Shopping centre security told police Borce was an ‘angry man’
SECURITY at a shopping centre where murdered mother Karen Ristevski had a fashion boutique told police her husband, Borce, was an “angry man”, according to a detective’s statement tendered to court.
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SECURITY at a shopping centre where murdered mother Karen Ristevski had a fashion boutique told police her husband, Borce, was an “angry man”.
Detective Senior Constable Adrian Care, in his statement tendered to the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court as part of a hearing to determine if Mr Ristevski should stand trial for murder, said he spoke to two security guards at the Watergardens shopping centre on July 2, 2016.
“Both stated Borce Ristevski was difficult to deal with and described him as an angry man,” Sen-Constable Care said.
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The detective had gone to the Taylors Lakes complex — where Mrs Ristevski owned and managed Bella Bleu — following reports of a possible sighting of her.
The sighting was ruled out after CCTV was reviewed.
Mrs Ristevski, 47, at that point, had been missing for three days.
The court heard today from four police officers, including Sen-Constable Care, who had interacted with Mr Ristevski in the days after his wife’s disappearance.
Mr Ristevski, 54, claims his wife walked out of their Avondale Heights home to clear her head on June 29 after they had fought about Bella Bleu’s stricken financial position.
He told Sen-Constable Ante Sandric, one of the first officers he spoke to when reporting his wife missing, that she had left “20-odd” times before but always came back.
When Mrs Ristevski’s body was found in a shallow grave at Mt Macedon eight months later, Mr Ristevski was charged with murder.
Police allege he killed her in the house before driving her black Mercedes roadster up the Calder Freeway to dump her body.
IT expert Matthew Sorell told the court he had spent 50 hours viewing CCTV of a black Mercedes — which police allege is Mrs Ristevski’s — travelling along a route from Avondale Heights to Diggers Rest on the day she went missing.
After seeing pictures of both Mr and Mrs Ristevski, Dr Sorell dismissed the driver in the grainy footage could be Mrs Ristevski.
“The physical features are not a match in terms of long hair, in particular, and the colour of the hair,” Dr Sorell told the court.
The University of Adelaide lecturer said the features were “broadly consistent” with Mr Ristevski.
He said the driver has short, “light-coloured, grey hair”.
It comes as the police statement of Karen’s aunt Patricia Gray was released, revealing she doubted Mr Ristevski’s account of what he did on the day his wife disappeared.
“I could tell Borce wasn’t assisting police or himself to find Karen which I found frustrating,” Ms Gray said.
She said Mr Ristevski had initially told her he took his wife’s car out on June 29 to get quotes from two garages to fix the faulty fuel gauge.
But she said he later told her that was wrong and that he had taken the car to refuel it.
“He said he missed the turn off for the garage and then he decided to go to the shop but he missed the turn off for that as well,” Ms Gray said.
“He then decided to go home.
“I accepted his first account about going to the garages for the quotes and was relieved because I believed police could verify his movements.
“But this second account appeared flimsy and I found it hard to fathom.”
The hearing will resume on Monday.