Borce Ristevski’s daughter Sarah opens up on why she’s standing by killer dad

Sarah Ristevski has opened up on her close relationship with father Borce, despite the fact he is currently serving a 13-year sentence for killing her mother Karen.

The 24-year-old sat down with Channel Nine reporter Liz Hayes in tonight’s episode of 60 Minutes to publicly discuss for the first time her mother’s death and disappearance at the hands of her father. And, while Borce confessed to his wife’s manslaughter last year, Sarah said she still isn’t sure what happened that day in June 2016.

“I don’t know how to explain it, but I think even if it was my mum in this position, I’d do the same and I think people need to understand how close we all were,” she told Hayes at the start of the show. “I’m not just going to give up on someone especially when I’m so close. It’s my dad.”

Sarah was just 21 when her mother Karen vanished from the family’s Melbourne home and she stood firmly by her father’s side in the three years that followed as Borce continued to deny having anything to do with his wife’s disappearance. Even after Karen’s remains were found in February 2017, he maintained his story for more than two years.

When Karen disappeared Sarah was finishing her university studies and revealed she was on her way to an internship when she last saw her mother alive at the family’s Avondale Heights home. Remembering their last encounter, she told Hayes that her mother had seemed fine and that she didn’t sense anything wrong or unusual before she left.

However when she returned to the house at the end of the day, graphic designer Sarah admitted she thought it was “weird that she wasn’t there”.

“He [Borce] said that she’d gone for a walk and not come back,” she said. “She was upset that the store hadn’t done well the day before and dad said, ‘Maybe we should do a sale,’ and she didn’t want to do a sale.”

Karen Ristevski was 47 when she went missing. At the time Borce, who was the last person to see Karen alive, told police she left the home to clear her head after they’d argued, but, after failing to return the next day, he reported her missing.

It was eight months before her remains were discovered by horticulturists in the Mount Macedon Regional Park. Then, more than two years later, he admitted to killing his wife and dumping her body.

The 55-year-old is currently serving a 13-year sentence behind bars for the manslaughter of his wife. Ristevski was initially sentenced to nine years, however in December last year the Court of Appeal increased his sentence to 13 years with a non parole period of 10 years.

Sarah still visits her father though and admitted that they “just don’t talk about what happened”. She said: “People don ‘t see the pain that I see when  I go to see him.”

Visibly upset, Sarah also revealed she confronted her dad and asked him if he had anything to do with it, to which he replied: “No.” And, while he did enter a guilty plea, Sarah also admitted: “I don’t know what to believe … I hate thinking about what’s happened and I’d rather think of the better times.”

As the interview neared its end, Hayes said: “It’s hard I think for people to understand why you support your father.” To which Sarah responded: “I think that because at the end of the day he’s my father and I have one parent left.

“And even though he’s pleaded guilty I guess sometimes I just find it hard that’s guilty. But I think if I was in his position he would be by my side.”

She added: “I love my dad now I loved him before and I’ll love him in 11 years when he’s home.”