Dusanka Todorovic, 75, Has Poisoning Conviction Overturned
Belgrade's Appellate Court has overturned the 15 year prison sentence given to Dusanka Todorovic (75), accused of poisoning two men who had lent her money. The case now goes to a retrial.
The Appellate Court in Belgrade has overturned the first instance verdict that sentenced Dusanka Todorovic (75) of Zeleznik to 15 years in prison. The case has been sent back to the Higher Court in Belgrade for a retrial, the Appellate Court announced on its website.
Todorovic is charged with two counts of attempted aggravated murder, both allegedly committed for financial gain, against two older men. The first instance court had given her eight years for each count, then combined them into a single 15 year sentence.
According to the indictment, the first attempt took place on November 1, 2019. Todorovic is accused of putting several bromazepam tablets into a bean dish belonging to a man from whom she had earlier borrowed about 5,000 euros and with whom, investigators suspect, she was romantically involved. His daughter found him unconscious and rushed him to the hospital.
The second attempt allegedly happened on November 25, 2019, also in Zeleznik. This time, Todorovic is accused of putting bromazepam into a second man’s drink. His grandson found him unconscious, and he was hospitalized soon after.
Prosecutors believe the motive in both cases was to avoid repaying the money she owed.
The Appellate Court accepted an appeal filed by the defendant’s lawyer and overturned the first instance verdict. In its explanation, the court found that the original ruling contained “essential violations of the provisions of criminal procedure,” since it “did not provide clear, non-contradictory and sufficient reasons” regarding the decisive facts of the case.
The case now effectively starts over. The Higher Court in Belgrade will hear it again, after the second instance court concluded that the first verdict was not reasoned thoroughly enough to stand. Until the proceedings are finally concluded, Todorovic remains a defendant, not a convicted person.
News of the Appellate Court’s decision reached the public on September 11, 2026.
