Boyfriend’s ‘cruel’ slaying of dancer

A killer boyfriend has been slammed for showing no remorse for his “senseless and cruel crime” as he learnt his fate for the brutal slaying of his stripper girlfriend.

Ricardo Barbaro, 38, returned before the Victorian Supreme Court on Friday morning as he was jailed for 28 years over the murder of his girlfriend Ellie Price in April 2020.

Wearing all black, he greeted his brother Harley Barbaro with a grin and a wave from the dock – the pair were prevented from touching by court security.

Ms Price, 26, laid dead in the blood-soaked bedroom of her South Melbourne apartment for five days until she was discovered by police in a welfare check initiated by her concerned mum Tracey Gangell.

She had suffered six stab wounds, three of which could have been fatal, including the slashing of her throat.

Barbaro was captured on CCTV leaving Ms Price’s apartment in her Mercedes in the early morning of April 29 never to return.

He was arrested in NSW after fleeing Victoria, receiving a lift from his father Giuseppe “Joe” Barbaro after dumping the vehicle at a Diggers Rest property.

Three scratches on Barbaro’s arms, Justice Kaye said, were consistent with being scratched by Ms Price as “she attempted to defence her self against your violent attack”.

Barbaro was found guilty at his third jury trial in September last year after the first was aborted due to juror misconduct and the second thrown out so his defence could review new evidence.

A member of a prominent gangland family, the court was told Barbaro suffered from complex PSTD after a chaotic upbringing and members of his family being murdered.

Justice Kaye told the court Barbaro and Ms Price had begun dating in October 2019, with their short relationship “volatile” and marred by violence.

Earlier incidents of violence, the judge said, provided evidence the “grave acts of violence” on June 29 did not occur out of the blue.

As details of the violent attack were read to the court, Barbaro showed little emotion and closed his eyes at times, scratching his beard and shifting in his seat.

At trial, Barbaro’s barrister Rishi Nathwani SC labelled the case a “whodunit” and sought to frame brothel owner Mark Gray as an alternative suspect the police failed to investigate.

Prosecutors, on the other hand, argued Mr Gray was a hapless romantic who was in denial about being Ms Price’s sugar daddy.

Barbaro will be eligible for parole after serving 22 years.