Borce Ristevski’s Avondale Heights house tenant shock as murder claim hidden

TENANTS living in the former home of Borce and Karen Ristevski were kept in the dark about the property’s history as an alleged murder scene before signing their lease and only found out about the news from neighbours.

EXCLUSIVE: TENANTS living in the former home of Borce and Karen Ristevski were not told the property was an alleged murder scene before signing their lease.

During a committal court hearing last month police alleged Mr Ristevski killed his wife in the Avondale Heights home before putting her body in the back of her black Mercedes Benz roadster and dumping her in a shallow grave at Mt Macedon.

The house owned by Mr Ristevski, an accused killer, has cost tens of thousands in rent, and the new residents were left in the dark over the history of the home.

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The Ristevski house in Avondale Heights. Picture: Jay Town

Jared Hopkins, one of five men living at the property, said real estate agents failed to disclose the home was a suspected murder scene, and that they had to hear the news from neighbours.

“When I heard … I was like holy sh*t and then I put two and two together,” he told the Herald Sun.

Richard Simpson, the president of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV), said: “The REIV advises its members to follow best practice in relation to such matters.

“Best practice would be to disclose any adverse events that have occurred in the property in recent times to any prospective tenant at the time of advertising the property for lease.”

Mr Ristevski is accused of murdering his wife inside the five-bedroom home they shared with their daughter Sarah on June 26, 2016.

A jury will decide his fate in March next year.

The Ristevski house backyard in Avondale Heights. Picture: Jay Town

Borce Ristevski at his home in Avondale Heights in July, 2016.

New laws were introduced to the Victoria parliament last week which would prevent real estate agencies from concealing a property’s undesirable past.

The laws would apply to properties which were the site of a homicide.

Non-concealment penalties will more than double to $19, 000 with the possibility for 12-month jail terms under the laws.

Mr Hopkins said he supports the push for greater transparency for tenants.

Another male resident warned he was “told not to talk” when asked if he was informed about the history of the home.

The Ristevski house in Avondale Heights. Picture: Jay Town

The estimated $1.1 million home was listed by Moonee Valley Real Estate Agency.

It declined to comment when asked why it failed to disclose allegations a murder took place within the home.

The property was advertised as having “unsurpassed luxury with panoramic river and city views” when it was originally listed on a rental website in November for $900 a week.

The asking price later dropped to $775 in April.

The property was advertised as having “unsurpassed luxury with panoramic river and city views” when it was originally listed. Picture: Jay Town

It is estimated the house owned by Mr Ristevski — who is relying on legal aid to defend his murder charge —has netted over $20, 000 in rent since leasing out the home about six months ago.

Dozens of witnesses were called to give evidence against Mr Ristevski during an almost two week hearing in July.

Evidence put to the court by prosecutors include inconsistencies with his account of events on the day of his wife’s disappearance and internet searches about how to find and delete Google maps tracking history.

The court heard Ms Ristevski’s black Mercedes was seen travelling on a route from Avondale Heights through Diggers Rest the day she disappeared, and that both hers and her husband’s mobile phone records “pinged” along the Calder Freeway.

Ms Ristevski’s body was discovered buried in a shallow grave in Mount Macedon eight months after she disappeared.

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