Weeks before she was found shot dead at close range, Cindy Crossthwaite was enduring a bitter court battle with her estranged husband over how they would divide their assets.
The case was adjourned to allow Emil “Bill” Petrov to find a lawyer, but the mother-of-three would not make it to the next hearing.
Ms Crossthwaite, 41, was found dead by her father on June 20, 2007, in the lounge room of her Melton South home.
Blood spatters were spread across blinds and windows, a blanket covered her body.
She had been choked and shot in the head from about 15 centimetres away, a jury has heard.
Nearly two decades later, Petrov, 60, is facing a Supreme Court trial charged with murder after he pleaded not guilty.
“This case is about who did it, who was responsible for such an horrific beating and killing of a middle-aged mother in suburban Melton South,” prosecutor Mark Gibson told the jury in Melbourne on Tuesday.
“A woman without enemies, except – the Crown says – one.”
He said the prosecution will put forward a collection of circumstances over the four-week trial to prove Petrov murdered his estranged wife.
“At the heart of this circumstantial case is a deep-seated and enduring hatred Mr Bill Petrov harboured against his estranged wife,” Mr Gibson said.
If jurors do not find that Petrov killed Ms Crossthwaite himself, it was also open for them to find Petrov committed the murder by arranging for an unknown person to carry out the killing, he said.
However, Petrov’s legal team told the jury he denied any connection to Ms Crossthwaite’s death
“Mr Petrov denies causing the deceased’s death,” defence barrister Ashley Halphen said on Wednesday.
“Does the claim that you heard yesterday, that Ms Crossthwaite only had one enemy, place you on the right track? Or were there others … who may have had a bee in their bonnet in relation to Ms Crossthwaite?”
Central to the case will be witness Brian O’Shea, whom prosecutors alleged had provided Petrov with a gun for $3000.
Mr Gibson claimed Petrov – in April or May 2007 – showed Mr O’Shea in a black wig and dark-coloured clothing inside his car boot before Petrov allegedly said “I’m going to kill that c*** Cindy, I’m going to take a week off work, I’m going to kill her, will you help me?”
But Mr Halphen said Petrov denied much of what Mr O’Shea claimed Petrov told him, and that he purchased a gun off him.
“He denies each and every incriminating conversation with Mr O’Shea,” Mr Halphen said.
The couple, who were married for almost 10 years before their separation in 2005, faced hearings in the Family Court in May 2007 as they tried to divide up their assets, Mr Gibson said.
He said Petrov argued for several properties to not be included in the divorce as they were owned by his parents, and the case was adjourned to July of that year.
“Bill Petrov was well aware of Her Honour’s comments that his financial interests and those of his parents would likely be adversely affected when the proceedings resumed,” Mr Gibson said.
“This was a … significant part of the motive for killing Cindy Crossthwaite.”
Mr Halphen said the extent of their property battle was in dispute, including how much property the couple were fighting over.
The trial before Justice Christopher Beale continues.
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