20 years sought for Vinka's killer: "Vicious murderers of defenseless women do not deserve mercy"

Vinka's son Boba (left) Vinka Stojanovic (right) / Photo: D.K.

Deputy Higher Public Prosecutor in Nis Tatjana Stevanovic requested in her closing statement before the Higher Court in Nis to sentence Sinisa Brankovic (51) from the village of Radenkovac in Sokobanja to at least 20 years in prison for the aggravated murder of his neighbor Vinka Stojanovic.

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In his final address to the court, the son of the brutally murdered woman, Boban Stojanovic, demanded life imprisonment for his former friend, believing that people who are capable of viciously killing a helpless woman do not deserve mercy.

Vinka was killed on May 7, 2020 in her family home, when Sinisa stabbed her with a knife in the head and neck nine times, struck her with a glass, and then twisted her neck until she died.

"The murder was committed out of brutal revenge because the accused Stojanovic believed that Vinka had reported him for timber theft to the Aleksinac police. The factual situation has been established through evidence and the confession of the accused, who only disputed that he had twisted his victim's neck. However, the Commission of Experts of the Institute for Forensic Medicine established an injury to the neck of the deceased woman, which could only have occurred in that way," Tatjana Stevanovic explained her request to put Brankovic behind bars for a long time.

The victim's son said that he respected the position of the prosecution, but that only life in prison would be any kind of satisfactory outcome as far as he was concerned.

"I will not make a property claim against him, if something is paid (as compensation), like I said before, I want it to be given to a safe house for women victims of violence. If there is no money, let him serve those (court) costs in prison as well," said Stojanovic.

Brankovic's defense attorney Milica Andjelkovic objected to the prosecution's allegations, stressing that it had not been proven that her client had committed aggravated murder.

"There should be a motive in order for aggravated murder out of brutal revenge to exist, and that has not been proven in this court procedure, it remained only at the level of an indication. It has not been proven that the murder was committed because the injured party allegedly reported my client for timber theft. Neither the psychological inclinations nor the abilities of the defendant have been clarified, which was the subject of expert examination by a psychiatrist and a psychologist, on which the defense insisted. It has only been stated that he he is prone to being 'a loose canon' because of his personality structure and alcoholism. In this case, it may possibly be an ordinary murder, and I ask the court to take into account the provisions of the Law on Criminal Procedure, which state that all circumstances that are not fully clarified should be interpreted in favor of the accused," the defense counsel said in her closing remarks.

In his final address to the court, Stojanovic also denied that he was acting out of revenge.

"I am convinced that I did not kill her out of revenge, I regret that I did it, for my own sake, for my family's sake, but also for her family's sake," said Vinka's killer.

Judge of the Higher Court in Nis Mirko Draskovic has scheduled the reading of the verdict for March 3.

(Telegraf.rs)