Verdict for Ribnikar parents set for June 18

The Higher Court in Belgrade has scheduled June 18 for the verdict against Vladimir and Miljana Kecmanovic, the parents of the boy who carried out the May 2023 massacre at the Vladislav Ribnikar primary school. The ruling is expected at 10 a.m., the court said.

The date was set after closing arguments were delivered in the retrial. Chief public prosecutor Nenad Stefanovic asked for the maximum sentences for both defendants. Under his proposal, Vladimir Kecmanovic would be sentenced to 14 years and 11 months in prison, while a term of three years was sought for Miljana Kecmanovic.

In his closing remarks, the prosecutor said there were no mitigating circumstances on the parents’ side. “As a result of their failures, 10 people died,” Stefanovic said. The verdict has not yet been issued, and the court will rule on guilt at the scheduled hearing.

What led to the verdict being scheduled?

The proceedings against the parents concern the events of May 3, 2023, when ten people were killed at the school in the Vracar district, among them nine children and a security guard. The perpetrator was a minor at the time of the act, so he could not be tried as an adult under criminal law.

The parents’ responsibility has been at the center of the prosecution’s case from the start. The prosecution charges the father with failing to store securely a weapon the child could access, and with taking the boy to a shooting range. The mother is charged with failures in supervision and care.

A first-instance verdict in this case was handed down earlier, but the Court of Appeal overturned it and ordered a retrial. The case was therefore heard again, with evidence presented anew and fresh closing arguments. The June 18 date refers to the verdict in that retrial.

Throughout the trial, the defense disputed the legal construction of the indictment, arguing that the consequences cannot be attributed to the parents’ conduct in the way the prosecution presents it. The court will give its final assessment of those claims in the reasoning of the verdict.

What does the verdict mean for the legal process?

The delivery of a first-instance verdict does not mark the end of the case. Whatever the outcome, the party that considers itself aggrieved has the right to appeal to the Court of Appeal, which in this case has already once led to a ruling being overturned and the matter returned for retrial.

That means the case could, depending on the court’s decision and any appeals, once again come before a higher instance. A verdict becomes final only once all ordinary legal remedies are exhausted or the deadline for appeal has passed.

For a public that has followed this case since 2023, the June 18 hearing marks the first judicial word on the parents’ guilt in the retrial. Whether the court accepts the prosecution’s proposed sentences or reaches a different decision will be shown in the reasoning of the verdict.