Alleged tot killer fights for secrecy
Man accused of killing Malcolm Bell to appeal judge’s ruling on name suppression
An Auckland man accused of murdering a 16-month-old boy is fighting to keep his name secret after yesterday denying the allegation. The 51-year-old appeared in the High Court at Auckland for the first time after being arrested and charged with murdering Malcolm Bell.
Justice Timothy Brewer declined to grant continued suppression for the man, but after a brief adjournment
his lawyer David Niven said he had received instructions to appeal the judge’s decision to the Court of Appeal. Niven also entered a not guilty plea on his client’s behalf.
A trial date was scheduled for August next year, while the accused killer will appear in court again later this year for a procedural hearing.
The Herald earlier revealed at least two people had contacted Oranga Tamariki with concerns about the welfare of Malcolm before he suffered the suspected abuse-related injuries which led to his death in June.
Six days before he died, the toddler was rushed to Starship hospital, where doctors assessed him and, believing the injuries were not accidental, notified police.
A homicide inquiry was begun. Malcolm was one of six children and all of his siblings had previously been taken from his mother and are now in foster or wha¯nau care.
The Herald has also reported that Malcolm is a nephew of triple murderer William Dwane Bell.
The little boy’s maternal 41-yearold uncle killed three people during a drug-fuelled robbery at the Mt Wellington Panmure RSA in 2001.
William Bell, who is serving a 30-year non-parole life sentence, is the older brother of Malcolm’s mother, Savanna Bell, 29.
At the murder accused’s first appearance in the Auckland District Court last month, Savanna Bell was in court to see the man charged with ending her son’s life. She has not been charged over her son’s death.
The Herald understands that in the weeks before Malcolm’s death, at least two of his family members contacted Oranga Tamariki with concerns about his welfare.
Oranga Tamariki central Auckland regional manager Anna Palmer later said: “Our social workers were aware that people were worried about Malcolm’s situation, and were working to provide support to him and his wha¯nau prior to his death,” she said.
Palmer could not go into the specifics of the concerns raised or speak further to the agency’s involvement.
“Malcolm’s death has also been referred to a coroner who will look into the wider circumstances,” Palmer said.
Savanna Bell has refused to speak to the Herald.
But after news broke of the man’s arrest and murder charge, his brother said his sibling had been “wrongfully accused” and was said to be “shocked and horrified” at his arrest.