Death was the result of a punch: Experts on the victim Svetislav Milošević

Death Svetislav Milošević "It is a direct consequence of the impact and the resulting direct and indirect injuries," states the opinion of the Forensic Medicine Board of the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade.

That finding was read out yesterday in the Court of Appeal, during the continuation of the trial. Igor Laković, accused of committing a criminal offense - grievous bodily harm resulting in death.

According to the first-instance verdict of the Higher Court in Podgorica, the defendant was sentenced to two years in prison for punching Milošević in the left side of the head on November 10, 2021, who died four days later at the Clinical Center of Montenegro.

By order of the Court of Appeal dated December 15, 2025, a forensic medical examination was ordered regarding the cause of death of the injured party.

In connection with this request, the Forensic Medicine Board of the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade, on April 14, 2026, submitted its findings and opinion regarding the cause of Milošević's death.

They state that the report of the KCCG specialist doctor, dated November 10, 2021, states that Milošević was brought in by ambulance with no signs of life, and that based on medical documentation and autopsy findings, it appears that death was violent and that it occurred due to pressure on the brain from blood spilling into the space under the soft meninges from a ruptured right posterior cerebral artery and the resulting complications.

“The rupture of the right posterior cerebral artery is a consequence of the indirect effect of blunt mechanical force due to hyperextension-rotational movement of the head after a blow to the left eye area with a mechanical tool - most likely a fist. Therefore, after the blow to the eye area, there was excessive backward bending of the neck, followed by a sudden rotation of the head, which led to stretching of the blood vessels at the base of the brain and the formation of a rupture of the right posterior cerebral artery. The aforementioned excessive bending and rotation of the neck also led to a rupture of the muscles of the back of the neck, which means that both the ruptures of the neck muscles, as well as the rupture of the right cerebral artery, are the consequence of a single blunt force impact to the left eye area.

Traumatic rupture of the arteries at the base of the brain, including the right posterior cerebral artery, can occur more easily if there are changes in the artery wall, which in this case was not established by magnetic resonance imaging or autopsy. However, rupture of these arteries can also occur if the artery wall is without pathological changes, regardless of the width of the blood vessel. On the other hand, neither the MRA, the 2021 finding, nor the appearance of the arteries at the base of the brain in the submitted photo documentation indicate particularly thin 'gracile' blood vessels. During the autopsy, the artery on which the rupture was established was not taken for pathohistological examination, which would be the only way to establish possible weaknesses in the artery wall. In this case, with the 'naked eye', based only on the macroscopic appearance, it is not possible to diagnose the presence of an anomaly - a personal characteristic that contributed to the easier occurrence of the rupture of the blood vessel wall. The Forensic Medical Board is of the opinion that, on the one hand, the existence of a 'special' personal characteristic in this case has not been established beyond doubt, and that the intensity of the blow that led to such a movement of the head that caused the rupture of the muscles of the middle layer of the neck, on the other hand, was sufficient to cause the rupture of the right posterior cerebral artery. The death of Svetislav Milošević is a direct consequence of the blow and the resulting direct and indirect injuries," the opinion states.

The defense had numerous objections to the findings - attorney Mirko Bošković, defense attorney for the defendant Laković, proposed that a representative of the Forensic Medicine Committee of the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade be heard before the court.

The Court of Appeal accepted the proposal, and Judge Predrag Tabaš announced that a representative of the commission would answer questions via video link.

"The general impression I cannot shake is that this finding is 'hand washing'. This opinion is incomplete. This is the fourth different medical opinion on the same matter in this case. In this specific case, we have so far had claims that these blood vessels were indeed weakened, but the question was to what extent and how this influenced the death. This opinion calls into question the autopsy itself, that is, the method of determining possible anomalies, that is, special personal characteristics in Milošević. It is quite logical and in no way does it call into question the opinion of Dr. Nemanja Radojević"With this additional expert opinion, I think things are maximally complicated. I repeat, this is the fourth different opinion. It would be desirable for Dr. Radojević to be heard at the same time as the representative of the forensic medical board from Belgrade," said lawyer Bošković.

State Prosecutor Lidija Vukčević pointed out that this was not a fourth dissenting opinion.

"Both findings from the Faculty of Medicine in Podgorica and the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade confirmed the causal link between the actions and the resulting consequences," the prosecutor said.

Lawyer Nebojša Asanović, the attorney for the injured Milošević family, also agreed with her position.