Drugs mule suspect Bella Culley faces spending life behind bars with evil sledgehammer killer who throttled her own son to death
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Drugs mule suspect Bella Culley faces spending life behind bars in Georgia with an evil sledgehammer killer who throttled her own child to death.
The 18-year-old is languishing in notorious Women’s Penitentiary Number Five alongside double murderer Magda Papidze, 35.
Flame-haired Papidze is the only inmate serving a full life sentence – a term Culley could receive if convicted after she allegedly tried to smuggle 14kg of cannabis into the Black Sea nation.
The Teesside teenager was stopped at Tbilisi airport last week in a suspected sting operation where officers found the drugs with a street value of £200,000 in her hold luggage.
She was travelling around the Philippines and Thailand before she boarded the flight to Georgia from Bangkok via Sharjah, UAE. Culley has yet to reveal to her lawyer how she came to be in possession of the narcotics.
She claimed in court that she is pregnant and has confided in legal sources that she was in love with a mystery man who now forms a central part of the investigation.
If convicted, Culley could receive life like Papidze - though if she co-operates the sentence would be greatly mitigated given her young age and the possibility she is pregnant.
The Georgian mother smashed her husband Omar Kaphiashvili to death with a sledgehammer as he slept and strangled their five-year-old son, Tornike.
She then dragged Mr Kaphiashvili's body's body outside the apartment, put their boy in a nearby parked car, before calling the police in Tbilisi.
Devious Papidze callously called the police and lied that she had come home to the bloodbath in the early hours of December 20, 2015.
Officers who arrived at the scene described it as 'gruesome' and took a statement from Papidze who claimed her husband and son had gone out to get food and never returned.
She claimed she returned home to find their bodies but detectives soon discovered she had killed them herself to be with her lover - and was pregnant with the man's child.
Investigations revealed a trail of blood from the door of Papidze's apartment and blood splatters under her table. Forensics were called who uncovered bloodstains throughout her home.
According to the medical examination report, the cause of Mr Kapiashvili's death was an open blunt head trauma, indicating one or several heavy blows.
His blood was also found on the rear right tire of his own car and on the trim of the front right door, which in turn indicates that the defendant attempted to place the body in the vehicle but failed.
It was precisely because of this hopeless situation that Magda Papidze began shouting and seemingly called for 'help' from neighbours and her mother-in-law.
Papidze was arrested and her diary seized as evidence - which contained a description of the plan to kill both her husband and child.
An entry read: 'Hammer (wrapped in cloth), Large bags opened, prepared. Prostina (sheets) ready, towel ready. Basin filled with water, kettle.
'Clothes prepared for both. I’ve prepared them. Clothes. Cover the seats with black. Large bags.'
The mother tried to claim she had not written it but expert analysis confirmed the authenticity of the handwriting.
She was convicted by a jury within two hours - the first unanimous conviction of a female defendant in Georgian history.
A legal source in Georgia said: 'Papidze is widely regarded as the most evil woman in Georgia and belongs behind bars in Women’s Penitentiary.
'At the moment she is not allowed to associate with other prisoners and is only allowed to see daylight for one hour a day.
'But that may change in future if she is allowed to associate with other inmates - who may include Bella if she is given the expected lengthy sentence.'
Papidze, who had an abortion after her arrest, has repeatedly insisted on her innocence, writing in an appeal in 2022: 'I trust that I will be free and I'm awaiting that day, the day when the society which I belong to will accept me back.'
While she is currently in solitary confinement, living 23 hours a day in a small cell with just one hour of 'air time' a day, she has been allowed time out meaning she could rub shoulders with Culley.
At one point she was permitted to work in the prison's raspberry garden for three months.
In a chilling sign for Culley, Papidze's previous lawyer described the grim conditions of Women’s Penitentiary Number Five outside Tbilisi.
Eka Kobesashvili, who worked with her until earlier this year, said: 'She lives in a small cell where she spends 23 hours a day.
'She gets one hour of so-called "air time" — which in reality means another small concrete cell, only with bars instead of a roof. From there she can see the sky and breathe, but nothing else.
'She has various health conditions — endocrine issues, diabetes, and she went into menopause shortly after her arrest. These problems are directly linked to the conditions she’s lived under for years now.'
Culley was arrested at Tbilisi Airport on May 11 and found with 12kg of cannabis and 2kg of hashish after getting a £550 Air Arabia flight from Bangkok via Sharjah.
She first appeared in Tbilisi city court on May 13 which was broadcast locally and word finally reached her family the following day.
Her father Niel, 49, who had flown out to Thailand to search for her flew to Georgia with auntie Kerrie, 51. But they have been cruelly blocked from visiting her by local bureaucracy.
It is hoped they will finally have an emotional reunion in prison next week.
Culley has been remanded in custody until her next appearance on July 1.
