Prosecutor proposes maximum sentences for parents of boy who killed ten and injured six people at Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School

The Chief Public Prosecutor of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, Nenad Stefanović, today proposed to the Higher Court in Belgrade to find guilty and sentence to maximum sentences Vladimir and Miljana Kecmanović, the parents of the then 13-year-old boy who, on May 3, 2023, killed nine students and a security guard at the "Vladislav Ribnikar" Elementary School (OS) and wounded five more students and a history teacher.

In his closing argument at the trial, Stefanović stated that for the two accused parents "only aggravating circumstances were present", and that their son could not be held criminally liable due to his age at the time of the crime, which is why the law "places special responsibility on parents, as persons who have a legal and moral duty to supervise, educate and guide the child".

Stefanović therefore proposed that Vladimir Kecmanović be found guilty of the criminal offense of "serious crimes against public security" and sentenced to 12 years in prison, and for the offense of "neglect and abuse of a minor" to a sentence of three years, or a total prison sentence of 14 years and 11 months.

In addition, he requested an extension of his detention due to the risk that he might repeat the crime, as well as the public unrest that his release would cause.

Miljana Kecmanović has been sentenced to three years in prison for "neglect and abuse of a minor", as well as an extension of the measure prohibiting her from approaching, meeting or communicating with witness KK, according to the closing statement of the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Belgrade Public Prosecutor's Office, published on the prosecutor's website. "In the repeated proceedings, the defendant (Vladimir Kecmanović) did not give up his intention to put himself in the position of a victim, categorically denying his guilt for the criminal acts he is charged with. He continued to present himself as a target of media lynching and persecution, blaming the prosecutor's office for the position he is in, while at the same time trying to prove his self-proclaimed role as a victim with newspaper articles that he published and presented at almost every main hearing," the statement said.