Prosecutors fight for longer sentence for wife killer Borce Ristevski
Borce Ristevski killed his wife, dumped her body in bushland and denied any involvement until the eve of his trial. Prosecutors have argued his silence is a significant reason why his six-year jail term was “manifestly inadequate”.
Law & Order
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Borce Ristevski’s “silence” on how he killed his wife was given insufficient weight by the sentencing judge, the prosecution has argued in its bid to have him caged for longer.
The Director of Public Prosecutions launched an appeal amid public outcry after Ristevski was jailed earlier this year for a minimum of six years for killing his wife, Karen.
The head sentence was just nine years.
Chief prosecutor Brendan Kissane QC told the Court of Appeal the Ristevski case was not one where an explanation had been given that it was an “accident”.
“Something bad must have happened inside that house,” Mr Kissane told the court. “We say his silence has a number of impacts.
“It’s difficult to say you’re remorseful when you’re not prepared to say what occurred. It also has an impact in leaving the other family members in circumstances where they do not know what occurred to their loved one.
“The court will have seen the many victim impact statements where a considerable amount of grief was expressed — part of the grief was not knowing what occurred on the day in question. That continued up until the time of the trial and plea, and continues to this day — that they’re in a position of not knowing what occurred.”
Three judges – the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria Anne Ferguson and justices Simon Whelan and Phillip Priest — oversaw the hearing, which ran for just under 1 ½ hours.
Ristevski, 55, appeared at the Court of Appeal hearing via video link from prison, wearing a white shirt and tie. His hands were clasped on the table in front of him the entire time.
He only spoke three words, replying “yes I am” when asked to confirm his identity.
Mr Kissane also made a point of the length of the Ristevskis’ relationship, saying they had been married for 27 years.
He argued that the killing of Mrs Ristevski was a “significant breach of trust”.
“The longer the relationship, the more entitled one is to feel safe in one’s own home; it’s not an irrelevant matter that they’d been together a long time,” he said.
“This was a killing where there was some evidence of minor arguments ... if anything, it was surprising that it occurred.”
However, Borce Ristevski’s barrister, David Hallowes, SC, said the longevity of the couple’s relationship was irrelevant.
He drew on a character reference provided by the couple’s daughter, Sarah, in his argument, where she described her father as the “calm one”.
Chief Justice Anne Ferguson responded: “Looking at it the other way, it’s all the more puzzling how it came about.”
There was also a terse exchange after Justice Simon Whelan said Ristevski “killed his wife in her home for no apparent reason”, only to be corrected by the defence, who said it was “an unknown reason”.
But Justice Whelan said: “There is no evidence of reason so there’s no apparent reason for what he did.”
Mr Hallowes described the sentencing remarks of Justice Christopher Beale as “impeccable”, arguing he had taken into consideration the aggravating factors, including Ristevski’s lies and dumping of his wife’s body, balanced with his good character, no priors and prospects for rehabilitation.
“We say the sentence is within range,” Mr Hallowes said.
He described Ristevski as “a man of good character”.
In written submissions to the court, the DPP said Justice Beale:
• FAILED to fix a sentence commensurate with the circumstances of the offending;
• GAVE too much weight to the lack of information about the unlawful and dangerous act;
• FAILED to have sufficient regard to significant aggravating features when determining the nature and the objective gravity of the offending, particularly in the context of family violence and the breach of trust;
• HAD insufficient regard to the impact of Ristevski’s offending on the victims;
• DIDN’T give sufficient weight to the principles of general deterrence, specific deterrence, denunciation and just punishment;
• FAILED to have sufficient regard to the maximum penalty for the offence; and
• PLACED too much weight on the matters in mitigation, particularly in light of the lack of remorse, including his plea of guilty and prospects of rehabilitation.
Karen’s brother Stephen Williams sat in the front row of the hearing as he continues to pursue justice for his slain sister.
After the sentence in April, he told reporters outside court: “We didn’t get justice.”
Outside court today, he refrained from commenting, saying he would wait until a judgment was handed down “hopefully in the next two weeks”.
The three judges have reserved their decision to a later date.
Ristevski had always denied any involvement in his wife’s disappearance.
He told police they had a fight about finances and she stormed out of their Avondale Heights home on foot on June 29, 2016.
The father of two’s lies about what happened to his wife of 27 years continued even after her body was found wedged between tree trunks in Mt Macedon eight months later.
He did not cave until the eve of his trial when the prosecution was forced to downgrade the charge to manslaughter instead of murder after a Supreme Court ruling they could not rely on post-offence conduct to prove murderous intent.
With the new indictment filed, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
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Prosecutors had pushed Justice Beale to consider it a serious example of the crime, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years’ jail.
Aggravating factors, they said, included that Mrs Ristevski was killed in her own home where she should have felt safe, before being placed in the boot of her own car, and driven to bushland where he dumped her body.
His web of lies, lack of remorse and refusal to say how she died also made his crime more serious, they argued.
But Justice Beale, in handing down his sentence in April, said the lack of knowledge about Mrs Ristevski’s death made it impossible to determine the seriousness of his crime.
The mother’s cause of death could not be determined because her body was so badly decomposed.