Accused killer Borce Ristevski has been bashed on his first day in prison after being charged with the murder of his wife.
The 53-year-old was reportedly attacked in the yard of the Melbourne Assessment Prison on Thursday.
The bashing was a ‘welcome’ to the prison, The Age reported.
Mr Ristevski, a father-of-one, was charged with the murder of his wife Karen Ristevski on Wednesday.
Borce Ristevski (right) the husband of missing Melbourne woman Karen Ristevski and their daughter
Mrs Ristevski went missing from her Oakley Drive home on the morning of June 29, 2016.
Her body was discovered wedged between two logs in bushland at Mount Macedon in Victoria in February.
Detectives from the Victoria Police Missing Person’s Squad arrested the Avondale Heights father-of-one about 7.20am on Wednesday.
Mr Ristevski’s lawyer Rob Stary told a court his client intended to fight the charge.
‘He will be pleading not guilty,’ Mr Stary told magistrate Angelo Bolger.
SHOCK: Murdered mother Karen Ristevski (left) with husband Borce and daughter Sarah at her 21st birthday. Mr Ristevski has now been charged with his wife’s murder
FUNERAL: Borce Ristevski (pictured as a pallbearer at his wife’s funeral in March) was arrested on Wednesday morning
Mr Ristevski is pictured being comforted by a friend while attending his wife’s funeral at the St Johns Uniting Church in Essendon
Mr Ristevski’s daughter Sarah wept and carried a huge photo of her mother during the memorial
Breakthrough: Detectives leave the court after Mr Ristevski’s appearance on Wednesday
Prosecutor Andrew Tinney SC said police needed extra time to complete their brief of evidence ‘because of the nature of the investigation and the ongoing work that needs to be done.’
Mr Stary said his client had already been under investigation for a number of months: ‘This man doesn’t have any history and we want the matter expedited’.
GRAVE: Mrs Ristevski’s body was discovered wedged between two logs at the Mt Macedon national park
Appearing calm in a white T-shirt, Mr Ristevski did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody.
He will front court again for a committal mention on April 18.
The businessman has long been considered a suspect in his wife’s disappearance – with Mr Stary conceding in February he was the ‘number one’ person of interest.
But Mr Ristevski has vehemently denied any involvement in Karen’s death.
He was a pallbearer at his wife’s funeral in March.
Close family friends had long insisted they were ’95 per cent certain’ Borce had nothing to do with the killing.
In a statement, Karen’s only brother Stephen Williams said: ‘Today has been a surprisingly emotional day – one which I have been patiently waiting for.
‘It is in no way a celebration, it’s another stage in bringing my beautiful sister Karen the justice she so deserves.
‘Again, a huge thank you to the Missing Persons Squad – also to Emily, Lachlan, my cousins and work colleagues who have been very supportive through these long last 18 months’.
After his wife’s disappearance, Mr Ristevski told police he and his wife had an argument about money before she left the home.
Afterwards, Mr Ristevski claimed he drove her black Mercedes-Benz SLK 200 afterwards coupe to fix the fuel gauge.
Investigators have been seen recreating the car’s journey from Avondale Heights on several occasions.
The dramatic development comes after almost a year-and-a-half of mystery which has gripped the nation.
Mr Ristevski has this year wound up the couple’s business, closing Mrs Ristevski’s last store at the Watergardens shopping centre in May.
He has since rented out the couple’s sprawling home – the site of scores of live TV crosses – and worked briefly for an abattoir also as a lollipop man.
KAREN RISTEVSKI’S DISAPPEARANCE: A TIMELINE
Borce and Sarah Ristevski – seen on the day where he was asked: ‘Did you kill your wife?’
June 29, 2016: Melbourne mother Karen Ristevski disappears from her house on Oakley Drive in Avondale Heights, in the city’s north-west at about 10am
July 8: Mr Ristevski is questioned by detectives and denies any involvement in her disappearance
Borce told police the pair had an argument and she had left the home to ‘clear her head’
July 13: Police and SES scour the bushland behind the Ristevski home, near the Maribyrnong River
July 14: Mr Ristevski addresses a press conference appealing for information about her disappearance.
A Channel Seven reporter controversially asks Mr Ristevski: ‘Did you kill your wife?’ Borce refuses to respond
July 29: Police divers search another part of the Maribyrnong River, about three kilometres from the Ristevski house
August 11: Mr Ristevski’s son from an earlier relationship posts a series of disturbing and unsubstantiated messages to social media
August 24: Mr Ristevski’s brother Vasco suggests Karen might have fled to the U.S. or China on a fake passport
December 19-20: Police drain dams and search countryside at Toolern Vale – close to the Mt Macedon crime scene
February 20, 2017: A bushwalker finds her body under a large log at Mt Macedone, about 52km from her house, and contacts police
February 21: The body is confirmed to be Ms Ristevski’s and police break the news to her family
February 22: Mr Ristevski’s lawyer Rob Stary concedes Mr Ristevski is the ‘number one suspect’ in Karen’s death
March 6: Karen Ristevski is farewelled by mourners at a church in Essedon. Mr Ristevski is a pallbearer and his daughter Sarah leads the procession
June 19: A Current Affair run into Vasco Ristevski bushwalking near the site of Karen’s grave
December 13: Borce Ristevski is charged with Karen’s murder
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