Fugitive ‘relieved ordeal at an end’
FUGITIVE Ricardo Barbaro told his lawyer he is “relieved the ordeal is over” after he was arrested following a bloody stand-off with heavily armed police in Sydney yesterday.
The 33-year-old’s arrest over Ellie Price’s violent murder in South Melbourne brought to an end a 10-day manhunt.
It took tactical police 75 minutes in a pre-dawn raid to capture Barbaro – who comes from a notorious mafia family – following a tip-off he was hiding in a Sydney penthouse.
He was last night being extradited from NSW by road and is due to arrive in Melbourne where he will face charges relating to the murder of the 26-year-old mum.
Lawyer Campbell MacCallum told the Bulletin his client had made “no admissions to any wrongdoing” over the murder of his girlfriend.
“He seemed quite calm, he seemed relieved the ordeal was over,” Mr MacCallum said of Barbaro’s arrest.
“He is obviously quite distressed, he is reluctant to talk about Ellie. He shies away from talking about her. He is a bit distressed and shaken up over her death.
“He certainly hasn’t made any admissions to any wrongdoing. There is no indication of what part, if any, he played in the unlawful killing of this young lady.”
Homicide detectives believe Ms Price may have been dead for almost a week before she was found in her Park St apartment on May 4.
A tip-off led officers from NSW Police’s State Crime Command’s Robbery and Serious Crime Squad and the Tactical Operations Unit to an apartment in the western Sydney suburb Wentworth Point about 11pm on Wednesday.
Barbaro was hiding in the apartment of 27-year-old Sydney woman Crystal Shihada.
Police forced their way into the apartment but it was completely empty so they raced to the level above where the dramatic arrest took place.
A tense scuffle allegedly erupted as police tried to arrest Barbaro, who is understood to have smashed into a mirror as he attempted to flee.
Police then took him to the nearby Burwood station where he was seen handcuffed wearing a black Adidas tracksuit.
Barbaro attended Parramatta court for a brief hearing but chose to not appear on the screen in the courtroom.
Magistrate Rodney Brender asked Barbaro’s lawyer if he opposed the extradition.
Mr MacCallum responded “no opposition your honour”.