New police bodycam footage has been released showing the moment a drug-addled Cody Edwards was arrested for the brutal 2022 killing of his girlfriend in South Australia‘s south-east.
Mother-of-three Synamin Bell’s skull was crushed when Edwards bludgeoned her with a baseball bat and dumbell, before he stabbed her five times as she lay face down on the bedroom floor at the couple’s Mount Gambier home.
Edwards was on trial for murder in June, until he changed his plea to guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter, which was accepted by prosecutors.
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Edwards’ lawyer, Steven Millsteed KC, had argued in court that Edwards was experiencing a “full-blown paranoia psychosis” on the night of Bell’s death after consuming psychoactive drugs.
In the bodycam footage, the then-26-year-old is seen sprawled on the ground as he’s arrested.
One officer is heard asking, “What’s happened?”
“LSD, sir,” Edwards responds.
During his police interview, he appears to struggle to answer even the most basic questions.
At one point an officer asks, “Are you OK?”
“Am I OK? Yeah,” he replies.
Millsteed told the court Edwards, in his psychotic state, believed Bell intended to kill him so acted in self-defence.
Bell’s family are still struggling to come to terms with the change in Edwards’ plea.
They say they believe drug use shouldn’t be a reason for a lesser charge.
”This bloke is going to go about his life in another six or seven years’ time, according to what we have been told,” brother Paul Bell told 9News.
“And it’s disgusting. It’s absolutely mind-blowing they can accept this.”
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