"Mother said child couldn't wait to see father": Vuletic on checks at Center for Social Welfare in Vrsac

Photo: Nikola Bilic, Private archive

In the hall of the Provincial Government of Vojvodina, the provincial Secretary for Social Policy, Demography and Gender Equality, Predrag Vuletic, held a press conference after checks were carried out at the Center for Social Welfare Vrsac, whic came after the murder of a minor girl, Petra Burazerovic, and the suicide of her father, M.B. in Vrsac on October 4.

Recommended

At the beginning of his address, Vuletic expressed his condolences to the family, and then revealed details about the checks carried out at the Center. He also said that the mother was offered help regarding her divorce, but stated that she was not ready for it. She also said that her husband was not violent towards the child, and that the child said she "couldn't wait to see him."

Vuletic explained that the monitoring of the center in Vrsac was conducted from October 5 to 7, and the data was collected since April 30, 2022.

"The report of domestic violence (against the woman) arrived at the center on the same day, the violence had been going on for several years. They lived in the house of the victim's family. An emergency measure was issued to remove him from the apartment along with a 48-hour restraining order. The Basic Public Prosecutor's Office Vrsac extended the measures on the same day to 30 days," said Vuletic.

On May 4, an expert team was formed due to the high risk of domestic violence repeating, as the violence had been ongoing since 2018. The issue of visitations regarding the child remained unresolved, said he.

"On May 25, a complaint was filed, the police and prosecution in Vrsac were informed, an opinion was given that the risk was high. On May 27, Municipal Public Prosecution in Vrsac took certain measures to prohibit access until the criminal proceedings were over. The violence was characterized as psychological, economic and physical," said Vuletic.

He also said that on June 2, the woman stated that the father was not violent towards the child and that the child couldn't wait to see him.

"She told that to the case manager from the Center for Social Welfare," Vuletic said.

Next day, June 3, a restraining order came into effect for the period of one year, limiting the man's access to no more than 300 meters.

"The victim was told that she would have legal help in the divorce. She said that at that moment she was not ready for that procedure. After that, she did not contact the center," said Vuletic.

The day after the murder, on October 5, at the Social Welfare Center's demand, the Basic Court issued a certificate the divorce had ever been filed. Nor was the procedure for choosing a model for seeing the child started.

"That's why both parents had the right to visitations," explained Vuletic.

On September 27, Marko B. received a suspended sentence of one year with a probationary period of 3 years according to the decision of the Basic Court. The charges were domestic violence.

"It must certainly be taken into account that if the mother is a victim of domestic violence, the child is always a potential victim and that all relevant institutions must take responsibility for that," says Vuletic.

2-year-old Petra Budimirovic was murdered by her father Marko, 35, on Tuesday at around 3 pm in an apartment in Vrsac. The killer then committed suicide.

(Telegraf.rs)