occurred… we have to pull together all the evidence,” he said.
“We understand there are people who may have been contacted by the accused in relation to this and we appeal to anyone who has any information in relation to either the accused male or deceased female in relation to this matter to contact Crimestoppers or police.
“We are keen to build that picture in terms of the nature of the relationship between these two people and certainly build more of a picture of what happened leading up to the events of last night [Saturday].
“There are impacted family and friends of the victim and likewise the accused also has family and friends also working through processing this as well,” Supt Hill said revealing that the woman was the mother of an undisclosed number of small children who were not at the Poole Street house at the time of the incident.
“This is a tragic circumstance… a shocking situation… it will have an impact on this small town.
“It has reverberated across the town and Limestone Coast this morning [Sunday].
“We have a group of people who are now working through the shock and grief of what has occurred.
“Our thoughts go out to the family… it is a tragedy… it is devastating.
“It is one of the gut-wrenching parts knowing that there are children waking up this morning [Sunday], and their mother has died.”
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au
