Ricardo Barbaro trial: Brothel owner ‘sugar daddy’ romantically rejected by Ellie Price allegedly hired a hitman to kill her, court hears

The key witness in a murder case is accused of being the real killer, who allegedly orchestrated the murder of his “soulmate” after years of romantic rejection.

Ricardo Barbaro, 36, is on trial in the Victorian Supreme Court after pleading not guilty to the murder of his then-girlfriend Ellie Price in April 2020.

The 26-year-old was discovered in the blood-soaked bedroom of her South Melbourne apartment on May 4, with prosecutors claiming Barbaro murdered her with a knife six days earlier.

On Wednesday afternoon, Barbaro’s lawyer Rishi Nathwani concluded his closing address to the jury by saying his client had been wrongly accused.

“Barbaro had no motive, Gray did – a $100,000 extortion, rejected advances… and he had the means too,” he said.

Much of Nathwani’s final speech focused on Mark Paul Gray, a wealthy brothel owner who had spent “a small fortune” on Ms Price since they met in 2017.

He argued that the evidence showed that Mr Gray was ‘in love’ with Ms Price and wanted to marry her, but she consistently rejected his romantic advances.

“She kept picking on guys like Ricardo Barbaro, you can see how that made him feel inadequate,” Nathwani told the jury.

‘It was a one-way relationship and it’s clear that Mark Gray became frustrated.

“Despite his protests, he was her sugar daddy. That’s their relationship.’

Mr Nathwani suggested Mr Gray, who once bragged about his connections to Melbourne’s “meanest men”, hired a hitman after Ms Price threatened to make a false rape report unless he paid her $100,000 – eight days before police suspected she had been murdered. .

“The extortion, this was his motive for making her leave,” he indicated.

“You would think this was the last straw for him after years of being shunned.”

Giving evidence earlier in the trial, Mr Gray repeatedly denied his involvement in Ms Price’s death when questioned by Mr Nathwani.

On Tuesday, prosecutor Damien Hannan argued that the jury should reject Mr Nathwani’s claim because investigators had ruled out Mr Gray and the hypothesis was a “red herring”.

“It’s ridiculous just to say it out loud,” he said.

‘Is that a rational alternative murder hypothesis? No, that’s not it.

“I’m telling you, Mark Gray denied being a sugar daddy. He was exploited. He was terribly generous, too generous in fact.”

Prosecutors allege Mr. Barbaro stabbed Ms. Price multiple times and slit her throat after an early morning argument on April 29, 2020.

It is alleged he then fled in her Mercedes Benz at 4.30am never to return and was arrested in NSW on May 14.

Mr Hannan argued that CCTV footage and forensic evidence, including Mr Barbaro’s DNA under Ms Price’s fingernails and “large scratches” on his arm, were “devastating”.

Mr Nathwani countered that although his client’s DNA was found under her fingernails, he made a ‘small contribution’ and was evidence the blood was most likely hers.

He argued that while the prosecution claimed his client leaving Victoria was evidence of a “guilty mind”, the most likely explanation was that he left because of his “distrust of the police”.

“We know he had links to the Gold Coast,” he said.

“We suggest that you can draw the conclusion that he was on his way to a lawyer, given his issues with the police.”

Mr Nathwani argued that Mr Gray had demonstrated his willingness to lie on the stand and was allegedly caught attempting to pervert the course of justice by asking Ms Price’s sister Danielle to open his appeal adjourn during a previous court hearing.

On the stand, Mr Gray denied asking Danielle to lie about his business dealings, pointing to a text message in which he told her to tell the truth.

He admitted asking her what was in her police statement. He said he was a “private individual” and was concerned about the embarrassment of having his name and profession mentioned in media coverage of the case.

During cross-examination, Danielle confirmed that Mr Gray had asked her to suspend his appeal prior to a hearing, and she did so at his request.

“Was all this really just to cover up shame… how can you rule out Mark Gray at the end of your deliberations?” asked Mr Nathwani.

“Based on this evidence, the only appropriate verdict is not guilty.”

Judge Lex Lasry told the jury he expected to ask them to retire and reach a verdict Thursday morning.

The process continues.