Marat Ganiev, 55, has failed in an attempt to have the final charge against him relating to the death of 19-year-old Melbourne woman Isla Bell thrown out.
Ganiev was initially charged with murder after Bell's remains were found in a bag in a Dandenong rubbish tip on 20 November 2024, about six weeks after the night police believe she died. He was charged with murder on 7 October 2024. Police alleged he killed the young woman at his St Kilda property and put her body in a fridge, which was then wrapped in plastic and tape, removed by a second man, and driven around Melbourne for days before being dumped.
The charge was later downgraded to manslaughter and then withdrawn entirely in May, a week before his scheduled trial, with prosecutors citing insufficient evidence. Ganiev was then charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Application for permanent stay rejected
Ganiev applied to the supreme court on 14 July for a permanent stay on his case, with his barrister arguing the prosecution's decision to file a new indictment a week before trial was an abuse of process.
Justice James Elliott on Friday disagreed, finding the prosecutors were within their right to file a fresh indictment. "Nothing has transpired that will stop Mr Ganiev from having a fair trial," the judge said. A new prosecutor had been retained to run the trial and had formed a different view of the evidence, Elliott said. "The prosecution is entitled to reconsider its case," he said. "It's under an ongoing obligation to do so." Elliott noted applications to permanently stay a proceeding rarely succeeded and the court was concerned with protecting the integrity of its processes.
Reaction and next steps
Ganiev, who watched the hearing via video link, showed little emotion as the decision was handed down. He will return to the supreme court for a directions hearing in August.
Bell's family, friends and supporters filled the courtroom, with small gasps as Elliott handed down his decision. Speaking outside court, Bell's mother Justine Spokes told reporters she could not comment on the result. "It's just so gruelling, and my heart aches," she said through tears.
Ganiev's co-accused, Eyal Yaffe, 59, was originally charged with assisting an offender and attempting to pervert the course of justice, but prosecutors withdrew those charges and he walked free on 12 May. The decision to downgrade and drop previous charges devastated Bell's family, who have been demanding justice system reform, rallying outside the Victorian state library in May and again outside the court on 14 July.
