Borce Ristevski committed to stand trial charged with wife's murder

Borce Ristevski has been committed to stand trial for the murder of his wife Karen, and has pleaded not guilty.

The 54-year-old allegedly killed his dress shop-owner wife, 47, at their Avondale Heights home in Melbourne's north-west on June 29, 2016, before dumping her body in the bush.

Mrs Ristevski's remains were found between two logs at Macedon Regional Park about eight months after she vanished.

This morning Magistrate Sue Cameron ordered Mr Ristevski to stand trial in the Supreme Court for the murder of Mrs Ristevski.

Magistrate Cameron found it is a circumstantial case against the accused, and that the prosecution is relying heavily on alleged post-offence conduct.

The prosecution allege that after killing the 47-year-old, Mr Ristevski allegedly drove her body to bushland, delayed reporting her missing, and turned his phone off while driving around in her car.

Mr Ristevski has entered a formal not guilty plea to the charge of murder. 

During a two-week committal hearing, a secretly recorded discussion between murder-accused and his daughter, Sarah, was played in court, revealing she thought his story "didn't make sense" after her mum went missing.

The conversation was recorded on a listening device after a warrant was obtained by police for covert surveillance on the family's luxury home.

In the conversation, Sarah questions her dad's movements in the hours after Mrs Ristevski disappears.

READ MORE: 'Doesn't make sense': Ristevski daughter quizzes dad in secret recording

The Melbourne Magistrate’s Court also heard about searches on the family iPad that were made on July 1 and 2 after Mrs Ristevski disappeared.

The searches allegedly included, 'how to delete and disable your Google history?', 'where to find map that shows Google is tracking your location', 'find location history in Google Maps on iPhone' and 'Apple Maps timeline Google search'.

Prosecutor Matt Fisher told the court Mrs Ristevski's death "isn't an accidental killing", and that there is enough evidence for a jury to convict the father of murder.

Mr Ristevski's lawyers said the murder charge should be abandoned because even if a jury were to find he killed his wife, there is no evidence of motive or "murderous intent".

David Hollowes SC conceded there is enough evidence for Mr Ristevski to be ordered to stand trial for the lesser charge of manslaughter, but added that's no concession his client killed his wife.

Mr Fisher argued the accused actions after allegedly killing his wife proves he had murderous intent and should be committed to stand trial for murder.

Mrs Ristevski's cause of death was never determined because her remains were found badly decomposed.

The couple were directors of a fashion boutique, and at the time of the alleged murder the business appeared to be floundering.

"There was a constant struggle with sales revenue not able to meet business expenses," Victoria Police forensic accountant Gerard Curtin told the court yesterday.

"If you can't cover your rent, wages and stock you're not going to be surviving and this business wasn't covering that."

Mr Curtin said a company called Warrant Brands, of which the Ristevskis were directors, had traded as the fashion store Bella Bleu.

But as of July 1, 2016 a new company called Envirovision, directed by Mr Ristevski with daughter Sarah as shareholder, had evolved.

"All the revenue from Bella Bleu was going into this company," Mr Curtin said.

"As at June 30, Warrant Brands no longer has any income.

"I've got absolutely no idea why that would've occurred. It has no real impact on the liabilities of Warrant Brands."