How Missing Persons Squad conducted their marathon investigation into Karen Ristevski‘s death
METHODICAL detectives refused to call off the marathon pursuit of Karen Ristevski’s killer, knowing the culprit would eventually emerge. This is how they carried out their investigation into what quickly turned into one of Victoria’s most gripping murder mysteries in decades.
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WHAT quickly turned into one of the state’s most gripping murder mysteries in decades had an innocuous start on a cold Saturday afternoon in June last year.
At that stage, local police held a media conference to appeal for information about a missing mum, Karen Ristevski, who had walked out of the family’s home in Avondale Heights after an argument with her husband.
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During the low-key media conference, Borce Ristevski and the couple’s daughter, Sarah, pleaded for people to keep an eye out for Karen and for her to get in touch.
In the days following the first media conference, the Ristevski case had already changed hands several times within Victoria Police — a reflection of the growing concern within the force.
It had quickly gone from being handled by Senior Constable Ante Sandric at Avondale Heights police station to experienced detectives at Victoria Police’s Missing Persons Squad, based at the force’s Spencer St complex.
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The disappearance attracted nationwide attention, as friends including high-profile actors and musicians expressed their profound fears.
Sarah plastered her suburb with posters and begged for help from the public, saying her mum would never deliberately leave her.
As the days turned into weeks and there was still no sign of Mrs Ristevski, detectives homed in on the theory her husband could have had something to do with it.
Long before the 47-year-old’s body was found in bushland near Macedon on February 20 this year, detectives suspected Borce Ristevski was their man.
They canvassed relatives, asking about the Ristevskis’ marriage and whether there had been any tension between the couple.
A former partner later told the Herald Sun detectives had asked about Mr Ristevski’s sexual fantasies and whether he had been violent towards her during their relationship, including during sex.
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“She (the detective) asked me if he ever hit me and if he had a temper,” said the woman, who the Herald Sun has chosen not to name.
Police also questioned Mr Ristevski’s son from his relationship before Karen.
Relatives said police questioned whether Anthony Rickard would have a reason to “cover up” for his father.
“A missing person’s detective called me, it was quite late at night, and I verified everything,” the woman said.
“He asked me things like, ‘do I think Anthony could be covering for his father’ and I said, ‘not in a million years’.”
Mr Rickard, from Diggers Rest, said that in initial meetings with detectives, he was asked whether his father owned property and whether Mr Ristevski had visited him on June 29.
It would later emerge that Mrs Ristevski’s black Mercedes-Benz was caught on CCTV in a street just a block from Mr Rickard’s house.
In August last year, the Herald Sun revealed police were taking evidence obtained from the phones of both Mr and Mrs Ristevski very seriously.
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Data allegedly showed that on the day Mrs Ristevski vanished without a trace, both of their phones had “pinged” off transmission towers on the Calder Freeway.
Mr Ristevski’s phone was last tracked near Diggers Rest and Mrs Ristevski’s phone was tracked near Gisborne. His phone was also switched off for two hours on the day.
Less than a fortnight after the first press conference, Mr Ristevski was interviewed by detectives. During the course of the discussions he had with police, Mr Ristevski had to answer questions about the business he shared with his wife.
The Ristevski family owned the Bella Bleu boutique at the Watergardens Town Centre in Taylors Lakes in Melbourne’s northwest. Property records showed a caveat had been placed on the Ristevski family home earlier in 2016.
Mr Ristevski has consistently denied the family was in financial trouble but did admit he had a heated discussion with his wife relating to money on the morning she vanished.
While some detectives looked at the financial situation of the family, other investigators concentrated on trying to find CCTV footage that backed up the theory the Ristevskis could have been in the Diggers Rest area on the day Mrs Ristevski vanished, which the mobile data seemed to suggest.
On December 19 last year, a scorching summer day, police carried out an extensive search of farmland northwest of Melbourne. Investigators supervised teams of SES crews dressed in orange overalls as they combed the parched land between Diggers Rest and Toolern Vale.
CFA crews drained dams and police search-and-rescue divers were brought in to check waterways.
At that time, there was still no sign of the missing woman’s handbag she had supposedly carried with her when she left for a walk to “clear her head”.
A breakthrough was announced by Inspector Tim Day, who had recently taken over the probe from Inspector Stephen Dennis, on June 16 this year.
Insp Day revealed CCTV footage seized by police showed what they believed could be Mrs Ristevski’s distinctive black Mercedes being driven through Diggers Rest on the day she disappeared. Her body was found nearby at Mt Macedon on February 20.
Police had also taken a statement from a witness who had reported seeing a car matching that description in Childers Rd — 1.5km away from where Mrs Ristevski’s body was found — on the day she went missing.
It also emerged that during his initial interview with police, Mr Ristevski was unable to account for his movements for a period of around 100 minutes.
In a bizarre twist, Vasko Ristevski, Borce’s brother, was spotted by a TV crew at the place where his sister-in-law’s body was found. He said he was there to lay some flowers before making a quick exit.
On August 30 this year, investigators were seen at the place where Mrs Ristevski’s body was found.
Investigators staged a recreation of the route they thought the mother’s killer might have taken from Avondale Heights to Mt Macedon.
Police were seen meticulously repeating the journey in a distinctive black Mercedes-Benz SLK coupe identical to the car that belonged to Mrs Ristevski.
A team of investigators stayed at the scene for just over 20 minutes before the Mercedes left at 1.58pm, followed by the police cars. Shortly before 2.45pm, the Mercedes pulled up at the Ristevski family home in Avondale Heights.
Insp Day confirmed in June that Mr Ristevski was being treated as a suspect in the investigation into the murder of his wife.
Today, 532 days after Mrs Ristevski vanished, her husband sat in the dock at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court charged with her murder.
RISTEVSKI MURDER MYSTERY TIMELINE
June 29, 2016: Avondale Heights woman Karen Ristevski disappears from her home. Her husband tells police she walked out after an argument.
July 2, 2016: The Herald Sun reports on the disappearance, including an interview with daughter Sarah Ristevski, who pleads for her mum to come home.
July 12, 2016: The Herald Sun reveals husband Borce Ristevski has been interviewed over the disappearance of his wife.
July 13, 2016: The Herald Sun reports specialist police have been called in, and police fear Mrs Ristevski was murdered.
July 14, 2016: Police expand their search area and invite the media to film the search.
July 15, 2016: It is revealed there was a discrepancy in Borce Ristevski’s statement that his wife walked from their house. Security cameras do not show her leaving the property on foot.
July 23, 2016: Mrs Ristevski’s stepson, Anthony Rickard, speaks of a family conflict. Mr Rickard and other relatives are interviewed by police.
July 27, 2016: Borce Ristevski stops co-operating with police. The Herald Sun reveals this development on the front page.
August 23, 2016: Borce Ristevski breaks his silence and speaks exclusively to the Herald Sun.
August 27, 2016: The Herald Sun reveals that Mrs Ristevski’s phone “pinged” in the Gisborne area the day she disappeared, and her husband’s phone was detected in Diggers Rest.
September 8, 2016: The Herald Sun reports CCTV shows Mrs Ristevski’s car leaving her home on the day she disappeared.
October 31, 2016: The Herald Sun reveals police sent a potentially key piece of evidence in the case to the United States.
December 20-22, 2016: As the sixth-month anniversary of the disappearance approaches, police search farmland near Toolern Vale.
February 20, 2017: Mrs Ristevski’s remains are found in the bush near Macedon.
February 25, 2017: Borce Ristevski’s mother speaks to the Herald Sun to defend her son. Borce is later named as the key suspect in the murder, but denies involvement.
June 16, 2017: The Herald Sun reveals CCTV footage showed Mrs Ristevski’s car driven in Diggers Rest on the day she vanished. Police believe her husband may have been behind the wheel of the car.
June 17, 2017: The front page of the Herald Sun reveals police had previously seized an iPad from the Ristevski household. The iPad was alleged to have had a history of Google searches on “how police can detect traces of blood”.
June 21, 2017: The Herald Sun reveals front-page allegations that Borce Ristevski is unable to explain his whereabouts for 100 minutes on the day his wife disappeared.
August 31, 2017: Detectives test Mrs Ristevski’s car in a drive between her house and where her body was found.
December 13, 2017: Borce Ristevski is arrested about 7.20am in Keilor by detectives from the Missing Persons Squad. He faces Melbourne Magistrates’ Court shortly after 10am and is charged with murder.