The mother of a slain dancer denies she was instructed by a brothel owner to conceal evidence of his business interests and relationship with her daughter after “secret” text messages surfaced in her murder trial.
Ellie Price, 26, was found dead in her South Melbourne apartment in 2020 with a large wound to her neck, before her then boyfriend Ricardo Barbaro was arrested and charged with her murder.Price had been friends with brothel owner Mark Gray, 60, who she’d met while working at the Men’s Gallery in central Melbourne. The court heard Gray was also paying her rent before their friendship became strained when she attempted to blackmail him for $100,000.
While questioning Price’s mother Tracey Gangell, defence barrister Rishi Nathwani suggested this included “secret” text messages with what appeared to be instructions from Gray to the Price family on how to answer questions in court and conceal his involvement in the brothel business.Nathwani told the court the messages also suggested Gray had wanted to marry Price and at one point planned to propose to her on the 24th floor of the Sofitel Hotel.
The court heard there had been instances of violence between the two in the lead up to Price’s death amid an on-again off-again relationship marked with jealousy.Nathwani told the jury to remember they were in a court of law and not morality, warning them they would hear evidence about people who lived in a different world awash with strippers, brothels and drug use.
On Tuesday, the jury heard at the time of her death Gray was associated with a Touch of Class brothel in Sydney and in the process of renovating and opening another named Harem, also located on Park Street in South Melbourne.Credit:Gangell denied suggestions she knew Gray was involved in the adult industry and maintained he only ever told her that he was an accountant.
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