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Home where Karen Ristevski was killed goes on the market

<p>The home where Karen RIstevski was killed by her husband has gone on the market in the same week that Victorian agents were legally required to reveal information about the past of properties.</p> <p>Victorian agents were banned from “knowingly conceal(ing) any material facts” about homes, such as whether or not the home had been the site of a murder or if the home had asbestos.</p> <p>Previous laws compelled sellers and agents to tell potential buyers only if they were asked, according to<span> </span><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/news/karen-ristevski-killing-avondale-heights-house-on-the-market/" target="_blank">realestate.com.au</a>.</p> <p>Barry Plant Moonee Valley sales director Bill Karp said that his agents would be “pointing out to people that the property was part of the Karen Ristevski case”.</p> <p>“We’re not trying to get any extra publicity about it, we just want to be open,” he said.</p> <p>Karen disappeared from the property in June 2016 and her body was later discovered buried in bushland.</p> <p>Her husband, Borce, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in March 2019 and is serving a minimum of 10 years in jail.</p> <p>Karp said that their daughter Sarah would be the beneficiary of the sale of the five-bedroom, two bathroom house which has a $1.2-$1.3 million price guide for its April 4th scheduled auction.</p> <p>“You will want it or you won’t, there’s normally nothing in the middle,” Karp said, as the house has racked up more than 3,000 views since Friday.</p> <p>“Some people will look to … update it throughout. The rear balcony needs a bit of work. But it’s certainly comfortable as is.”</p> <p>Scroll through the gallery to see photos of the home.</p> <p><em>Photo credits: <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/news/karen-ristevski-killing-avondale-heights-house-on-the-market/" target="_blank">realestate.com.au</a></em></p>

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Shocked and angry: Karen Ristevski's friends react to daughter's bombshell interview

<p>Friends of Victorian mother Karen Ristevski say they were disappointed to hear her daughter Sarah once again defend her killer father and label him as “loving” and “caring” given the crime he committed.</p> <p>The 47-year-old woman’s body was found eight months after she disappeared from the family’s Avondale Heights home.</p> <p>In December, Borce Ristevski was sentenced to 13 years in jail after Victoria’s Court of Appeal added to his sentence for the manslaughter of his wife at the request of prosecutors.</p> <p>“Somebody who is kind and caring doesn’t leave somebody that they profess to love, to the elements,” said Karen’s childhood friend, Sam, to Nine’s<span> </span><em>A</em><em><span> </span>Current Affair</em>.</p> <p>Sam had helped search for Ms Ristevski and reportedly came a few metres within her decomposing body which was discovered in bushland off a road at Mount Macedon in February 2017.</p> <p>Speaking to<span> </span><em>60 Minutes</em><span> </span>on Sunday night, Sarah Ristevski opened up on her mother’s disappearance.</p> <p>“I just think, ‘Why Mum? Why did something happen to her? Why us?’ You hear about things that could happen and you don’t think they could happen to you and your family,” said Sarah.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Sarah spent nearly three years by her father’s side before he finally pleaded guilty to killing her mother Karen. But privately, to Sarah, Borce has maintained his innocence. #60 Mins <a href="https://t.co/eMt9hgIbY0">pic.twitter.com/eMt9hgIbY0</a></p> — 60 Minutes Australia (@60Mins) <a href="https://twitter.com/60Mins/status/1228986772404621313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2020</a></blockquote> <p>“She’s on my mind all the time and I can’t get it out of my head.</p> <p>“I have no doubt in my mind that my dad loves my mum, I have no doubt in my mind and he’s hurting as much as I am.”</p> <p>Sam spoke about how she felt after she watched the interview.</p> <p>“How she could find those words within herself to describe him?” she told<span> </span><em>A Current Affair</em>.</p> <p>“It makes me very angry but also very, very sad because I hoped to kind of get closure last night.</p> <p>“I feel for Steven, Karen’s brother, for the rest of her family.</p> <p>“In my mind, she (Sarah) would be hurt.”</p> <p>Before Borce Ristevski admitted to killing his wife, Sarah wrote to the missing persons squad Detective Timothy Ryan that she was “disgusted” by what the media was saying about her father.</p> <p>Sarah did not attend her father’s court hearings and when she did, kept her face hidden from cameras.</p> <p>The only time she did offer a comment was in a glowing character reference she gave a judge prior to her father’s sentencing.</p> <p>She called him “loving, caring, sympathetic, protective and charismatic”.</p>

Relationships

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Sarah Ristevski reveals why she still supports her convicted father Borce

<p>Sarah Ristevski has spoken publicly for the first time since her father Borce was imprisoned for the murder of her mother Karen.</p> <p>Speaking to Liz Hayes on <em><a rel="noopener" href="https://9now.nine.com.au/60-minutes/karen-ristevski-daughter-sarah-interview-why-supports-father-borce/51ea4767-9a23-48fa-a5fc-0db21a0d1909" target="_blank">60 Minutes</a></em>, Sarah said she asked her father whether he had been involved in the 2016 death of his wife.</p> <p>“I asked him. I asked if he’d had anything to do with it,” the 24-year-old said. “He said ‘no’.”</p> <p>Sarah said she could not comprehend her father’s decision to enter a guilty plea after maintaining he had nothing to do with his wife’s death for three years.</p> <p>“Even though he’s pleaded guilty I find it hard to comprehend that he is guilty,” Sarah said.</p> <p>“He’s my father. I have one parent left... I loved him before, I love him now and I’ll love him in 11 years when he’s home.</p> <p>“I don’t know what to believe. I don’t know. I just hate thinking about what’s happened and I’d rather think about the better times.</p> <p>“I think it’s tiring. I just feel like I can’t move forward if I’m stuck in the past. I think I’m not emotionally ready to be there.”</p> <p>The body of Karen Ristevski was found in a bushland north of Melbourne in January 2017, eight months after she was reported missing from the couple’s Avondale Heights home.</p> <p>Last year, Borce pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 13 years in prison with a non-parole period of 10 years.</p> <p>Borce has never disclosed how or why he killed his wife of 27 years.</p> <p>Prior to Borce’s sentencing, Sarah submitted a letter of reference in favour of her father describing him as <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/wife-killer-borce-ristevski-given-glowing-character-reference-by-daughter">“loving”, “sympathetic” and “protective”</a>.</p>

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Sarah Ristevski’s shocking revelation over father who killed wife

<p><span>Wife killer Borce Ristevski has refused to admit exactly what he did to his wife, Karen, before he bundled her body into a car and drove her to Macedon Regional Park, northwest of Melbourne.</span><br /><br /><span>Her remains were found eight months later.</span><br /><br /><span>Ristevski was charged with the murder of his wife of 27 years a short time later.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7833202/borce.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/e740e4e3c5ae4e1896fb5af324db983a" /><br /><br /><span>In an interview with Channel Nine’s </span><em>60 Minutes</em><span>, the daughter of the accused killer and slain mother, Sarah, has opened up about confronting her father after he was accused of the horrendous crime.</span><br /><br /><span>In a promotional video released ahead of Sunday’s sit-down, </span><em>60 Minutes</em><span> journalist Liz Hayes asked if Sarah had questioned Borce on the killing.</span><br /><br /><span>“Even after he was charged, did you ask him, ‘Dad, did you do this?’” Hayes probed.</span><br /><br /><span>After a brief pause, Sarah responds: “I asked him.”</span><br /><br /><span>“You asked him what?” Hayes queries.</span><br /><br /><span>“If he had anything to do with it,” Sarah says.</span><br /><br /><span>Sarah was 21 years old when her mother Karen was killed in 2016, and admitted she never strays from her thoughts.</span><br /><br /><span>“She’s on my mind all the time. I can’t get it out of my head,” she said.</span><br /><br /><span>While Karen was missing, Borce told police she went for a walk and never returned.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7825357/borce.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/ebc98d599ca046ba84f62bfac5365d82" /><br /><br /><span>He was a pallbearer at her funeral, playing the grieving husband, and would later be charged with her murder.</span><br /><br /><span>Borce was set to stand trial, but the murder charge was dropped in March of 2019, before he entered a guilty plea of manslaughter.</span><br /><br /><span>He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison before it was decided he deserved a harsher punishment and he was handed a longer sentence of 13 years.</span><br /><br /><span>After Borce pleaded guilty, Sarah supported her father and went on to provide him with a “glowing reference”.</span><br /><br /><span>Despite nine of her relatives providing victim impact statements, Sarah chose not to.</span><br /><br /><span>Other family members have spoken out against Borce in recent months.</span><br /><br /><span>“It was very uncomfortable to watch as he manipulated his family,” Karen’s aunt Patricia Gray told the court, alleging Borce “bullied Sarah into defending him”.</span><br /><br /><span>The cause of Karen’s death continues to remain unknown, as her body was found eight months after she was killed, when horticulturalists happened to stumble upon the remains.</span></p>

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Sarah Ristevski stands alone in support of killer father Borce

<p>Sarah Ristevski, the only daughter of Borce and Karen Ristevski has never wavered in support of her father, despite what he’s done to her mother.</p> <p>Borce killed Karen, discarded her body in bushland and lied to his family about his involvement in her passing.</p> <p>Sarah’s support did not waver even when Borce admitted to killing Karen.</p> <p>However, her never-ending support has her on the outside of a family who’s struggling to come to terms with what Borce has done.</p> <p>The split was evident when Sarah walked out of court alone.</p> <p>Court of Appeal Chief Justice Anne Ferguson told the court that Borce would not be free until 2027 at the earliest, and Sarah didn’t even flinch.</p> <p>Borce, however, turned red as the decision was read out.</p> <p>In a revealing character reference that was read at Borce’s sentencing in March, Sarah wrote about the bond that her and her father have.</p> <p>“I visited him every week and talked to him on the phone at least twice a day since his arrest in December 2017,” she wrote.</p> <p>“If I could use a few words to describe my dad’s personality they would be loving, caring, sympathetic, protective and charismatic,” she wrote.</p> <p>“When I was really young dad would get me up every morning and make sure I was ready for school. He did my hair, ironed my uniform and packed my lunch before driving me to and from school every day. He drove me to all of my extra-curricular activities and stayed to watch all of my sport activities even though I wasn’t very good.”</p> <p>Other family members feel differently.</p> <p>Karen’s aunt Patricia Gray and her cousin Nevada Knight avoided court on Friday and told an earlier hearing that they’d lost all respect for the man who took Karen’s life.</p> <p>Knight told the Victorian Supreme Court that she lost 15kgs by “going days and weeks without being able to move” after Karen went missing.</p> <p>“I would vomit every time I moved,” she said.</p> <p>She also spoke about what Borce said to her at Karen’s funeral.</p> <p>“I hugged him standing over her body at her gravesite where he whispered, ‘Thankyou for coming, your support means a lot’.”</p> <p>Knight made her fury towards Borce known, saying that he was not remorseful for what he’d done.</p> <p>“You’ve had almost three years to come forward. That’s not remorse. That’s selfishness.”</p> <p><em>Hero image credit: <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/prosecutors-fight-for-longer-sentence-for-wife-killer-borce-ristevski/news-story/9792975f4374b7971b40cba00f2503d3" target="_blank">Herald Sun</a></em></p>

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Wife killer Borce Ristevski’s “total lack of remorse”

<p>Wife killer Borce Ristevski will spend more years in a jail cell over the senseless murder of his wife Karen.</p> <p>Ristevski has previously been handed a prison sentence of nine years but was ordered to serve a minimum of six years.</p> <p>It was a sentence that prosecutors labelled as “manifestly inadequate”.</p> <p>However, on Friday morning three judges from the Court of Appeal made a ruling on whether Ristevski deserved to be in prison for longer</p> <p>Chief Justice Anne Ferguson said this morning that his previous sentence had been set aside and he has since been sentenced to 13 years behind bars.</p> <p>His new non-parole period is now 10 years.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BwawtORhSVK/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BwawtORhSVK/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Dangerous Females (@dangerousfemales)</a> on Apr 18, 2019 at 6:09pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Ristevski, who appeared to the three judges via video link, sat emotionless with his arms folded as the judgement was read out.</p> <p>His and Karen’s daughter, Sarah Ristevski sat in the back row of the court gripping onto a scarf and left quickly after the decision was handed down.</p> <p>The young woman has always publicly supported her father but has rarely attended court. She did not attend the Court of Appeal hearing in November.</p> <p>Chief Justice Ferguson said Ristevski displayed a “total lack of remorse” for the murder of his wife.</p> <p>“His conduct after he killed his wife significantly aggravated his offending,” she said.</p> <p>“Ms Ristevski should have been safe in her own home.”</p> <p>The 55-year-old killed his wife Karen in June 2016 at the couple’s Avondale Heights home.</p> <p>He then drove with her body to the north of Melbourne to bushland at Mount Macedon where he dumped the body between two large logs.</p> <p>Karen was not to be discovered for eight long months while her husband lied to detectives and his own daughter about his involvement in her disappearance.</p> <p>Ristevski confessed to the killing on the eve of a Supreme Court trial this year but refuses to say why or how he killed his wife.</p> <p>Ristevski’s lawyer David Hallowes told the court his client was a good man last month.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BwaY1hoghgr/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BwaY1hoghgr/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Alyce Cooper Solicitor (@alycecoopersolicitor)</a> on Apr 18, 2019 at 2:40pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>“He was a man of good character,” he said to the court.</p> <p>“He was 55, had no prior convictions. Your honours have read the character reference of (his daughter) Sarah Ristevski. He contributed to society. He worked hard.”</p> <p>However, prosecutors say his silence should mean he pays a price.</p> <p>Prosecutor Brendan Kissane said that Ristevski’s silence was an indication of the seriousness of the killing to the court last month.</p> <p>“What silence means … when one puts all of that together … what one can say about what occurred in the house is that it must’ve been something significant,” he told the court.</p> <p>“What one concludes is that something bad must have happened in the house.”</p> <p>Mr Kissane said Ristevski’s lies that began immediately after he senselessly killed his wife should also be given greater weight.</p> <p>“That continues to this day,” Mr Kissane said.</p>

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Criminal profiler speaks out: Why Borce Ristevski’s daughter is under killer dad's "spell"

<p>The daughter of convicted wife murderer Borce Ristevski gave her father a glowing character reference because she was under his “coercive control”, a criminal profiler has claimed.</p> <p>Sarah Ristevski’s decision to give her father a glowing character reference following his murder confession has shocked many.</p> <p>The 23-year-old waived her right to submit a victim impact statement after Borce confessed to killing her mother Karen, and instead provided a two-page document in which she described her father as “loving”, “sympathetic” and “protective”.</p> <p>In the statement, Sarah wrote: “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.</p> <p>“The circumstances have left me without both of my parents and I know there is nothing I can do to change that, but all I can try to do is communicate the truth of how good of a dad and husband he was to my mum and I.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">Sarah Ristevski's glowing character reference for her father Borce - written AFTER he confessed to killing her mother:<br />"All I can do is communicate the truth of how good of a dad and husband he was to mum and I."<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/9news?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#9news</a> <a href="https://t.co/THMICdX96h">pic.twitter.com/THMICdX96h</a></p> — Brett Mcleod (@Brett_McLeod) <a href="https://twitter.com/Brett_McLeod/status/1110789298482114560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2019</a></blockquote> <p>UK criminal behavioural analyst Laura Richards said the positive reference may suggest that Sarah is under Borce’s “spell”, which allows him to “manipulate and control those around him”.</p> <p>Richards, who specialised in domestic violence risk assessment and homicide prevention at New Scotland Yard, urged Victoria’s Director of Public Prosecutions to review the case.</p> <p>“Sarah, Karen’s daughter, declined to write a victim impact statement, an impact statement about her mother being brutally killed by her father,” Richards wrote in a <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.laurarichards.co.uk/my-two-cents/dear-director-of-public-prosecutions-victoria/?fbclid=IwAR0Emqdu_BcSz8eHeeLneXKWKrJMwxO36gBC8Wogt9EL-YFeP5XdxqfrYYQ" target="_blank">letter</a> published on Sunday.</p> <p>“Her voice about the impact of her mother’s brutal killing is yet to be heard, despite the fact she was close to her mother. She is no doubt conflicted but this is also instructive. Instead she wrote a glowing reference for her father – a man who lied to her and everyone else.</p> <p>“This makes little sense unless it is understood that she too may be under his spell, which talks to his ability to manipulate and control those around him. Coercive control impacts children as well.”</p> <p>Richards said Borce should be charged for murder instead of manslaughter to ensure longer punishment, comparing his sentence to one-punch attacker Joseph Esmaili who received <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-17/joseph-esmaili-sentenced-for-killing-melbourne-heart-surgeon/11020218" target="_blank">10 years and six months’ jail time</a>.</p> <p>Two weeks ago, the 55-year-old Victorian man was sentenced to nine years in jail for the manslaughter of his wife in 2016 with a non-parole period of six years.</p> <p>“If a one punch offender, Mr Esmail, receives 10 years, to serve 10 before he is eligible for parole, how can the brutal killing of Karen carry nine years, eligible for parole in six? What sort of message does that send out to society about the worth of a woman’s life?” Richards wrote.</p> <p>“On good authority male neighbours of the Ristevskis are joking that you can kill your wife and serve a few years behind bars – it might be worth it in the long run. Urgent law reform is needed.</p> <p>“Respectfully review this case and bear in mind the message it sends out about domestic abuse. Your law and training really does need to catch up and reflect the reality of domestic abuse in all its guises.”</p> <p>Last month, Borce <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/borce-ristevski-sensationally-pleads-guilty-to-killing-wife-karen" target="_blank">pled guilty</a> to killing Karen after two years of claiming he had nothing to do with his wife’s death. He admitted to murdering Karen on the day she disappeared on June 29, 2016, with her body being discovered eight months later on February 20, 2017.</p>

Legal

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BREAKING NEWS: Borce Ristevski's bombshell verdict for wife's murder

<p>Borce Ristevski has been sentenced to nine years in prison with a non-parole period of six years for the manslaughter of his wife Karen almost three years ago. </p> <p>In his opening statement in Victoria’s Supreme Court, Justice Christopher Beale slammed Borce for his “rank deceit” and said: “For years, you continued spinning your web of lies.”</p> <p>In June 2016, Borce killed his wife Karen, 47, at their Melbourne home before dropping her body off in a national park when she was found eight months later.</p> <p>The sentencing was followed by outrage after people took to Twitter, saying nine years for the gruesome murder of his late wife was not enough.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">Tell me I'm hearing seeing wrong Borce Ristevski sentenced to 9 years for killing his wife!!!!!!! ... Just 9 years for taking the life of a woman he onced loved, the mother of his children</p> — Angela. Rubin (@rubin_angela) <a href="https://twitter.com/rubin_angela/status/1118684542456360960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2019</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">Borce Ristevski just got sentenced to 9 years jail for murdering his wife, Karen. Karen’s life has been taken away, her daughter no longer has her mother, and this murderer only gets 9 years? People get sentenced much more for lesser things. I guess murder isn’t so bad anymore.</p> — Bethany Williams (@BethanyinCBR) <a href="https://twitter.com/BethanyinCBR/status/1118684407080992768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2019</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">Violence against women one of the biggest issues in our country and Borce Ristevski gets a minimum of six years for killing his wife and not telling anyone why or how. Understand it was manslaughter rather than murder charge but WTF...</p> — Jon Ralph (@RalphyHeraldSun) <a href="https://twitter.com/RalphyHeraldSun/status/1118684612962603008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2019</a></blockquote> <p>The punishment of the 55-year-old’s crimes were met with audible gasps in the Supreme Court, according to Nine News court reporter Eliza Rugg.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">RISTEVSKI SENTENCE: 9 years jail with non-parole period of 6 years. Gasps of disbelief in the Supreme Court. Borce has hands clasped in front of him. Blank expression, lots of blinking. <a href="https://twitter.com/9NewsMelb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@9NewsMelb</a></p> — Eliza Rugg (@Eliza_Rugg9) <a href="https://twitter.com/Eliza_Rugg9/status/1118683314934575104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2019</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Due to the Melbourne father already having served 491 days of pre-sentence detention, he could be out of prison in less than five years.</blockquote> <p>Borce’s expression remained the same as he stood for his sentencing, with his hands clasped in front of him before guards took him away.</p> <p>If he had not pleaded guilty, Justice Beale would have issued a sentence of 10 years.</p> <p>Before announcing the surprising sentence, Justice Beale spoke directly to the perpetrator, and told the Supreme Court, “your plea of guilty does not demonstrate remorse.”</p> <p>“No sentence I impose can undo the suffering you have caused and continue to cause to those who knew and loved Karen,” he said.</p> <p>He also told Borce that his guilty plea will not result in a discounted sentence that he may have been hoping for, as “you have not revealed how or why” Karen was killed.</p> <p>“Your victim was your wife of 27 years … You may have turned off the road of deceit but you have not taken the high road of full and frank disclosure consistent with true remorse,” he said.   </p>

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Family of Karen Ristevski fights to change "husband-and-wife" gravestone

<p>Family of Karen Ristevski is fighting to replace the headstone of the slain Melbourne woman, which leaves one side blank to be reserved for her husband killer Borce.</p> <p>The gravestone at Karen’s final resting place at Victoria’s Williamstown Cemetery was laid long before Borce pleaded guilty to the manslaughter earlier this month.</p> <p>Borce, who admitted to killing his wife of 27 years in his plea, appeared to plan to be buried next to her.</p> <p>A spokesman for The Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust confirmed that Borce purchased the two-person burial plot eight days after Karen’s body was found, and that Borce is the right of interment holder of the grave site.</p> <p>“The plot was purchased on February 28, 2017, in the week prior to Karen’s interment service on March 6, 2017,” the cemetery official told the <em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/borce-ristevskis-twisted-plan-to-buried-with-wife-he-killed/news-story/90395d70a8fef3fd0e655e79ff6007a8" target="_blank">Herald Sun</a></em>.</p> <p>The spokesman also said that while it is common practice for the interment holder – usually the spouse – to later be buried with the deceased, “no intent is clear in that regard”.</p> <p>The cemetery officials are now in talks with Karen’s relatives who wish to have the plaque changed, a spokeswoman told <em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/karen-ristevskis-grave-has-space-reserved-for-killer-husband/news-story/200b61bb9705e4507d9955caf308f71f" target="_blank">news.com.au</a></em>.</p> <p>“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,” said the spokeswoman.</p> <p>“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.”</p> <p>The tombstone sparked outrage among members of a social media group dedicated to the case after a photograph was posted last week. Some speculated that it was part of Borce’s attempt to appear innocent.</p> <p>After two years of claiming he had nothing to do with his wife’s death, Borce admitted to killing Karen on June 29, 2016. Karen’s body was found by hikers in Mount Macedon eight months later on February 20, 2017.</p> <p>According to Chief Crown prosecutor Brendan Kissane, QC, Borce has not revealed to investigators about how or why he killed Karen.</p> <p>“To date only one person knows why or how Karen Ristevski was killed and that is the prisoner,” Kissane told the Victorian Supreme Court on Wednesday.</p> <p>Karen and Borce’s daughter Sarah has given her father a <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/wife-killer-borce-ristevski-given-glowing-character-reference-by-daughter" target="_blank">glowing character reference</a>, describing him as “loving”, “sympathetic” and “protective”.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">Sarah Ristevski's glowing character reference for her father Borce - written AFTER he confessed to killing her mother:<br />"All I can do is communicate the truth of how good of a dad and husband he was to mum and I."<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/9news?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#9news</a> <a href="https://t.co/THMICdX96h">pic.twitter.com/THMICdX96h</a></p> — Brett Mcleod (@Brett_McLeod) <a href="https://twitter.com/Brett_McLeod/status/1110789298482114560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2019</a></blockquote> <p>On the other hand, Borce’s son from another marriage, Anthony Rickard, said his father should receive a <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/i-saw-it-in-his-eyes-borce-ristevski-s-son-s-bombshell-admission" target="_blank">long sentence</a> for taking Karen’s life. “He should at least get 20 [years], and that’s without parole. Why should he get out in 10 years?” he told <em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/i-saw-it-in-his-eyes-borce-ristevski-s-son-s-bombshell-admission" target="_blank">Channel 7</a></em>. “He’s taken a life, 50 years short of what she could’ve lived to.”</p> <p>The plea hearing continues.</p>

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Wife killer Borce Ristevski given glowing character reference by daughter

<p>A glowing character reference has been submitted by Sarah Ristevski in favour of her father, Borce Ristevski, and was heard in court.</p> <p>Sarah, 23, was asked whether or not she wanted to submit a victim impact statement about the death of her mother Karen Ristevski – who Borce confessed to killing – but declined in favour of submitting a character reference for her father.</p> <p>She described her dad as “loving”, “sympathetic” and “protective”.</p> <p>Sarah also said that she wanted to experience a marriage like her parents shared one day. She told the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/courts-law/karen-ristevskis-family-lash-wife-killer-borce-in-court/news-story/aea75779710ed1b6adc0e17a86f7c38b" target="_blank">Victorian Supreme Court</a>:</p> <p>“It pains me inside to hear all of these untrue claims about my parents’ marriage and the love they had for each other from people who were not a part of their lives and I can’t stress enough how much this has affected my dad,” Sarah wrote in the statement.</p> <p><img style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7824783/borce.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/87dba910b8dd48fdb544c860f263027c" /></p> <p>She also explained the impact that the murder confession had on her father.</p> <p>“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,” Sarah wrote.</p> <p>“The circumstances have left me without both of my parents and I know there is nothing I can do to change that but all I can try to do is communicate the truth of how good of a dad and husband he was to my mum and I.”</p> <p>Victim impact statements were written by Karen Ristevski’s family and read out on the first day of the pre-sentence hearing.</p> <p>A cousin of Karen’s, Nevada Knight, told the court she had lost 15kg “by going days and weeks without being able to move” after Karen went missing.</p> <p>“I would vomit every time I moved,” Nevada said.</p> <p>Patricia Grey also broke down in the witness box, which was metres away from Borce.</p> <p>Grey said:</p> <p>“To watch ... as he was comforted by family and friends, to hear lies spew from his mouth — it would’ve made me sick.</p> <p>“I can never forgive Borce for the lies and deceit and manipulation,” she told the court through tears.</p> <p>“He manipulated his family. I believe he bullied and manipulated (Sarah).”</p> <p>Grey went on to say that she didn’t think Borce was remorseful.</p> <p>“You’ve had almost three years to come forward. That’s not remorse. That’s selfishness.</p> <p>“Her body was discarded in the most inhumane way. It takes only a second to dial triple-0.”</p>

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“I saw it in his eyes”: Borce Ristevski’s son’s bombshell admission

<p>Borce Ristevski’s son says he has known his father was guilty of killing Karen Ristevski for years.</p> <p>Anthony Rickard told<a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/saw-eyes-borce-ristevskis-son-knew-years-father-killer-102853522.html"> Channel 7</a> on Tuesday that he believes his father should be jailed for at least 20 years and claims he knows exactly how his stepmother was brutally murdered.</p> <p>Mr Rickard, son of Borce from a previous marriage, says Karen Ristevski was strangled to death on the morning of June 29, 2016.</p> <p>“I think he acted out of um, not on purpose, but he did obviously choke her. She’s a tiny woman. Just a little squeeze would’ve been enough,” he said in a bombshell admission this week.</p> <p>“By that time it was too late. He obviously didn’t think it out, he didn’t plan it.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">Borce Ristevski's son has opened up in an exclusive interview with 7NEWS, to call for a long jail sentence for his killer father. <a href="https://twitter.com/cassiezervos?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cassiezervos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/7NEWS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#7NEWS</a> <a href="https://t.co/ptpzNXLl9x">pic.twitter.com/ptpzNXLl9x</a></p> — 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) <a href="https://twitter.com/7NewsMelbourne/status/1110437319377469440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2019</a></blockquote> <p>Mr Rickard claimed later on that the death of his stepmother was not an accident and that his father “did it for money".</p> <p>“[Karen] said to him: ‘I’m going to destroy you, Borce. I’m going to leave you with nothing.’</p> <p>“It was wrong of him to do it for money. Kill her for money. She was going to take off. She left him in a big hole financially.”</p> <p>Mr Rickard has previously claimed that he was involved romantically with his stepmother, and offered a media interview for AUD$200,000. He also went on to claim Borce’s relationship with Karen was fake.</p> <p>55-year-old Borce pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his wife Karen, 47, earlier this month.</p> <p>Mr Rickard said he became sure of his father’s guilt when he watched Borce plea publicly for the return of his wife Karen not far from their family home in Avondale Heights in 2016.</p> <p>It was he and the couple’s daughter, Sarah, who made emotional pleas for help to find her.</p> <p>“I saw it in his eyes, one eye sh*tting himself and the other one like the 'Terminator', and I knew,” he said.</p> <p>“He should at least get 20 [years], and that’s without parole. Why should he get out in 10 years?</p> <p>“He’s taken a life, 50 years short of what she could’ve lived to.”</p>

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Karen Ristevski’s stepson arrested one day before father’s committal hearing

<p>The stepson of murdered Melbourne mum Karen Ristevski has been arrested on the eve of his father Borce Ristevski’s committal hearing, where he’ll be accused of murdering his wife.</p> <p>Anthony Rickard, 34, was arrested at a Diggers Rest property about 12.20am on Sunday on outstanding warrants including failing to answer a bail charge.</p> <p>The court was told police had repeatedly tried to make contact with Rickard since May, but he had refused to cooperate as he did not want to give evidence at his father’s committal hearing.</p> <p>Rickard appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday in a blue T-shirt emblazoned with the word “rogue” and was denied bail.</p> <p><img style="margin-top: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" class="irc_mi" src="https://ex.f3img.gq/api/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimageresizer.static9.net.au%2FHaVNxV_YhDBVceGN7onSYDeUv6k%3D%2F500xnull%2Fsmart%2Fhttp%253A%252F%252Fprod.static9.net.au%252F_%252Fmedia%252FNetwork%252FHome%252FStreams%252F2016%252F08%252F26%252F06%252F00%252F2608_rickard_env_sp.jpg%2Chttp%253A%252F%252Fprod.static9.net.au%252F_%252Fmedia%252FNetwork%252FHome%252FStreams%252F2016%252F08%252F26%252F06%252F00%252F2608_rickard_env_sp.jpg&amp;w=865" alt="Image result for anthony rickard" width="466" height="262" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>The stepson of missing person Karen Ristevski, Anthony Rickard. </em></p> <p>Rickard had been summoned to give evidence at the committal hearing of his estranged father Borce Ristevski, who has been in prison since he was charged with his wife’s murder in December.</p> <p>The 54-year-old’s committal hearing to see whether the case goes to trial starts today.</p> <p>Ms Ristevski, 47, a fashion boutique owner, had been missing for eight months before her remains were discovered by a bushwalker at Macedon Regional Park in February 2017.</p> <p>Mr Ristevski has denied any involvement in his wife’s death. His lawyer has indicated that he would be pleading not guilty.</p> <p>The couple's daughter, Sarah, is also expected to give evidence at the committal hearing, which is will hear nearly 30 witnesses.</p> <p>Mr Rickard was remanded in custody to appear in the Sunshine Magistrates Court on his bail offences on July 20.</p>

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Karen Ristevski's daughter to give evidence against father Borce

<p>Karen Ristevski's daughter, Sarah, is reportedly set to give evidence against father Borce, with the daughter revealed as a shock prosecution witness in the murder case.</p> <p><a href="http://www.news.com.au/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>News.com.au reports</strong></em></span></a> Mr Ristevski is accused of killing Karen, who went missing from the couple’s $1.1 million Avondale Heights mansion in June 2016.</p> <p>Her body was found behind two logs in bushland, eight months later.</p> <p>The 54-year-old has pleaded not guilty, and at this stage the nature of the evidence Sarah, 22, is expected to give the court is unclear.</p> <p>This is the first time the public will hear from Sarah since she made an emotional plea for information regarding her mother’s whereabouts in 2016.</p> <p>Mr Ristevski was charged with Karen’s murder in December, although his defence has argued “deliberately toxic” reporting could prevent him from getting a fair trial.</p> <p>What are your thoughts?</p>

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Karen Ristevski's brother breaks silence: "I have been patiently waiting for this day"

<p>Karen Ristevski's brother Stephen Williams says he has waited patiently for the day charges were laid over the murder of his only sibling.</p> <p>In a statement, Williams said it had been a surprisingly emotional day.</p> <p>"Today has been a surprisingly emotional day - one which I have been patiently waiting for,” he said.</p> <p>"It is in no way a celebration, but just another stage in bringing my beautiful sister Karen the justice she so deserves.</p> <p>"Again, a huge thank you the members of the Missing Persons Squad. Also to Emily, Lachlan, my cousins and work colleagues who have been very supportive these long 18 months."</p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/2017/12/borce-ristevski-charged-with-murder-of-his-wife-karen-ristevski/">Borce Ristevski was charged with the murder of his wife on Wednesday morning</a></span>,</strong> almost 18 months after she disappeared from their home in Victoria’s Avondale Heights.</p> <p>Mr Ristevski's lawyer Rob Stary told a court hearing on Wednesday his client would be pleading not guilty.</p> <p> </p>

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Borce Ristevski charged with murder of his wife Karen Ristevski

<p>Borce Ristevski has been charged with the murder of his wife Karen Ristevski. </p> <p>Victoria Police issued a statement on Wednesday morning revealing the 53-year-old had been arrested at 7:20am this morning by the Missing Persons Squad.</p> <p>He has been charged with one count of murder.</p> <p>Ms Ristevski's remains were discovered under a log in bushland in the Macedon area on February 20, 2017.</p> <p>She went missing from her Oakley Drive, Avondale Heights home on June 29, 2016. </p> <p>He will appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court this morning. </p> <p><em>More to come. </em></p>

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“New twist” in the case of murdered Melbourne mum Karen Ristevski

<p>Fifteen months after Melbourne mum Karen Ristevski was tragically murdered, her stepson has finally broken his silence.</p> <p>Speaking to the <a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/karen-ristevski-murder-case-stepson-backs-borces-claims-over-cars-broken-fuel-gauge/news-story/35fbb902c924d27409c17e8e9a6a32ee" target="_blank"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Herald Sun</strong></span></em></a>, Borce Ristevski’s son Anthony Rickard backed up his father’s claims of a faulty fuel gauge on Karen’s car – something which has been a major part of Borce’s story regarding his movements in the period leading up to his wife’s death.</p> <p>Borce had previously attested that he had discovered a fault with the fuel gauge on Karen’s Mercedes-Benz on June 29 last year – the day before his wife went missing. Borce had allegedly been on his way to the mechanic to have it fixed, only for it to have corrected itself when the car hit a bump in the road.</p> <p>Now, Rickard has backed up his dad’s claims, revealing Borce had discovered the problem two years before Karen’s disappearance, only to decide it was too expensive to fix. “[The mechanic] sent my dad down to Slater Parade to an auto electrician – they said it’s going to cost at least $800 in labour just to get to it.”</p> <p>“My dad, he’s a tight arse ... he told Karen just to keep the car topped up always, don’t let the car go low and we won’t have a problem, we won’t need the fuel gauge.”</p> <p>Rickard also revealed his already strained relationship with Borce had only worsened since the murder – in fact, he has not spoken to his father since Karen’s disappearance.</p>

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