Lawyers want Borce Ristevski committed on manslaughter, not murder, court hears
LAWYERS for Borce Ristevski have urged a magistrate to commit him on manslaughter instead of murder. Here’s why.
Law & Order
Don't miss out on the headlines from Law & Order. Followed categories will be added to My News.
LAWYERS for Borce Ristevski have urged a magistrate to commit him on manslaughter instead of murder.
Defence barrister David Hallowes told Magistrate Sue Cameron that they planned to make submissions she shouldn’t commit him on the charge of murder.
The Herald Sun understands it is in no way an indication he will plead guilty to manslaughter.
It is more a reflection on the evidence does not point to murder.
HOW THE KAREN RISTEVSKI MURDER CASE INTRIGUED US
PHONES ‘DEACTIVATED’ ON DAY KAREN WENT MISSING
FIRST DAY OF BORCE RISTEVSKI’S COMMITTAL HEARING
CARLYON: RISTEVSKI CASE A SINISTER TALE IN SUBURBIA
Ms Cameron is expected to hear another day of evidence tomorrow before defence will have an opportunity to make their submissions.
But Mr Hallowes outlined his plans at the end of today’s evidence, when Ms Cameron is asked how the case was progressing and when they expected to finish.
Earlier a forensic expert told the court strangulation or blunt force trauma were both “possibilities” as to how slain mother Karen Ristevski was killed.
Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine’s Professor Stephen Cordner briefly gave evidence on Tuesday in a committal hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates Court to determine if Mrs Ristevski’s husband, Borce, should stand trial over her murder.
Defence lawyer David Hallowes questioned him about the results of Mrs Ristevski’s autopsy, which an earlier court heard was unable to determine her cause of death.
Prof Cordner confirmed one finding was that the Avondale Heights mother’s skull was in tact with no trauma.
But he said it was still a “possibility” Mrs Ristevski died from head injuries.
“You don’t need to fracture the skull to die from head injuries,” Prof Cordner told the court.
He said it could not be determined if a missing piece of Mrs Ristevski’s hyoid bone in her throat occurred ante-mortem.
It could be a result of, he said, compression or blunt force, or animal interference after death as her body lay in the elements for eight months.
“We have other evidence of animals interfering with those remains,” he said.
Asked by Mr Hallowes if it was more likely to be one scenario over another, Prof Cordner said: “They can’t be distinguished.”
He said when dealing with a body so decomposed “it’s quite difficult to say that any particular fracture was before or after death”.
Forensic pathologist Yeliena Baber conducted the autopsy on Mrs Ristevki’s remains on February 21, a day after her body was found.
In her statement, tendered to the court, she said the cause of death was “unascertained”.
“At autopsy, the body was in advanced stages of decomposition and was almost completely skeletonised,” Dr Baber said.
“Within the limitations of the examination, no injuries were identified. This does not rule out the possibility of soft tissue injury or signs of assault having been present at the time of death.”
She said they were also unable to rule out she had died from natural causes as her organs were absent.
But she added the fact the body had been found “hidden between two felled trees and covered with branches raises the question of the mechanism of death”.
Channel 9 news journalist Kieran Jones detailed to the court a phone conversation he had with Mr Ristevski on July 20, 2016.
He said Mr Ristevski had “got wind” that A Current Affair was doing a story about his family’s financial situation and wanted help to put a stop to it.
The Ristevskis had been happy with Mr Jones' earlier coverage, aired on Melbourne’s 6pm news bulletin, to raise awareness about Karen being missing, the court heard.
Mr Jones said he believed the purpose of the call was to get him, as an employee of Channel 9, which airs ACA, “to intervene”.
“I said ‘I can see what I can do, but I’m not an employee of ACA’,” Mr Jones said.
Mr Jones said in the “8-10 minute” call Mr Ristevski only spoke about his wife when the reporter asked him how the search was going.
“He wanted to talk predominantly about the financial situation,” Mr Jones told the court.
Mr Ristevski, 54, is charged with murdering his wife at their Avondale Heights home on June 29, 2016.
He has denied any involvement, telling police she had walked out of their home that morning to clear her head after they fought over finances.
The court has heard Mrs Ristevski has walked out “20-odd” times before but always returned within a few hours.
Her skeletal remains were found wedged between two logs in Mt Macedon bushland in February 2017.
The hearing, before Magistrate Sue Cameron, continues.