Senjak case: probe widened, part of Milic complaint dropped
Belgrade prosecutors widened the Senjak murder investigation after 30 days, while dropping part of the complaint against Veselin Milic for lack of evidence.
- On June 13, the Belgrade Higher Public Prosecutor's Office widened the investigation into the aggravated murder committed on May 12 in Senjak, a case in which ten people have been arrested so far.
- On June 9, prosecutors dropped the part of the complaint against former Belgrade police chief Veselin Milic that concerned aiding the perpetrator after the act, citing no grounds for suspicion.
- Footage, cell-tower data and witness statements showed Milic was not at the restaurant when the murder occurred, nor did he remove any traces.
- The probe against Milic for failing to report a crime continues, and detention has been extended by 30 days.
The Belgrade Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office announced on June 13 that it had issued an order widening the investigation into the aggravated murder committed on May 12 in Senjak. Ten people have been arrested so far in the case, and the probe was widened 30 days after an event that has dominated Belgrade’s crime news this spring.
A second, equally significant development arrived the same day. On June 9, prosecutors dropped the part of the criminal complaint against former Belgrade police chief Veselin Milic that concerned aiding the perpetrator after the act. The stated reason was precise: there are no grounds for suspicion on that count.
What did prosecutors establish about Milic’s role?
According to the reasoning, most witnesses did not confirm the pre-trial claim that Milic had invited Aleksandar N. to come to the Senjak restaurant without his personal security detail. Among those who did not confirm it was the victim’s wife. In its statement, the prosecution said: “The suspicions from the pre-trial phase, that the then Belgrade police chief invited Aleksandar Nesovic to come to the Senjak restaurant without personal security, have not been confirmed.”
The physical evidence pointed the same way. Footage, mobile cell-tower data and witness statements showed that Milic was not present at the restaurant when the murder took place, nor that he took part in removing any traces. On the basis of those findings, that count of the complaint did not reach the judicial outcome the pre-trial phase had suggested.
It is worth separating two things. Dropping part of the complaint does not mean Milic has been cleared of all suspicion. Prosecutors halted prosecution only on a single count, the one concerning aid to the perpetrator, while another line of investigation remains open.
What remains open in the case?
An investigation against Milic for failing to report a crime and its perpetrator is still ongoing. He is suspected of having had certain knowledge as an official and not reporting it to the competent authorities. That qualification is legally different from aiding the perpetrator, and prosecutors retained sufficient grounds to continue the proceedings on it. Guilt on that count has not been established, nor has the prosecution confirmed it, so it remains within the scope of the investigation.
The Higher Court extended detention for Milic and the other suspects by 30 days. The body of Aleksandar N. has not been found, which further complicates the reconstruction of events and leaves the investigation without one of its key elements. Ten arrests, a widened order and an unrecovered body sketch a case that is far from closed.
The Senjak case remains one of the most closely watched in Belgrade’s crime news, and the two parallel tracks, one closed and one open, show how carefully the legal qualifications are being separated. What the widened investigation will reveal, and whether the body will be found, is a question we will only be able to answer in the coming weeks. Until then, are you following how this case develops?
