'Hurting as much as I am': Sarah Ristevski reveals why she'll stand by dad Borce
Despite her father’s guilty plea to killing her mother, Borce Ristevski’s daughter still stands by him.
“At the end of the day, he’s my father,” Sarah Ristevski said in a revealing 60 Minutes interview, which aired on the Nine Network on Sunday night.
Four years on from mother Karen’s death, the 24-year-old revealed in her first public appearance outside of court she did not want to even think about how she came to be left with just the one parent.
“Even though he’s pled guilty, I guess sometimes I just find it hard to comprehend he’s guilty, but I think if I was in his position he’d be by my side,” Sarah said.
“He’s hurting as much as I am.”
When asked on what she thought of someone who is capable of killing her mother, Sarah responded: “I’m not here to judge”.
However reporter Liz Hayes continued to press her on the matter, to the point a confused and overwhelmed Sarah asked for a break from answering questions.
“As a daughter whose just had her mother taken from her and clearly not in a good way, you can judge that can’t you?” Hayes asked.
Sarah later said she “didn't know what to believe” when it came to her father's innocence.
Karen was killed and dumped in Victorian bushland by her husband in 2016. After years of silence and lies he finally pleaded guilty to manslaughter last year.
Following her disappearance, Sarah said her family became “trapped in a nightmare”.
But despite her father’s late guilty plea, Sarah maintains her father "still loves her mum" and she refuses to fully break her faith in his innocence.
Sarah said she had asked her father directly if he had anything to do with her mother’s death to which Borce replied “no”.
“Even though he's pleaded guilty I guess sometimes I just find it hard,” she said.
“I believe in him. I think that's what it is.”
In December last year, Borce was handed a longer sentence of 13 years' jail for his manslaughter conviction in Victoria's Court of Appeal, an increase of four years on his original sentence.
Daughter upset over police’s response
Sarah, who supported her father throughout his trial, claimed she didn't give a victim impact statement because of the way police treated her and her father.
"I think I just didn't want to (give a statement) to the officers because I was giving it to those who were so horrible to me," she said.
Sarah maintained police told them her mother "was probably at the pokies" when she was reported missing.
She described how distressed she felt when accusations against her father started.
With her father serving time and “missing her mother every day”, Sarah acknowledged she was starting a new chapter alone, but she expected to “make her parents proud”.
“I love my dad now, I loved him before and I’ll love him in 11 years when he’s home,” she said.
– with AAP
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