Inside the legal storm over Melbourne teenager Isla Bell's grisly death after court drops murder charge and her family beg for justice

By WAYNE FLOWER, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 05:09, 14 July 2026 | Updated: 05:09, 14 July 2026 The man once accused of killing Melbourne teen Isla Bell is now challenging what little remains of the prosecution case against him.   Marat Ganiev, 55, was accused of killing Ms Bell, 19, in the early hours of October 7, 2024, before hiding her body in a fridge. Her remains were found at a rubbish tip in Melbourne's south-east six weeks later. Ganiev was originally charged with murder but that was downgraded to manslaughter as the case entered the Supreme Court of Victoria. That charge was withdrawn just days before he was due to face trial in May, with prosecutors instead charging him with attempting to pervert the course of justice. Like manslaughter, it is a charge that carries a 25-year maximum sentence in Victoria.  On Tuesday, Ganiev's barrister Sally Flynn KC complained her client's case ought to be dropped altogether by prosecutors because it was 'so unfair.'  'Our position always was the manslaughter case was foredoomed to fail as a matter of law,' she told Supreme Court of Victoria Justice James Elliott. The man once accused of killing Melbourne teen Isla Bell, 19, (pictured) is now challenging what little remains of the prosecution case against him  'We sought a permanent stay of the proceedings and instead the indictment was discontinued and an equally serious charge is proceeded with. 'It's so unfair as to mean that this court ought to take the extraordinary step of staying the prosecution.' The application was made as supporters, friends and family of Ms Bell sat watching in the courtroom and later held signs outside court calling for justice. Ms Flynn branded the Office of Public Prosecutions' conduct an abuse of process that risked bringing 'the administration of justice into disrepute'. The defence application hinges on claims that the prosecution evidence behind the new charge was never actually new. The court heard Ganiev’s original co-accused, Eyal Yaffe, 59, was also accused of assisting an offender and attempting to pervert the course of justice in relation to Ms Bell’s death.  His charges were dropped on the day the prosecution withdrew the manslaughter charge against Ganiev. Ms Flynn argued that prosecutors already knew the charge was available and chose not to lay it against Ganiev. Marat Ganiev, 55, was accused of killing Isla Bell in the early hours of October 7, 2024 'The evidence and the law have never changed,' Ms Flynn told the court. 'It's just the prosecution case that has changed.' Ms Flynn said allowing the Crown to continue changing charges could discourage defence lawyers from identifying fatal flaws early in the prosecution case, for fear of prosecutors altering the charges as a result.  'The categories of an abuse of process are not closed,' she said. 'The current situation squarely fits within the category of an abuse of process, given the unfairness that arises because of the change of the Crown case at the stage in which it has occurred.' Crown prosecutor Jeremy McWilliams dismissed the defence claims, arguing a permanent stay was reserved for extreme or exceptional cases.  Mr McWilliams argued reviewing and refining a prosecution case in the lead-up to trial was 'commonplace and sound', not sinister, and that nothing stops the Crown bringing a fresh, properly evidenced charge.  'There's nothing relevantly unfair about that process being undertaken in this case,' he said.  Justice Elliott is not expected to hand down his decision for at least another month, with Ganiev facing a jury trial should the matter proceed.  Marat Ganiev (pictured) was originally charged with murder, but that was downgraded to manslaughter as the case entered the Supreme Court of Victoria The application was made as supporters, friends and family of Ms Bell sat watching in the courtroom and later held signs outside court calling for justice  In May, outside court, Ms Bell’s mother Justine Spokes blasted the court process, branding it a 'legal system, not a justice system'. 'Let the jury decide,' she told reporters. A spokeswoman for the OPP confirmed that the manslaughter charge against Ganiev had been withdrawn due to 'insufficient evidence'. Last October, Daily Mail reported detectives had hit a major roadblock in proving the case against both men. During that hearing, the court heard Ms Bell's body was so damaged inside a garbage truck that authorities had not been able to determine how she died. Forensic pathologist Hans De Boer told the court of the severe decomposition and damage caused by the garbage truck that unwittingly delivered her body to the tip. Detectives had alleged Yaffe became involved after receiving a call from Ganiev the day after Ms Bell's death. The following day, he was alleged to have driven to Ganiev’s St Kilda East apartment and dropped off a new black fridge, returning on October 17 to remove the old one wrapped in plastic. Forensic pathologist Hans De Boer told the court of the severe decomposition and damage caused by the garbage truck after Ms Bell's body was hidden in a fridge (pictured) That fridge was later found to have contained Ms Bell's battered remains. 'It’s not possible to exclude that all injuries were sustained post-mortem,' Dr De Boer said. Under cross-examination by Mr Yaffe's barrister Ian Hill, KC, the court heard the doctor could find no evidence Ms Bell had been strangled to death. The court heard Ms Bell had struggled with drug addiction leading up to her death, with traces of methamphetamine, cocaine, cannabis and methadone found in her system.  Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.