Last Isla Bell Death Charge Survives Ganiev's Fight

Marat Ganiev, the 55-year-old man once charged with murdering Isla Bell, has lost his bid to permanently halt the last remaining charge linked to the Melbourne teenager’s death.

Ganiev had asked the Supreme Court of Victoria to stop the prosecution of an attempting to pervert the course of justice charge, but Justice James Elliott refused the application on Friday, according to Guardian World.

Marat Ganiev fails to stop final charge linked to Isla Bell's death

The ruling keeps Ganiev before the court over the Isla Bell death, even though the earlier homicide case against him has collapsed.

Bell was 19. Her remains were found in a bag at a Dandenong rubbish tip on 20 November 2024, about six weeks after the night police believe she died.

Ganiev was initially charged with murdering Bell on 7 October 2024. Police alleged he killed her at his St Kilda property, put her body in a fridge, and that the fridge was later wrapped in plastic and tape, removed by a second man, driven around Melbourne for days, then dumped.

That is no longer the live charge.

The murder allegation was later downgraded to manslaughter. Prosecutors then withdrew the manslaughter charge entirely in May, one week before Ganiev’s scheduled trial, saying they had insufficient evidence.

Ganiev was then charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice, a separate justice-related charge. His barrister argued the prosecution’s decision to file a new indictment so close to trial was an abuse of process.

Justice Elliott rejected that argument.

“Nothing has transpired that will stop Mr Ganiev from having a fair trial,” the judge said.

Ganiev watched Friday’s hearing by video link and showed little emotion as the ruling was handed down, the Guardian reported.

Court ruling keeps pressure on Ganiev in the Isla Bell investigation

A charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice generally concerns alleged conduct that interferes with an investigation or legal process. In this case, the court drew a clear distinction between that remaining charge and the withdrawn murder and manslaughter allegations.

ABC reported that Justice Elliott said the current charge related to Ganiev’s alleged actions after Bell’s death, while the earlier homicide charges concerned whether he unlawfully caused her death. The judge said there was no “overlap” in the facts before the court.

That distinction mattered.

If Ganiev had won a permanent stay, the remaining case would have been shut down. Instead, prosecutors can continue with the fresh indictment.

Justice Elliott said the prosecution was entitled to reassess its case.

“The prosecution is entitled to reconsider its case,” Elliott said. “It’s under an ongoing obligation to do so.”

The judge also said a new prosecutor retained to run the trial had formed a different view of the evidence. He found prosecutors were within their rights to file a fresh indictment.

Analysis: The ruling does not revive the murder or manslaughter case. It does something narrower but still significant: it keeps the final prosecution alive after a sequence of charge changes that has already angered Bell’s family and supporters.

Bell’s death drew intense attention because of the circumstances described in court: her age, the weeks between the alleged date of death and the discovery of her remains, and the fact that her body was found at a rubbish facility.

The forensic picture also remains difficult. ABC reported that forensic pathologist Hans de Boer had found Bell’s cause of death was “unascertained”, due to damage and decomposition after her body was found. The court also heard toxicology evidence showed methadone and other substances in samples, but there were limits to the conclusions that could be drawn.

That material does not decide the remaining charge. But it helps explain why the case now sits in a narrower legal lane, focused on alleged conduct after Bell’s death rather than a live homicide allegation.

Bell’s family hears the ruling after months of charge changes

Bell’s family, friends and supporters filled the courtroom on Friday. The Guardian reported small gasps as Justice Elliott delivered his decision.

Outside court, Bell’s mother, Justine Spokes, said she could not comment on the result.

“It’s just so gruelling, and my heart aches,” she said through tears.

The family had already been devastated by the earlier decision to withdraw the manslaughter charge. Supporters rallied outside the Victorian state library in May after that charge was dropped, and again outside court on 14 July, when Ganiev applied for the stay of prosecution.

Ganiev’s co-accused, Eyal Yaffe, 59, was originally charged with assisting an offender and attempting to pervert the course of justice. Prosecutors withdrew those two charges, and he walked free on 12 May.

For readers tracking XOOMAR’s wider global-trends coverage of high-profile legal and public-order cases, see our separate reports on Trump Loses $5.6M as E Jean Carroll Payment Clears and Death Video Ignites Bologna Protests, 64 Police Hurt. The Isla Bell death case stands on its own evidence and Victorian court process.

Isla Bell case now turns to the remaining perverting justice charge

Ganiev is due to return to the Supreme Court of Victoria for a directions hearing in August.

The next phase will test the remaining indictment. Prosecutors must prove the attempting to pervert the course of justice charge, while Ganiev retains the presumption of innocence.

The defence may still challenge aspects of the case as it moves toward trial. Watch for any amended allegations, fresh procedural applications, or clearer details about exactly what prosecutors say Ganiev did after Bell’s death.

For now, the court has answered only one question: the case will not be permanently stopped at this stage.

Bell was 19 when she died. Her family is still waiting for the legal process to run its course, and the Isla Bell death case now narrows to whether the prosecution can prove the final justice-related charge that remains.

The Stakes

• The ruling means Ganiev remains before the court despite the collapse of the homicide case.
• The case highlights scrutiny over late changes to serious criminal prosecutions.
• Bell's death remains a high-profile Melbourne case with unresolved questions about accountability.