‘The love of her life, Borce’: Mr Ristevski, seen at Karen’s funeral in Essendon on March 6
A tearful Borce Ristevski sat in the front row at his wife Karen’s funeral service and listened to stories about their love.
It was the morning of March 6, weeks after Karen’s body was found in bushland, and his cousin’s wife Anica Naumovski was eulogising her ‘best friend’ at an Essendon church.
‘She had the biggest love of her beautiful daughter Sarah and the love of her life, Borce,’ Ms Naumovski told hundreds of mourners.
‘The three of them were not just a family. They were a team … I can truly say they were inseparable’.
What went unsaid among the stories of Karen’s first encounter with her ‘spunky’ future husband was Borce was the chief police suspect in his wife’s murder.
The sunny autumn ceremony takes on a more tragic light after Mr Ristevski was charged with the killing on Wednesday morning – a charge he plans to fight.
Borce Ristevski (front, on right) carried his wife’s casket with her brother, Stephen Williams (left)
‘They were a team… inseparable’: Mourners at Karen Ristevski’s funeral service were regaled with stories of their love
A man comforts Mr Ristevski following the conclusion of Mrs Ristevski’s funeral service on March 6
Ms Naumovski told the service how Karen and Borce met at a party in Victoria when she was 16.
The New Zealand expat spotted the ‘spunk’ from a balcony and boldly told Borce: ‘I like you, and I want you’.
‘I like you too,’ Borce said.
In her narrative of Karen’s life, Ms Naumovski recalled Borce would later propose to Karen in a ‘beautiful setting’ near Williamstown.
Later, she would be buried at the Williamstown Cemetery.
Family (Borce, centre-left) and friends bury Mrs Ristevski at the Williamstown cemetery
Remembering Karen Ann Ristevski: The order of service at Mrs Ristevski’s funeral
Borce and Karen’s daughter Sarah did not speak at the memorial.
Her boyfriend Alan Mai said a prayer and Ms Ristevski led the procession out the door, carrying a photo of her mother.
Borce Ristevski kept himself together as he carried her casket to the hearse with other pallbearers.
He broke down in tears after the service as he embraced mourners and hopped in the back of the hearse with Karen’s brother, Stephen Williams, to bury her.
Mr Ristevski has long been pegged as a suspect in his wife’s disappearance.
Sarah Ristevski led the procession, carrying a portrait of her mother
In July 2016, weeks after she vanished, Borce was asked by a Channel Seven journalist: ‘Did you kill your wife?’
His lawyer later confirmed he was a police suspect.
A week ago, plugged-in Melbourne crime writer John Sylvester suggested on radio that police were getting close to making news.
‘We also know police have said in many press conferences they are confident charges will be laid.
‘If you use that as a mathematical formula, what did that mean?…
‘If I was Borce, I wouldn’t be booking a Contiki tour early in new year’.
Mr Ristevski appeared calm and unshaven at court on Wednesday. His lawyer Rob Stary told a magistrate: ‘He will plead not guilty.’
He will return to court in April for committal.