Starcevo blast survivor charged with killing two friends
Pancevo's Higher Public Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation into P. V. (35) from Starcevo, two months after a bomb blast killed two of his friends. He is in 30-day detention.
The Pancevo Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation against P. V. (35) from Starcevo on suspicion that he killed two friends with a hand grenade in the yard of a family home in July. At the prosecutor’s request, the Pancevo Higher Court has ordered his pretrial detention for up to 30 days.
The suspect is charged with aggravated murder and illegal possession of explosive materials. According to the prosecutor’s statement, on July 17, 2026, at around 9:50 p.m., he brought an explosive device, a hand grenade, to the yard of a house on Proletnja Street in Starcevo and detonated it there.
The suspect is charged with carrying an explosive device, a hand grenade, on July 17, 2026, at around 9:50 p.m., which he detonated in the yard of a house in Starcevo.
That is how the Pancevo Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office described the event in the statement announcing the investigation.
Two people were killed in the explosion. D. P. (born 1995) from Banatski Brestovac died at the scene. A. F. (born 1986) from Starcevo suffered severe injuries and died the following day, July 18, in the hospital. The suspect himself was seriously injured in the blast; he was treated and survived.
Pancevo police arrived at the scene shortly after the explosion. During the on-site investigation, a spoon and a safety pin from the hand grenade were found next to the body of the victim who died at the scene. Investigators determined that the grenade had not been thrown over the fence, but was detonated in the yard by one of the three people present.
After questioning the suspect, the Pancevo Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office asked the court to order detention, and the court accepted the request. The detention was justified on the grounds that the alleged offenses carry a prison sentence of more than ten years, and that the manner in which the crime was carried out and its consequences caused public unrest that could jeopardize the smooth conduct of proceedings. Under the indictment, P. V. faces up to life in prison.
