Prosecutors in Victoria withdraw a manslaughter charge against Marat Ganiev, who was accused of killing 19-year-old Isla Bell and hiding her body in a fridge. The case had been set to proceed to trial in the Supreme Court of Victoria. According to reports, prosecutors remove the manslaughter matter over Bell’s death, which follows the body being found in a tip in Melbourne in the aftermath of the incident.
Instead of the manslaughter charge, Ganiev is reported to face an attempted pervert the course of justice charge. Sources also say another man, alleged to have helped move Bell’s body around Melbourne before it was later found, is part of the broader proceedings, though the withdrawn manslaughter case relates to the original charge against Ganiev and associated allegations.
The charges being changed means the case structure and the issues to be determined by the court differ from those originally scheduled for the current month. The reports do not indicate a final outcome in the matter.
