Childhood friend of Karen Ristevski reveals she nearly found Melbourne mum's body
A childhood friend of Karen Ristevski has revealed she came within metres of finding the Melbourne mother's body during a search in bushland.
Borce Ristevski will today be sentenced for the manslaughter of his wife after he admitted last month to killing Karen at their home in 2016 and dumping her body in bushland.
He faces a jail term of up to 20 years.
MORE: Borce Ristevski jailed for at least six years for manslaughter of wife Karen
Melbourne man Borce Ristevski, who pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his wife Karen and dumped her body in bushland will today learn his jail term. Supplied
Karen's friend Sam – who declined to give her surname - told Today this morning she and her sister feared the worst when the beloved mother disappeared on June 29, 2016.
"We both knew the day she went missing what had happened to her," she told Today.
"As soon as we heard that she was last seen in Toolern Vale, each weekend we would meet in Bacchus Marsh and we would drive between Toolern Vale and Mount Macedon and I guess towards the end … we actually went everywhere looking for her.
"Water catchments, hillsides, mountains, but we really didn't believe she had just been left without being covered.
"In Macedon, my sister said, 'I can smell something.'
"'I said, 'Don't worry, it's probably just a kangaroo.'
"Later on, we found that's where she was found."
It was just 50 metres from where Karen's body had been dumped.
Karen Ristevski's childhood friend Sam. Today
Ristevski pleaded guilty to Karen's manslaughter on the eve of the trial against him. Supplied
Sam said Karen's loved ones were disappointed in the manslaughter plea but hoped Ristevski received a lengthy sentence today to give the family closure.
"He controlled how Karen died, he controlled where she went, that her body wasn't looked after," she said.
"Now he is controlling that he is able to have a lighter sentence which I find incredibly, incredibly unfair."
An autopsy could not determine the cause of her death, and Ristevski has never provided a description of how his wife died.
Ristevski killed his 47-year-old bride at their Avondale Heights home before bundling her body into her Mercedes-Benz.
The 55-year-old drove Karen to Macedon Regional Park and covered her body in branches, with her skeletal remains found between logs by horticulturalists eight months later.
An autopsy could not determine the cause of her death, and Ristevski has never provided a description of how his wife died.
Ristevksi was charged with murder in December 2017 after a lengthy police investigation, involving listening devices and analysis of CCTV footage.
In March, Supreme Court of Victoria Justice Christopher Beale ruled that evidence available could not prove murderous intent.
Ristevski instead pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Ristevski was a pallbearer at his wife's funeral and lied to her family for years, with loved ones subsequently condemning his actions and untruths as "vicious" and "agonising".
But the couple's daughter, Sarah, has supported her father throughout the ordeal, providing a "glowing reference" for him in March at his pre-sentence plea hearing.
"Growing up as a family, my mum, dad and I were completely inseparable... the love we had for each other was unexplainable," she wrote in a letter to the court.
"The circumstances have left me without both of my parents... all I can do is try to communicate the truth of how good of a dad and husband he was to my mum and I."
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