Skopje Prosecutor’s Office seeks detention for 51-year-old suspected of killing his wife and hiding her body

The Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Skopje issued an order last night to open an investigation against a 51-year-old man, for whom there are reasonable grounds to suspect that he committed the criminal offense of “Murder” under Article 123, paragraph 2, item 2 of the Criminal Code.

According to the prosecution’s information, on June 25, near the village of Letevci, during an incident of domestic violence, the suspect is believed to have intentionally taken his wife’s life. That evening, he had picked her up by car from the place where she worked and then taken her to an area that was not easily accessible, where he physically attacked her.

He is suspected of having applied strong pressure to her neck with a part of his body, while at the same time covering her mouth and nose, making it impossible for her to breathe. The victim resisted and tried to defend herself, but was unable to get away and, according to the suspicions, died at the scene as a result of suffocation.

After the incident, the 51-year-old is suspected of hiding her body under branches among the trees, while a day later he reported his wife missing to the police.

On June 27, he allegedly told three acquaintances that he knew his wife’s whereabouts because, according to his claim, she had appeared to him in a dream and told him where he should go to find her. Afterwards, all of them went together by car to the place where the woman’s body was spotted and reported the case to the police.

The public prosecutor believes that in this case there are circumstances indicating a risk of flight, the possibility of obstructing the criminal proceedings through influencing witnesses, as well as the risk that the suspect may commit another criminal offense.

The prosecution also took into account the nature and gravity of the crime, as well as the manner in which it is suspected to have been committed, assessing that there had been a prior period of planning, along with actions taken after the incident, when the suspect hid the victim’s body. According to the prosecution, he had at the same time created the false impression of a worried husband who was actively taking part in the search for her and trying to build an alibi in order to avoid criminal prosecution. For these reasons, the public prosecutor submitted to the pre-trial judge at the Basic Criminal Court in Skopje a proposal to impose a detention measure.