Borce Ristevski hatched a sick plan to be buried next to his killed wife

Borce Ristevski bought his wife Karen a double grave with space for him to buried next to her after he killed her.

The double headstone at Williamstown Cemetery in Victoria is half blank, ready for his name to be inscribed when he dies.

Ristevski, 54, carried his wife’s coffin at her funeral two years ago.

He finally confessed to her manslaughter earlier this month after almost three years of lying to police and the couple’s only child, Sarah.

The killer listed his wife’s date of death on the headstone as February 20, 2017, the day her decomposed body was found by hikers eight months after police believe he killed her.

Borce Ristevski bought his wife Karen a double grave (pictured) with space for him to buried next to her after he killed her

The inscription reads: 'You touched our lives with your love, laughter, warmth and grace. Your memory will be eternal. Dearly loved, never forgotten and forever in our hearts.'

The inscription reads: ‘You touched our lives with your love, laughter, warmth and grace. Your memory will be eternal. Dearly loved, never forgotten and forever in our hearts.’

Ristevski (pictured with his wife and their daughter Sarah) bought the gravestone and carried his wife's coffin at her funeral two years ago - before finally confessing to her manslaughter earlier this month

Ristevski (pictured with his wife and their daughter Sarah) bought the gravestone and carried his wife’s coffin at her funeral two years ago – before finally confessing to her manslaughter earlier this month

The inscription reads: ‘You touched our lives with your love, laughter, warmth and grace. Your memory will be eternal. Dearly loved, never forgotten and forever in our hearts.’

Ms Ristevki’s family and friends are furious and want the gravestone changed, according to news.com.

One family friend wrote on Facebook: ‘It should be [her maiden name] KAREN ANN WILLIAMS.’

‘He doesn’t deserve the right to be placed beside her.’

A spokesman for the cemetery said: ‘We are working with the family regarding what their rights are and trying to assist them in a way that adheres to the Cemeteries and Crematoria Act of 2003 (Victoria) that all cemeteries are bound by.

‘It’s just an unfortunate situation that the confession came right before the trial, and by that stage, the headstone had well and truly been laid.’

Social media users speculated that the double headstone was part of Ristevski’s plot to get away with the killing by portraying himself as an innocent, loving husband. 

A spokesman for The Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust confirmed Borce Ristevski was the right of internment holder, meaning he chose the plot where his wife was laid to rest.

The spokesman said: ‘The plot was purchased on 28 February 2017, in the week prior to Karen’s interment service on 6 March 2017. 

‘It is a two-person burial plot but of course no intent is clear in that regard.’

Earlier this month Daily Mail Australia reported how Ristevski’s daughter Sarah was ‘blindsided’ by his sudden guilty plea to the manslaughter of her mother.

Borce Ristevski (right) has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter death of his wife Karen (centre) with their daughter Sarah

Borce Ristevski (right) has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter death of his wife Karen (centre) with their daughter Sarah

Ristevski was a pallbearer at the funeral of his wife - who he has now confessed to killing

Ristevski was a pallbearer at the funeral of his wife – who he has now confessed to killing

Sarah Ristevski led the procession at the funeral, holding a framed picture of her shop owner and fashion designer mum

Sarah Ristevski led the procession at the funeral, holding a framed picture of her shop owner and fashion designer mum

The couple’s only daughter was surprised by the sudden guilty plea and hadn’t expected it. 

Miss Ristevski was not present at the court during the pre-trial hearing in mid-March.

She wasn’t allowed to be, as she had been listed as a prosecution witness in her father’s trial. 

Since her mother’s disappearance in June 2016, Sarah has had to endure the loss of one parent, the callous betrayal of her father, and the public’s macabre fascination with the case.

Sources with knowledge of the situation said ‘(Miss Ristevski) did not’ anticipate the plea. 

Ristevski’s sudden confession came after a Victorian Supreme Court judge ruled that crucial prosecution evidence of Ristevski’s ‘murderous intent’ was inadmissible. 

Crown prosecutors hinged their murder charge on evidence about Ristevski’s behaviour after Karen’s disappearance in mid-2016.   

Karen’s body, found wedged between two logs in a national park months after she vanished, was too badly decomposed for there to be a conclusive cause of death. 

Ristevski’s manslaughter plea means he will avoid a life sentence, the maximum penalty for a murder charge. 

His trial was supposed to start on March 14. 

Television reporter Cameron Baud (right) boldly asked Borce Ristevski if he had killed Karen, bringing a media conference to a tearful end

Television reporter Cameron Baud (right) boldly asked Borce Ristevski if he had killed Karen, bringing a media conference to a tearful end

The plea is the beginning of the end of the circus surrounding the Ristevski family, from which Sarah has suffered the most.

In a haze after her mother’s disappearance, Sarah had to stand by her father during a public appeal for information in mid-2016. 

It was then that the first questions were bluntly raised about Ristevski.

‘Did you kill Karen, Borce?’ a TV reporter asked the family patriarch. Ristevski did not answer.

The media conference came to a swift, teary end. In private, Mr Ristevski blamed police for trying to ‘pin’ the crime on him, a court heard. 

After nine agonising months of mystery, Sarah’s mother’s body was found at the Mount Macedon Regional Park in February 2017.  

She mourned her mother at a funeral service attended by her father, listening as the crowd were regaled with tributes about the ‘close’ family unit. 

Ristevski acted as pallbearer and buried Karen at a cemetery in Williamstown, near one of the couple’s favourite spots. 

The heat on Mr Ristevski began to escalate as time went by. He was hounded by the press. 

His own lawyer described him as the ‘prime suspect’ in Karen’s killing. He was convicted in the most brutal court – that of public opinion.

Ristevski was charged by police in December 2017. 

Karen Ristevski's body was found by horticulturalists at this site in early 2017

Karen Ristevski’s body was found by horticulturalists at this site in early 2017

Borce Ristevski seen in March 2019 arriving at the Supreme Court complex in Melbourne

Borce Ristevski seen in March 2019 arriving at the Supreme Court complex in Melbourne

Through it all confided only in a small circle of family and friends.

Last year, the young lady appeared in court at Ristevski’s committal as a witness called by the prosecution. 

She made her first detailed public remarks about the case.  

Miss Ristevski told the court her mother tended to raise her voice in arguments and her dad was a ‘calming influence’.  

‘Dad was always the calm one,’ she said.

The couple would often argue over their fashion boutique Bella Bleu, she said. The chain was struggling.  

Reports claimed Miss Ristevski did not make eye contact with her father, who was visibly emotional, during the hearing. 

The Crown prosecutor Matt Fisher was adamant Mrs Ristevski’s death had been no accident.

‘Something happened in the house,’ he told the court. 

Miss Ristevski after appearing at court in 2018

Miss Ristevski after appearing at court in 2018

‘The accused man engages in behaviour soon after he has either killed her or caused her serious injury.’

Miss Ristevski admitted in court that her father’s behaviour ‘didn’t make sense’ in the days after her mother vanished. 

She questioned him about why his phone was switched off, the committal hearing was told. 

As read by Mr Fisher in court, Miss Ristevski said to her farther: ‘You were out of the house for two hours. 

‘Your phone is off for two hours… They pinged you on the Calder (Freeway).’

Mr Ristevski responded: ‘That’s what they are trying to plant out there, Sarah.’

‘That doesn’t make sense,’ Miss Ristevski said.

‘Nothing makes sense because they’re making it up as they go,’ he replied. 

Miss Ristevski has resented the public fascination with her family’s case.  

At the court hearing, Miss Ristevski said she had been ‘basically stalked’ by the media over the course of the hearing. 

She looked over at the assembled news reporters and said: ‘Thanks for that’. 

The terrible spectacle surrounding her family will soon be over. 

Borce Ristevski will face a sentence of up to 20 years’ imprisonment.

TIMELINE OF KAREN RISTEVSKI’S DEATH AND BRINGING HER KILLER BORCE TO JUSTICE

Karen Ristevski with her daughter Sarah

Karen Ristevski with her daughter Sarah

June 29, 2016

Karen Ristevski last seen at her Melbourne home in Avondale Heights 

Her mobile phone pings off a tower in the Macedon Ranges

A car similar to her black Mercedes SLK coupe is spotted by CCTV cameras near Diggers Rest railway station

July 14, 2016

Husband Borce Ristevski and daughter Sarah make a tearful plea for information to help find their missing wife and mother

December 19, 2016

Police search grassland, waterways, creeks and farms

February 20, 2017

Karen Ristevski’s body is found at the Mount Macedon Regional Park

March 6, 2017

Funeral service held with Borce Ristevski a pallbearer and daughter Sarah leading the procession

August 31, 2017

Police recreate the journey of Ms Ristevski on the day she went missing in a black Mercedes, identical to hers

December 13, 2017

Borce Ristevski is charged with murder and faces court where a lawyer indicates a not-guilty plea. He is remanded in custody

April 18, 2018 

Ristevski returns to court where it’s revealed detectives tapped his phone calls and planted listening devices as they investigated the alleged killing, compiling a 22,000-page evidence brief

Ristevski is granted state-funded legal aid as he fights the allegations

July 16, 2018 

Ristevski’s two-week committal hearing begins and later hears evidence from his daughter Sarah who said he was never ‘aggressive’ towards her mum.

August 2, 2018

Ristevski is ordered to stand trial in the Supreme Court, charged with murdering his wife

December 4, 2018 

A five-week trial for Ristevski is set for March 2019

March 13, 2019

A day before a jury is due to be empanelled for his murder trial, prosecutors withdraw the murder charge after a judge’s ruling.

Borce Ristevski pleads guilty to the alternative charge of manslaughter

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk