Guilty plea over Kiwi wife’s death
Admission comes at start of five-week trial
Just as his five-week murder trial was due to start in Melbourne, Borce Ristevski has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his wife Karen Ristevski. The 47-year-old New Zealand woman, who moved to Australia when she was a child, went missing in the early hours of June 29, 2016.
Her decomposed body was discovered in bushland at Macedon Regional Park eight months later.
Ristevski had maintained his innocence, insisting his wife had left their home in Avondale Heights, Melbourne, on foot after an argument.
Police had alleged the father of two, 54, killed Karen and drove her body in her black Mercedes-Benz Roadster to dump it.
Ristevski told police he only drove the car to get petrol, changing his mind when the faulty fuel gauge showed it wasn’t needed.
He claimed he kept driving towards his wife’s dress store, Bella Bleu, but missed the turn-off so he decided to return home.
But detectives allege he lied about his movements that day to avoid detection.
In a hearing last year, forensic pathologist Professor Stephen Cordner told the court Karen had an irregular break in her hyoid bone — a bone in the neck — that could have been the result of a number of things, including blunt force trauma.
Cordner said it was difficult to say exactly what happened to Karen because her body was found so long after her disappearance.
Ahead of the trial, prosecutors had compiled a 22,000-page evidence brief, including CCTV footage of what they alleged was Ristevski driving his wife’s car to dump the body.
Gerard Curtin from Victoria police was tasked with investigating the financial situation of the Ristevskis after Karen disappeared.
At a committal hearing last year Curtin said the couple’s Bella Bleu fashion store “had serious cash flow issues” and they were in a dire financial situation.
A pre-sentence hearing is set down for March 27.