A ruling made by Justice Christopher Beale last week and published on Monday led to prosecutors withdrawing the charge of murder, and Ristevski admitting instead to the lesser-charge of manslaughter of his 47-year-old wife Karen.

The Crown alleged that after killing his wife at their Avondale Height home, following a series of arguments about their finances, Ristevski drove his wife's body towards Macedon Regional Park.

Police said on the way Ristevski turned off both his and his wife's mobile phones, then dumped his bride's body, covering it in branches.

Mrs Ristevski's body was not found for almost eight months.

It was claimed Ristevski lied to his family, friends and the police about what happened.

But Justice Beale said prosecutors could not rely on Ristevski's post-crime conduct to prove murderous intent.

Read more

Defence lawyers argued in pre-trial deliberations that there was a lack of motive for the 55-year-old to have murdered his wife, a lack of a history of violence and a lack of evidence of premeditation.

They also argued the couple's financial position would likely deteriorate if Ristevski killed his wife, given she was the "heartbeat" of the Bella Bleu clothing business they co-operated.

Justice Beale said the killer's post-offence behaviour could have meant, as argued by his legal team, Ristevski feared estrangement from his daughter and substantial prison time.

"... in this case there was no evidence of murderous intent other than the post- offence conduct," Justice Beale said in his reasons.

He agreed with the defence team that a lack of evidence showing premeditation supported the inference that Ristevski's conduct was "spontaneous" and his post- offence behaviour was consistent with a "panicked reaction".

According to documents published with Justice Beale's ruling, Ristevski was informed by A Current Affair that a body had been found in bushland, but Ristevski immediately answered: "Well, it's got nothing to do with me."

During conversations with his daughter Sarah, Ristevski allegedly was critical of the police investigation and said "they don't give a f***".

The documents also show Ristevski seemingly knew his mobile phone was tapped and was trying to get Sarah's boyfriend to obtain new SIM cards.

Ristevski will next appear in the Supreme Court of Victoria for a pre-sentence plea hearing on March 27.

Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.