Juror referred to DPP for disobeying directions in Ricardo Barbaro's murder trial

A juror in Ricardo Barbaro's murder trial will be referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions after he disobeyed a judge's directions.

Barbaro's trial began in Victoria's Supreme Court this week, after the 36-year-old pleaded not guilty to the murder of his on-off girlfriend Ellie Price.

Price, 26, was found dead in her South Melbourne apartment in May 2020.

READ MORE: Two SA police officers stabbed, person shot dead during 'high-risk' incident

Fourteen jurors were empanelled for the trial in Melbourne on Monday, including 10 men and four women.

However, the jury was discharged by Justice Lex Lasry on Wednesday morning, after he discovered a juror had disobeyed his directions.

"It's going to be necessary for me to discharge you as a jury," he said.

"You did not follow my directions. I propose to refer the cause of this to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

"Thank you jury, you may now leave the court."

Sign up here to receive our daily newsletters and breaking news alerts, sent straight to your inbox.