Sarah Ristevski stands alone in support of killer father Borce
Sarah Ristevski, the only daughter of Borce and Karen Ristevski has never wavered in support of her father, despite what he’s done to her mother.
Borce killed Karen, discarded her body in bushland and lied to his family about his involvement in her passing.
Sarah’s support did not waver even when Borce admitted to killing Karen.
However, her never-ending support has her on the outside of a family who’s struggling to come to terms with what Borce has done.
The split was evident when Sarah walked out of court alone.
Court of Appeal Chief Justice Anne Ferguson told the court that Borce would not be free until 2027 at the earliest, and Sarah didn’t even flinch.
Borce, however, turned red as the decision was read out.
In a revealing character reference that was read at Borce’s sentencing in March, Sarah wrote about the bond that her and her father have.
“I visited him every week and talked to him on the phone at least twice a day since his arrest in December 2017,” she wrote.
“If I could use a few words to describe my dad’s personality they would be loving, caring, sympathetic, protective and charismatic,” she wrote.
“When I was really young dad would get me up every morning and make sure I was ready for school. He did my hair, ironed my uniform and packed my lunch before driving me to and from school every day. He drove me to all of my extra-curricular activities and stayed to watch all of my sport activities even though I wasn’t very good.”
Other family members feel differently.
Karen’s aunt Patricia Gray and her cousin Nevada Knight avoided court on Friday and told an earlier hearing that they’d lost all respect for the man who took Karen’s life.
Knight told the Victorian Supreme Court that she lost 15kgs by “going days and weeks without being able to move” after Karen went missing.
“I would vomit every time I moved,” she said.
She also spoke about what Borce said to her at Karen’s funeral.
“I hugged him standing over her body at her gravesite where he whispered, ‘Thankyou for coming, your support means a lot’.”
Knight made her fury towards Borce known, saying that he was not remorseful for what he’d done.
“You’ve had almost three years to come forward. That’s not remorse. That’s selfishness.”
Hero image credit: Herald Sun