A Melbourne brothel owner says he was blackmailed to the tune of $100,000 by a woman who was stabbed to death in her South Melbourne apartment days later.
Police found the bloodied remains of Ellie Price, 26, in May 2020 and charged her boyfriend Ricardo Barbaro with murder.
Mr Barbaro has pleaded not guilty at his Supreme Court trial, with his defence team arguing he had nothing to do with her death and that others who knew Ms Price had motive to kill her.
But prosecutors argue it was Mr Barbaro who carried out the killing of Ms Price in her South Melbourne apartment early on April 29, 2020.
Her body was found by police five days later.
The court heard Mr Barbaro was captured on security footage leaving the property around the time of the alleged killing, before he was eventually arrested in NSW.
Witness claims Ellie Price attempted to blackmail him days before her death
The court heard the last person Ms Price contacted via text message before her death was Mark Gray, a Melbourne brothel owner and qualified accountant.
Mr Gray told the court he was "in a state of shock" when he found out Ms Price was dead, and had previously believed she was being physically assaulted by Mr Barbaro.
Mr Gray has been on the witness stand this week, where he confirmed an arrangement with Ms Price to pay an allowance, her rent, and other expensive gifts.
About a week before her death, Mr Gray said Ms Price had demanded $100,000 from him, threatening to go to the police with a false claim that he had raped her.
Mr Gray said he paid $25,000 and was making arrangements to pay the rest of the money and end his friendship with the 26-year-old.
"I didn't want or risk the possibility she would report the alleged rape," he said.
Mr Gray said he informed Ms Price's mother Tracey Gangell about the blackmail, saying he believed Ms Price would give some of the money to Mr Barbaro.
"I assume the boyfriend will be needing it and no doubt she will give it to him," Mr Gray texted Ms Gangell.
Friendship with victim included payments, luxury sports car and a rental reference
Under cross-examination, Mr Gray said he first met Ms Price when she was working as a dancer at the Men's Gallery strip club. He said he declined her services because it was "a waste of money", but agreed to provide a rental reference for her after a 30-minute chat.
In the years that followed, Mr Gray said he made more than $100,000 in rental payments for Ms Price, purchased a luxury sports car in 2017 on her behalf, and sent money to Ms Price's mother and sister.
He denied the transactions were in exchange for anything other than friendship.
"I wasn't a sugar daddy … Anyone who comes to this courtroom will tell you the same," he said.
Mr Gray, formerly known as Mark Gdanski, was questioned over his financial interests and involvement in the brothel industry over the past three decades.
Under cross-examination from Mr Barbaro's lawyer Rishi Nathwani, Mr Gray conceded his brothel licence in Melbourne was once suspended for five years because he hired an underage sex worker.
He also said he had once been the victim of extortion from a former client in Sydney, whose name he could not remember.
Mr Gray said it was "absolutely incorrect" he was in business with organised crime figures.
On Wednesday, the trial was adjourned to give police time to analyse messages from Mr Gray's phone, which he voluntarily surrendered on Tuesday.
His cross-examination could resume on Thursday afternoon.
In an attempt to avoid media, Mr Gray was assisted by Supreme Court security staff who ushered him out a side door when leaving. He wore sunglasses, a mask and shielded his face with an umbrella, before getting into a waiting Porsche.
