Borce Ristevski blasted by Karen’s family as his brother Vasko says guilty plea ‘shocking’
Karen Ristevski’s aunt has slammed her killer husband Borce for remaining silent about how he ended the beloved mother’s life. Meanwhile, Borce’s brother, Vasko, said he had not been warned of the guilty plea, describing it as “shocking”.
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Karen Ristevski’s killer husband Borce has been blasted by her aunt for remaining silent about how he ended the beloved mother’s life.
Patricia Gray told the Herald Sun of her relief Ristevski had finally admitted killing his wife.
But she said Karen’s family was devastated he won’t detail what actually happened on June 29, 2016.
Ristevski finally confessed by pleading guilty to manslaughter after a murder charge was downgraded at the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
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“It is too little, too late,” Ms Gray said of Ristevski’s confession.
“He has done this for selfish reasons.
“He has done it because he is not willing to say what he did. He is just saying, ‘Yeah, OK, I did it’. So he is either covering up for someone or just can’t face it. I don’t know.
“He just won’t say. I’m gobsmacked. There is a reason, and it will be to suit him and no one else.”
The Herald Sun understands that Ristevski approached police last year to say that he would be willing to plead guilty to manslaughter.
But that offer was rejected, as investigators wanted to find out how Karen died and pursue the charge of murder.
Borce’s brother, Vasko, said the entering of a guilty plea was “shocking”. He had not been warned of it, and it had taken him by surprise.
“No, I didn’t know what was going on,” he said from his home in Hoppers Crossing on Thursday.
“No, I haven’t heard from Borce.”
On July 14, 2016, Ms Gray accompanied Ristevski and the couple’s daughter, Sarah, at a media conference near the family home in Avondale Heights, taking on the role of family spokesman, as Ristevski stayed silent.
The conference ended when a reporter asked Ristevski if he killed his wife. He did not answer.
By that time Mrs Ristevski’s relatives had begun to suspect Borce may have had something to do with the 47-year-old’s disappearance.
They are relieved he has finally admitted he killed her, but are anxious to discover what really happened inside the $1.1 million family home.
“He won’t tell anyone what happened. He is maintaining his silence,” Ms Gray said.
“Whether his lawyers have said if you do this (plead guilty) and it will be less (of a sentence) because he knows he is going down for it anyway …
“If you look at the people who go up for manslaughter, they all say what happened, but he is not going to say what he did. This is very bizarre.
“Why can’t he admit it? Why can’t he say? It is for selfish reasons.”
On Thursday, friends of Mrs Ristevski left flowers and a burning candle by her grave at Williamstown Cemetery.
Ristevski’s 11th-hour plea, on the eve of his trial, came after Justice Christopher Beale ruled the prosecution could not use evidence of his conduct after his wife’s death to prove murderous intent.
Ristevski, who turned 55 on Thursday, is due back in court for a pre-sentence plea hearing on March 27.
KAREN DEATH IS STILL DARK RIDDLE
Exactly what happened to Karen Ristevski on the night of her death will probably never be clear.
Her husband Borce did not call an ambulance after his fatal attack on his wife at their Avondale Heights home but shifted into self-preservation mode, hastily engineering a cover-up that delayed justice for the best part of three years.
One theory is that the couple fought and Mrs Ristevski was severely injured, possibly by hitting her head, after her husband attacked her.
But every millimetre of the Oakley Drive property was scrutinised during the missing persons squad’s investigation.
There are suspicions the death scene in the house was carefully cleaned to remove any evidence of violence, as a fastidious forensic examination found no sign of blood or any other indication that anyone had been injured.
The police investigation was difficult from the start.
Ristevski’s contention that his wife had simply walked away after an argument — however improbable — could not be countered in the initial absence of proof she was dead.
Any potential assistance from the couple’s daughter, Sarah, was also lost, as she supported her father.
Ristevski was able to convince her he had nothing to do with what had happened to her mother, and that the police were after the wrong man.
There is speculation that Ristevski might have pleaded guilty to manslaughter earlier, but for what he had already told his daughter.
Some police are convinced that Ristevski never intended to kill his wife.
There was no evidence he wanted her dead and his on-the-fly attempts to conceal what he had done did not indicate premeditation. But in the end his web of deceit was futile, only delaying the inevitable.
Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said on Wednesday justice would “move through the courts more quickly” after the guilty plea.
“Certainly for people required to give evidence and other members of the family … it speeds up the process, and it’s all part of that bargaining, that plea situation, that is dealt with as a matter of course,” he told ABC radio.
“Everyone worked very hard on that case. When you build those circumstantial cases, it can be laborious and painstaking and often can, in some cases, come down to a jury accepting the circumstantial matters — proving beyond reasonable doubt that a certain set of facts has occurred.”
— Mark Buttler