Kate Bell, 31, was murdered by her boyfriend in his Melbourne apartment in the early hours of October 10, 2020. Photo / Supplied
Kate Bell, 31, was murdered by her boyfriend in his Melbourne apartment in the early hours of October 10, 2020. Photo / Supplied
Four months after meeting on a dating site in Australia, Rahul Patel murdered his Kiwi partner by repeatedly striking her with a weight plate as she slept. A short while later he killed himself. Arecently-released coroner’s report reveals fresh detail in the murder-suicide, writes Sam Sherwood.
Kate Bell felt her friends in New Zealand had all settled down and she was looking for a fresh start and to continue her career as a personal assistant.
So, aged in her late 20s, she moved from Christchurch, where she had grown up, to Melbourne in April 2017.
Within a year she found a role with Deloitte and told her parents she felt she could relax as she had a great group of friends. She was living in a flat with a group of women the same age.
Around May 2020 she began working full-time as an executive assistant with a global cost consultant and quantity surveyor company.
Her employer described her as a positive person, “happy, and always professional”. Her parents said she was a “bubbly, outgoing, and friendly young woman who had a close relationship with her family”. She loved socialising and had a large group of friends.
In June 2020 she met Rahul Patel on a dating site.
Patel, born and raised in Auckland was a “healthy, quiet, and laid-back child who was very easy to raise”, his parents said.
“He was a hard worker and dedicated to his school work and extracurricular activities, which included water polo and soccer.”
He attended Auckland University where he earned a double degree in property and commerce. After graduating, he started a job in real estate and moved in with his long-term girlfriend. The couple separated in 2017 after nine years, and he returned home to his parents.
“There were no issues in his relationship other than normal disagreements,” State Coroner Judge John Cain said in his recently-released report.
In 2018, Patel started a job in Melbourne as a building manager.
Cain said his relationship with Bell progressed “very quickly” due to Covid-19 lockdowns.
Bell told a friend she felt very spoilt but that it was “full-on” given the length of the relationship.
“The couple would go on regular dates and stay together at each other’s residence after knowing each other for only two to four weeks,” Cain said.
She never reported any significant concerns about him to close family or friends.
“She felt it was easy to be in a relationship with him, that he treated her well and kept her grounded,” Cain said.
Rahul Patel died about 40 minutes after police were called to the apartments where Kate Bell was killed. Photo / Supplied
‘I’ve just murdered my girlfriend’
Several days before the killing, Patel, 29, spoke with his flatmates about his relationship with Bell, 31. The flatmates said Patel was questioning how “meaningful” it was, and reported feeling that the effort he was putting in was not being reciprocated.
“He was extremely upset and frustrated about the situation and complained to his housemates about his circumstances.”
Bell had also told a flatmate she’d had an argument with Patel about her relationship history.
“[Patel] responded in a passive-aggressive manner, crying and continuing to raise the topic of past relationships with her. However, two days later, [Patel] spent the evening at [Bell’s] home and appeared to be happy and content together.”
On October 9, 2020, Patel picked Bell up from her flat so they could attend an AFL-themed birthday party at his home.
Bell was reportedly in “good spirits”. The group had dinner and drinks together with dancing in the living room.
As the evening progressed Bell was “quite drunk”, and Patel appeared to be “a little more possessive” and was “looking for attention from [Bell] more than usual”.
The couple went to bed at about 11.30pm. Sometime between then and 3am Patel woke up and got a 7.5kg weight plate from the rooftop of his apartment and went back to his bedroom.
“He repeatedly struck a sleeping [Bell] to the head with the weight plate, causing serious injuries resulting in her death.”
Patel then went to his workplace.
At 3.18am he called emergency services requesting police go to his flat.
“I’ve just murdered my girlfriend... I grabbed a seven - like, a - like, a weight plate and I hit her. I struck her over the head probably about three to four times. I don’t know if she’s deceased but I presume so.”
Emergency services were sent to his flat and five minutes later Patel’s call was transferred to a police communication liaison officer who stayed on the line with him.
At 3.58pm the officer told Patel that Bell had been found and that she had died. Patel committed suicide three minutes later.
Dr Sarah Parsons, a forensic pathologist practising at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, found Bell had multiple skull fractures and was likely struck more than once. She concluded that a reasonable cause of death was blunt head trauma.
‘A devastating event’
According to the coroner’s report, Patel went to his general practitioner with concerns about his mental health in July 2019. His concerns included feeling lethargic and withdrawn.
He went back again in December 2019 after having a bad reaction to smoking marijuana the weekend prior. He was assessed as not being suicidal, and no evidence of risk to others. He was referred to a psychologist who diagnosed him with anxiety and low mood.
The treating psychologist noted he had a history of panic attacks and a period of low mood, which Patel associated with problems in a recent relationship with a close friend that turned into a romantic relationship. He also discussed issues around anxiety and depression in relation to his job and long hours.
“[His] treating psychologist noted that [he] had made good progress and had reported confidence using the coping tools he had developed during their sessions.”
Judge Cain requested the Coroner’s Prevention Unit examine the circumstances of Bell’s death as part of the Victorian Systemic Review of Family Violence Deaths.
There was no evidence of any concerns of violence prior to Bell’s death.
“The main conflict reported by close friends of both parties was that they were at odds in relation to the long-term status of their relationship. In the lead-up to the fatal incident, [Bell] was questioning whether to remain in the relationship, which was in stark contrast to [Patel]’s serious commitment to [Bell] and the relationship.”
Judge Cain offered his condolences to both families for their losses.
“The unexpected, unnatural, and violent death of a person is a devastating event. Violence perpetrated by an intimate partner is particularly shocking, given that all persons have a right to safety, respect, and trust in their most intimate relationships.”
Both Bell’s and Patel’s families told the Herald on Sunday they did not wish to make any comment.
At the time of their son’s death, a spokesman for Patel’s family said: “Rahul’s parents are totally shattered by the events at the weekend. The bottom has totally fallen out of their world. The wider family is in shock and disbelief. They are also devastated that another family has also suffered the loss of a loved one.
“His parents had noted that he had seemed a bit stressed in the past week, but there seemed nothing to indicate anything was seriously wrong.”
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• White Ribbon:Aiming to eliminate men’s violence towards women
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