Retrial of Endrit Nika: Two hotel managers testify in court about the hotel where the Argentine woman allegedly died

The retrial of Endrit Nika, who is accused of murdering his girlfriend from Argentina, Maria Clara Urdangaray, continued at the Basic Court in Pristina.

According to the indictment filed by the Prosecution, Nika allegedly threw Urdangaray from the sixth floor of a hotel in Kosovo Polje in 2023.

Fehmi Zabeli, a hotel manager, testified at Thursday’s hearing. He said he had never seen either the accused or the victim before, and that he had learned about the incident after being called by the building’s security guard.

“No, I had never seen them,” Zabeli said when asked whether he had happened to see Endrit Nika and Maria Clara Urdangaray.

The witness said that on the night of the incident he had been staying at the hotel, where he lived during the season, in a room two floors above the place where the incident allegedly occurred.

“I was at the hotel because I stay and sleep there during the season. I was two floors above where the incident occurred. Until they called me, I knew nothing. I did not hear anything; the guard, whose name is Ramiz, called me. After five minutes I went downstairs because he told me that a woman had fallen,” he testified.

Zabeli said he then notified Mirlind, the hotel’s other manager, who was asleep at the time. When he went downstairs, he did not see the victim.

“When I went downstairs, I did not see the girl, but I saw police officers, a boy and some glass. I did not know what had happened,” the witness said.

He added that he later went to the police, where he identified himself and handed over his identity card.

“I went to the police, introduced myself and gave them my identity card. Later, other patrols arrived, and then Mirlind came downstairs. I stayed at reception and then went to rest because I had to get up early. I stayed for an hour or two and went to sleep,” Zabeli testified.

Asked whether he had seen the security-camera footage showing Nika and the victim after the incident, he initially said he had not.

“No, I did not see the camera footage,” he said.

However, following the next question, Zabeli clarified that he had seen a brief portion of the recordings, while he had followed the rest through the media.

“I saw a very short part of it, when the girl fell; I saw the rest in the media,” he said.

After him, Mirlind Zeqiri, the hotel’s other manager, also testified before the trial panel. He answered questions from lawyer Tomë Gashi, Endrit Nika’s defense attorney, about his whereabouts during the critical night, the camera system and the recordings collected during the investigation.

Zeqiri said that at the time of the incident he was at the hotel, sleeping in a room two floors above the one where the incident allegedly occurred.

“At the time of the incident, I was at the hotel, in a room two floors above the room where it happened. I was asleep. I was notified by my maternal cousin, Fehmi Zabeli, who is in charge of the restaurant. Erza tried to call me, but I did not hear the phone; then they knocked on my door,” he testified.

When asked whether he had seen himself in the camera footage from that night, Zeqiri said he did not remember.

“I do not remember the cameras; I do not recall seeing myself on camera on the critical night,” the witness said.

Regarding the security system, he confirmed that the hotel had cameras inside and outside the building, but not in every area.

“Yes, there were cameras both outside and inside. There were none in the corridors or on the stairs, and there was also no camera inside the elevator,” Zeqiri explained.

Lawyer Gashi also questioned him about statements he had given to the Prosecution, pointing out that there he had spoken about only one camera.

Zeqiri explained that both in court and before the Prosecution, he had been questioned about the footage from the corridor, where he had noticed the accused’s movements.

“In court and before the Prosecution, I was questioned about the corridor section. There I explained that I had seen Endrit’s movements, as he moved from the door of the room to the elevator. While we were retrieving the recordings, to determine whether we were retrieving the correct section, I noticed Endrit’s movements from the door of the room to the elevator,” he testified.

The next hearing of the retrial concluded with the testimony of the two managers. The next hearing has been scheduled for November 9 at 9:30 a.m., while subsequent hearings will take place on November 12, throughout the day, and on November 20.

According to the Prosecution file, Maria Clara Urdangaray suffered serious bodily injuries and, despite receiving medical treatment, died at the University Clinical Center of Kosovo.

Endrit Nika was sentenced to 18 years in prison in February 2026, but the Court of Appeals sent the case back for a retrial.