Borce Ristevski admits killing wife Karen, dumping body in bushland
Melbourne man Borce Ristevski has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his wife Karen in an extraordinary 11th-hour twist ahead of his trial.
On the eve of a five-week trial, prosecutors withdrew the murder charge and Ristevski instead pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Wednesday.
Ristevski, who turns 55 on Thursday, was charged with murdering his 47-year-old wife at their Avondale Heights home on June 26, 2016, and dumping her body in bushland.
The manslaughter plea confirms Ristevski, who was a pallbearer at his wife's funeral, was lying to detectives. When she went missing, Ristevski claimed his wife had gone for a walk to clear her head and never returned.
Key to the stunning plea deal struck between prosecutors and defence was Justice Christopher Beale’s pre-trial ruling that police could not tell a jury about evidence of Ristevski’s conduct after her death to prove murderous intent.
The decision crippled the prosecution case for murder.
“Given that ruling, your honour, I think we all need some time before we go any further,” prosecutor Brendan Kissane, QC, told the court on Wednesday.
When the case returned to court at 2.15pm, Mr Kissane said a fresh indictment with one charge of manslaughter would be filed.
“I will indicate, your honour, that Mr Ristevski will be pleading guilty to that charge,” Ristevski’s lawyer David Hallowes, SC, said.
Ms Ristevski's badly decomposed remains were found in Macedon Regional Park eight months after she went missing by two horticulturalists who had noticed a strange smell.
An autopsy could not ascertain her cause of death.
Prosecutors had alleged in the committal hearing that Ristevski had used his wife's Mercedes-Benz roadster to dispose of the body in bushland, and turned off both their phones on the way so he couldn't be tracked.
He then allegedly dumped his wife's body between two logs and concealed it with branches before returning home.
Mr Hallowes told the pre-trial hearing there was no evidence of murderous intent from his client and that, instead, Ms Ristevski's death was more of a spontaneous killing.
Had he admitted killing her, he would have faced a substantial jail term and his relationship with the couple's daughter, Sarah, would have been irreparably damaged, Mr Hallowes said.
Prosecutors had pushed hard for a murder trial, saying Ristevski's deceitful behaviour after the killing gave rise to the required intent.
They said the way he concealed the body and lied to family and police were not the actions of a man who killed his wife accidentally.
The magistrate said the evidence was largely "circumstantial" but, taken at its highest, the case was strong enough for a jury to convict him of murder.
In emotional testimony at the committal hearing, the couple's daughter Sarah Ristevski said her father was never aggressive towards her mother.
The family's troubled financial situation was aired with details of Ms Ristevski's fashion store Bella Bleu being unable to cover its expenses.
The Ristevskis had allegedly argued over money before the killing.
Ristevski has been remanded in custody and is due to return to court on March 27 for a plea hearing.