Moment drug-addled psychotic killer is quizzed by police after brutally bashing his girlfriend to death – after giving cops a bizarre two-word explanation of what happened
New footage shows the moment a drug-addicted, psychotic killer realizes the gravity of his situation during a police interrogation over the brutal death of his new girlfriend.
Synamin Bell, 26, a mother of three, was found beaten to death in her home in Millicent, near Mount Gambier in south-eastern South Australia, in 2022.
Her shattered skull had been beaten with a baseball bat and she was then stabbed repeatedly.
Her new boyfriend at the time, Cody James Edwards, then 26, arrived at the scene after calling the police himself.
Stunning police bodycam footage — and Edwards’ police interrogation — could be shown for the first time after he changed his plea a week into his murder trial last month.
He initially pleaded not guilty to murder, but changed his plea to guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
The bodycam footage showed the dramatic moments that unfolded after the police arrived at the scene.
“Get on the ground! Get on the ground!” the officers shouted.
Cody James Edwards struggled to answer detectives’ questions during his police interrogation
Mother of three Synamin Bell was beaten and stabbed to death by her new boyfriend
The camera then zoomed in on Edwards, who was lying on the ground.
“I’m surrounded,” he said.
When an officer asked what had happened, Edwards admitted he was under the influence of drugs.
“LSD, sir,” he replied.
Police then entered the house where they were confronted with the gruesome scene of Mrs Bell’s body in one of the bedrooms.
“F***!” said a shocked officer.
Edwards was eventually led away by officers and placed in the back of a police car.
Back at the police station, Edwards was caught struggling to answer questions during an interrogation by detectives.
“Are you okay?” the concerned officer asked.
Edwards replied, “Am I okay? Yes.
“This is real, right?” “F***!”
he is seen lying with his head on the table and hitting his head several times
“Goddammit!” he said.
Edwards laid his head face down on the table as he faced the consequences of his actions
The court heard Edwards was in the midst of a “full paranoia psychosis” and acted in “self-defence” after taking psychoactive drugs on the night Mrs Bell died.
Ms Bell’s family are angry at the prospect of Edwards spending less time behind bars after his plea to manslaughter was accepted.
They are convinced that drug use should not be an excuse for reducing the charge.
“This guy is going to live his life in six or seven years from what we’ve been told,” her brother Paul said Nine news.
“It’s really unbelievable that they accept this.”
Edwards remains in custody and will appear in court again in September to determine his sentence.
When she died, friends said Mrs. Bell dreamed of giving her children the life and opportunities they wanted.
“She wanted to study medicine to help her daughter with her problems and to give her the best chance of a full life,” an online fundraiser said.
“She did the best she could with limited resources and support, she tried to be the best mother she could be.”