Borce Ristevski changed mobile number twice to avoid police scrutiny
Secret recordings of Borce Ristevski’s conversations have revealed the web of lies woven by the wife killer, and the measures he took in order to avoid the surveillance of suspicious police officers. This is what he said to his worried daughter after wife Karen’s disappearance.
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Wife killer Borce Ristevski changed his mobile number twice to avoid police scrutiny as investigators zeroed in on him over his wife’s disappearance.
The prosecution’s amended notice of evidence of incriminating conduct has revealed a series of phone conversations a paranoid Ristevski had with family and friends after he claimed she walked out of their Avondale Heights home after having a fight about finances on June 29, 2016.
WHAT DROVE BORCE RISTEVSKI TO KILL HIS WIFE?
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In one conversation, being tapped by investigators who suspected him of being involved in his wife’s disappearance, a remorseless Ristevski said it was not up to him to clear his name.
He also spoke of not wanting to have anything to do with the police and that he knew “they’re listening”.
In November 2016, the father of two got his daughter Sarah’s boyfriend to get him a new SIM card.
Three months later, on February 1, 2017, Ristevski told him that he needs another SIM because his current one had been tapped.
Weeks earlier, a listening device planted inside the family’s Avondale Heights home, captured Ristevski being critical of police in a conversation with his daughter.
When his daughter quizzed him about not telling the police where he went, Ristevski replied: “What’s that got to do with the fact they haven’t looked anywhere else.”
He added: “They don’t give a f---.”
There was evidence he also interfered with witnesses, telling one friend he had failed to tell police he went to Lalor on the day Ms Ristevski disappeared.
“Make sure you don't repeat anything … nothing at all,” he was overhead saying.
The prosecution’s notice was published on Monday as part of Justice Christopher Beale’s written reasons for ruling Ristevski’s post offence conduct as inadmissable to prove murderous intent on the eve of a five-week murder trial.
His Supreme Court ruling, last Wednesday, meant the prosecution had to drop the murder charge against him and file a new indictment for manslaughter.
Ristevski then shocked everyone by pleading guilty to the lesser charge.
His defence counsel, David Hallowes SC, had suggested Ristevski may have concealed the death because he feared the unlawful killing of his wife would attract a substantial prison term and cause irreparable damage to his relationship with his daughter.
“I considered there to be much force in those submissions,” Justice Beale said in his written ruling.
“They made it difficult to see how a jury could properly find that the only reasonable explanation for the post offence conduct was that the accused was conscious of having killed his wife with murderous intent.”
Ms Ristevski’s body was found wedged between two fallen treen trunks off a bush track near Mt Macedon in February 2017.
Mr Hallowes had argued Ms Ristevski was “the heartbeat” of the Bella Bleu clothing business in which the couple operated, which was more of a motive for Ristevski not to kill his wife.
He had also pointed out that there were no witnesses on that morning who heard yelling or screaming coming from the family home.
Mr Hallowes suggested Ristevski’s conduct was spontaneous and the post offence conduct was consistent with a “panicked reaction”, Justice Beale said.
Further evidence of the spontaneity was photographs of a couple of shovels left in the garage, which had not been used in any effort to bury Ms Ristevski, Mr Hallowes had argued.
But the prosecution said the act of concealing the body on its own bespoke murderous intent.
Prosecutor Brendan Kissane QC had argued one would have expected him to raise the alarm with authorities, and sought help, if he had killed her unintentionally.
That is opposed to putting her body in a boot and driving it to a remote location to dump, before lying to family, friends and investigators, Mr Kissane had argued.
The prosecution had to concede the financial evidence went no higher than supporting an inference that the difficulties faced by the couple was significant and may have fuelled an argument.
“It did not establish a motive,” Justice Beale ruled.