Emil ‘Bill’ Petrov found guilty of shooting wife Cindy Crossthwaite dead in Melton South home
The family of Cindy Crossthwaite say they are “happy” justice has been served after her estranged husband was found guilty of her murder almost two decades later.
Police & Courts
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The estranged husband of a woman found dead inside her home on Melbourne’s western fringe nearly two decades ago has been found guilty of murder.
Emil ‘Bill’ Petrov, 60, was accused of shooting Cindy Crossthwaite, 41, in the entry way to her Melton South home in June 2007 amid a bitter child custody and property dispute.
He denied wrongdoing, with his lawyers instead pointing the finger at his late father, Ljubisa Petrov, then 68, who they claimed orchestrated the killing without his son’s knowledge.
But a Supreme Court jury rejected those claims and returned their guilty verdict on Wednesday after a week of deliberations.
Petrov, who was asked to stand, had a blank expression as the jury returned its verdict before shaking his head.
His partner seated in the gallery in front of him turned to look at him, while another man pumped his fist and cheered.
Petrov, who was on bail during the trial, shared a kiss with his partner outside court just before the verdict.
He was remanded in custody to reappear in court for a pre-sentence hearing on March 21.
Outside court, Ms Crossthwaite’s aunt, Kathleen Jones, described her niece as a “beautiful girl” and said it had been a long road to justice.
“We’re just so happy she gets justice,” she said as she wiped away tears.
“And the children you know what It did to them was terribly, terribly sad.
“It’s just amazing for all the women who have been violated by men, domestic violence, it’s good that the justice system stood up and they finally got him.”
Earlier, the trial heard the couple were locked in a family court battle over property and custody of their children at the time of Ms Crossthwaite’s death.
The mother-of-three had also made unproven allegations of sexual abuse against Mr Petrov’s father, though no charges were ever laid and he has since died.
Crown prosecutor Mark Gibson KC said those issues provided a “powerful motive” for Petrov to kill his wife.
“There existed a deep-seated and enduring hatred that Bill Petrov harboured or had for Cindy Crossthwaite for what he believed that she had done to him over a period of time,” he said in his closing address.
“We know that Bill Petrov stood to gain a lot by killing Cindy Crossthwaite. He stood to
achieve vengeance for what he believed she had done to him and he stood to gain the opportunity to avoid assets being stripped from him.”
Crucial to the prosecution case was the evidence of Bill O’Shea, a drinking buddy of Petrov, who said he sourced a gun for his former friend about a year before Ms Crossthwaite’s death.
He also claimed Petrov showed him a wig, gloves and clothing in the boot of his car.
“I’m going to kill Cindy, will you help me? I’m going to kill the c--t,” Petrov said to Mr O’Shea about two months before the murder.
Mr O’Shea testified Petrov was like a “broken record” in his hatred towards his wife.
“That is all he ever talked about,” he said.
“How much he hated her and wanted to get rid of her. That was a common thing. It was a broken record.”
Mr O’Shea was charged alongside Petrov in 2019, but the jury was told he had his murder charge dropped after he agreed to give evidence against his former mate.
Defence barrister Ashley Halphen asked the jury to disregard Mr O’Shea’s evidence, claiming he was acting out of self-interest.
“He is prepared, you might think, to do whatever it takes to protect himself and, in so doing, we would submit that his evidence cannot be trusted,” he said.
He also said there was no forensic evidence linking his client to Ms Crossthwaite’s home or any eyewitnesses to the killing.
Mr Halphen instead laid the blame on Petrov’s father Ljubisa, who also had interest in the properties at the centre of the marital dispute.
Ms Crossthwaite’s body was found by her father near the doorway of her Melton South home after she failed to pick up her children from primary school.
She had been beaten, choked and shot in the head, with her body moved onto a mat and covered with a blanket.
Prosecutors said she was killed about 9.10am on June 20 in a “well-planned, well-implemented execution”.
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