‘He was a good dad and husband’: Borce Ristevski’s daughter Sarah, 24, stands by her father and gives him a glowing character reference in court AFTER he admits to killing her mum
- Borce Ristevski, 55, admitted killing wife Karen after years of feigning innocence
- The father appeared in court again today for his pre-sentence plea hearing
- The couple’s daughter Sarah has delivered a ‘glowing’ character reference
- Loved ones spoke of their pain after he repeatedly lied about Karen’s death
Borce Ristevski’s daughter has given her father a ‘glowing’ character reference after he admitted to killing her mother.
Ristevski, 55, has returned to court after his explosive admission earlier this month that he killed his wife, Karen, pleading guilty to manslaughter.
During a pre-sentence plea hearing at the Supreme Court of Victoria on Wednesday, Sarah Ristevski, Borce and Karen’s daughter, refused to deliver a victim impact statement and chose to write her father a character reference instead.
‘Since the act of violence my dad has experienced job loss, a loss of respect within the community and the loss of close long-term friendships,’ the character reference says.
‘The extensive media coverage has been not only hard on him, but has been significantly hard on me. For months my dad would try his best to shield me from the waiting media outside our home, but unfortunately he can’t shield me anymore.’
Melbourne woman Karen Ristevski’s loved ones have described their anger and pain after learning her husband killed her and lied to cover his tracks
Sarah Ristevski (right), the daughter of Borce (centre) and Karen (left), refused to deliver a victim impact statement and chose to write her father a character reference instead
A number of Ms Ristevski’s family members described their anger and pain after learning her husband killed her and lied to cover his tracks.
Patricia Gray, Ms Ristevski’s aunt, wept as she spoke about how she’d made and distributed flyers when the 47-year-old went missing in June 2016 while the killer lied to his family and the police.
‘It was very uncomfortable to watch as he manipulated his family,’ Ms Gray told the court.
‘He and his vicious lies … were agonising.
‘I prayed for some kind of divine intervention.
‘This crime is too great for forgiveness.’
Ms Gray said Ristevski ‘bullied’ his daughter Sarah into defending him, manipulating and lying for more than two years.
Ristevski admitted killing his wife following arguments about their precarious financial situation.
After his wife’s death, Ristevski shoved her body in the back of her Mercedes Benz, drove towards Macedon Regional Park and turned off both their phones on the way.
He dumped his wife’s body between two logs in a forest before covering her in branches.
She was not found for almost eight months. A pair of horticulturalists stumbled across her skeletal remains.
Ristevski was a pallbearer at his wife’s funeral. He later admitted to killing her
An autopsy could not determine the cause of her death.
A murder charge was dropped on March 13 when a Supreme Court judge ruled prosecutors couldn’t rely on Ristevski’s conduct after she went missing, to prove murderous intent.
A statement read to the court by Stephen Williams, Ms Ristevski’s younger brother, said he only found out on Facebook that his sister had gone missing.
Mr Williams said when he caught up with Ristevski, he ‘only spoke about himself’.
‘The lies and deceit started immediately.
‘Unlike others, I could see through them.
‘At what stage can we say enough is enough when it comes to domestic violence?’
The plea hearing continues.
TIMELINE OF KAREN RISTEVSKI’S DEATH AND BRINGING HER KILLER BORCE TO JUSTICE
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