Ricardo Barbaro had been a fugitive since his girlfriend, Ellie Price was found dead in her Melbourne townhouse 10 days ago.
The manhunt finally came to an end early Thursday morning when he was arrested in western Sydney. The police said they received a call around 11 pm on Wednesday regarding a man in the town of Wentworth City who was ‘wanted on an interstate warrant for murder’.
Ellie Price who was found murdered in her Melbourne home
Barbaro initially resisted arrest but eventually, police were able to get him into custody. He was taken to Concord Hospital in Sydney for minor injuries he sustained during the arrest and was then transported to Burwood Police Station where he was booked for murder.
The Victoria Police stated that at this time, they are not looking for anyone else in connection with Ms. Price’s murder. Barbaro is expected to be extradited to Melbourne where the crime took place.
A statement from the police said ‘’Victoria Police would like to thank members of the public across Australia for their assistance.’
Ricardo Barbaro being loaded onto a police van on his way to jail after a 10-day manhunt.
This has been an extremely difficult time for Ms. Price’s family. Just on Tuesday Rebecca Lehner, Ms. Price’s cousin, raised over $3,700 to repatriate the body to the southern Australian island of Tasmania, where she will be laid to rest.
Ms. Lehner wrote, ‘’Ellie was living in Melbourne pursuing her dreams, but her heart was in Tasmania with her friends and family. This is a terrible and tragic event that should never have happened and now here I am trying to raise funds to ensure my cousin makes her way back home and is laid to rest surrounded by the people who love her.’
Ms. Price had a 4-year-old son named Mostafa who currently lives with his grandmother, Tracey Gangell, near Hobart. Another GoFundMe page has been set up by Matthew Barr, who grew up with Ms. Gangell, to try and raise $10,000 for a trust fund for Mostafa.
Ellie Price and her 4-year-old son Mostafa.
On the GoFundMe page, Mr. Barr wrote ‘Tracey is a beautiful person, she is totally devastated on not only the loss of her daughter but the heartless murder that has taken place, it’s just unimaginable. I just wish I could take away Tracey and her whole family’s pain – my heart breaks for you all during this tragic time. Ellie was a kind soul whose life was cut short in a senseless act’.
According to police, Ms. Price was violently assaulted around April 28 or 29 and had been dead for around 5 days before her body was found.
Ms. Price was in an on-again-off-again relationship with Barbaro since October 2019, and he had not been seen since her body was discovered.
This morning there was a brief court hearing at Parramatta where Barbaro was represented by Gold Coast Lawyer Campbell MacCallum who phoned in for the hearing.
Campbell MacCallum pictured in his famous purple suit and at home during a lighthearted ‘quarantine’ photo.
Mr. MacCallum is well known for being a gym rat, wearing flashy jewelry and brightly colored suits, and for his love of gangster rap.
In a brief media statement, MacCallum said: “I have only had the opportunity to speak with Ricardo on the phone and I have yet to see the specifics of the police allegations”.
MacCallum did confirm that Barbaro will face murder charges in Melbourne Magistrates Court on May 16.
33-year-old Barbaro comes from a notorious family with well documented and well-known ties to the infamous Calabrian mafia, the ‘Ndrangheta, based in the New South Wales town of Griffith.
His brother, Pasquale Timothy Barbaro, was shot and killed in a 2016 mob hit.
Pasquale Timothy Barbaro
Another brother, Rossario Dom Barbaro, killed himself just a few months later.
Rossario Barbaro’s Memorial leaflet.
Yet another brother, Harley Barbaro, is a known member of the Villains Gang based on Australia’s Gold Coast.
Harley Barbaro is a well-known member of the Villains Gang.
All four brothers are the sons of Giuseppe ‘Joe’ Barbaro who is the cousin of Pasquale Barabo who in 2003, alongside notorious crime figure Jason Moran, was shot dead in a van while watching a children’s football game.
Pasquale ‘Pat’ Barbaro
In 2004, Joe Barbaro’s three-week-old daughter Montana was kidnapped from her car seat. Days later she was found in an abandoned home with her head shaved.
