Retrial for the Murder of the Argentine Citizen: The Receptionist Reveals the Victim Asked for Water After Falling from the Hotel

Endrit Nika, accused of killing the foreign woman with Argentine citizenship, is once again facing the court, after the previous verdict was annulled by the Court of Appeals.

The presence of witness Erza Limani opened the new hearing at the Basic Court in Prishtina.

Limani, who worked as a receptionist at the hotel where the incident occurred, testified before the judging panel that the deceased person, after falling from the room’s window, had asked her for water.

“The only thing I talked with her about was when she asked for water,” Limani declared, in a conclusion reported by “Betimi për Drejtësi” (Oath for Justice).

It should be noted that the Basic Court in Prishtina, on February 19, 2026, had declared Nika guilty and sentenced him to 18 years in prison. However, following the appeal filed by the defense, the Court of Appeals had decided to return the case for retrial.

The case is now being reviewed by a new judging panel, chaired by Gazmend Bahtiri, with members Allte Murseli and Gëzim Ademi.

The hearing began with a procedural change, as Akundo Urdergaraja, the father of the deceased, was included as an injured party, represented by lawyer Leutrim Syla.

In parallel, the court informed those present that the necessary interpreter for the German language had been secured, specifically for the dialect spoken by the accused during his stay in Switzerland.

In his introductory remarks, the case prosecutor Armend Hamiti emphasized that he stands in the same positions as in the previous judicial review. The same stance was held by the injured party Maria Magdalena, represented by lawyer Betim Shala.

Meanwhile, the lawyer of the victim’s family, Leutrim Syla, declared that they will fight for the previous procedural issues to be overcome at this instance, with the hope that Nika will be sentenced to an even harsher punishment.

On the other hand, Nika’s defender, lawyer Tomë Gashi, emphasized that it would be proven during the process that the building where the incident occurred does not have a construction permit, a matter for which the prosecution has also been notified through a criminal complaint.

According to him, such a structure does not meet the standards of a hotel. Gashi also expressed concern about the fact that the room where the case occurred was not isolated with police tape, but only the spot where the person had fallen.

“The deceased has no trace of violence that could have occurred to her in room 403, from which she fell,” the defense lawyer continued.

He also addressed the recordings submitted by the owner and manager of the hotel, which, according to him, had not been sent for analysis to the Institute of Forensic Psychiatry of Kosovo. Meanwhile, regarding the photographs taken by the police at the crime scene, which are missing from the file, Gashi emphasized that the responsible parties should be the relevant officials of the Kosovo Police Inspectorate.

Before witness Limani took the floor, the mother of the deceased, Maria Magdalena, and the father of the accused, Ismajl Nika, were heard, both of whom reaffirmed their previous statements.

The testimony of the hotel’s receptionist was first read from the minutes of the previous hearing, which had been held behind closed doors to the public, at Limani’s own request.

That statement said that Nika had not wanted the police to be called and that, after learning that the staff had sought their help, he had said “No, not the police.”

Another detail from the previous statement was that the accused had his shirt torn when he came down from the room after the tragedy.

Limani said she had not heard anything from the conversation between the deceased and the accused. Also, in response to lawyer Gashi’s questions, she stated that she has no family ties with the management and owners of the hotel.

She clarified that in her first statement to the police she was under the stress of the moment and that the notes of the police officers had been signed by her. Limani emphasized that only later, at the Prosecution and in the previous trial, had she managed to recall the details more concretely.

According to her account, the noise of the fall from room 403 was heard around 2 a.m.

The witness added that she had visited the room before the event, but did not remember anything after it, nor who had cleaned the room after the incident.

With the conclusion of Erza Limani’s testimony, the day’s hearing also ended, while the process is expected to resume with the testimonies of other persons.