Doctor Blerina Gashi, called as a witness by the defense of Endrit Nika, said Maria Clara Urdangaray was conscious and communicating with the medical team after falling from the sixth floor of a hotel in Fushë-Kosovë. Gashi accompanied the patient in an ambulance to the University Clinical Center of Kosovo (QKUK).
Testifying at Nika’s retrial, the doctor from the Family Medicine Center in Fushë-Kosovë said she had spoken with Urdangaray in English during the transport. She said she had asked whether Urdangaray had jumped or whether someone had pushed her.
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Gashi described the events of the night of August 1, 2023, when she was notified about the case and went to the scene.
Gashi: The patient was conscious, moving and communicating
“I was on duty and we received a call that someone had fallen from the sixth floor, so we went there. The patient was conscious, moving and communicating. We put her in the ambulance. During the journey, her airways were clear, and we did not notice any external fractures. We administered treatment in the ambulance, and we spoke with the patient in English throughout the trip,” she said.
Asked whether Urdangaray had said she jumped or that someone pushed her, the witness replied that the patient had denied both possibilities.
Gashi: She said “no” when I asked if someone had pushed her
“I asked her for her first name, last name and age, and whether she had tried to jump herself or someone had pushed her. She answered ‘no’ to both questions,” Gashi said.
Facundo Urdangaray, the victim’s father, asked the doctor whether a person’s medical condition could cause confusion after falling from such a height.
Urdangaray: Can a medical condition confuse someone who falls from this height?
“Can a medical condition cause confusion and affect the answers of someone who falls from such a height?” he asked.
Gashi said Clara had also been conscious after she was taken to QKUK.
Gashi: Clara was conscious at QKUK, too
“This varies from person to person, but from what I saw, she was conscious. The QKUK report, which I saw, also recorded that she was conscious,” the doctor said.
The presiding judge asked Gashi what treatment she had given Urdangaray and what effect it had. The doctor said the treatment she administered had not impaired Urdangaray’s consciousness.
Gashi: I learned from colleagues that she had suffered internal bleeding
“We gave her a saline solution, tramadol and metoclopramide. The response varies from person to person. Consciousness is maintained, although it can later be affected depending on the injuries. I learned from colleagues that she had suffered internal bleeding. The treatment we gave did not affect her responses during my questioning,” she said.
Endrit Nika is accused of murdering Argentine national Maria Clara Urdangaray, who died at QKUK from injuries sustained after falling from the sixth floor of a hotel in Fushë-Kosovë.
On February 19, 2026, the Basic Court in Pristina sentenced Nika to 18 years in prison. The Court of Appeals, after accepting the defense’s appeal, sent the case back for retrial.
The Basic Prosecution Office in Pristina filed the indictment on February 11, 2025. According to the indictment, on August 1, 2023, following a dispute with his girlfriend, Nika first struck Urdangaray and tried to run her over with a car in the hotel parking lot.
The indictment alleges that the conflict continued in the hotel room, where Nika is suspected of striking Urdangaray and pushing her toward a corner, preventing her from leaving. The prosecution says he removed the window frame and threw her from the sixth floor. The injuries she sustained in the fall caused her death.
Nika is charged with the criminal offense of “Aggravated Murder.”
