Danka Ilic Trial: Both Defendants Plead Not Guilty

Dejan Dragijevic and Srdjan Jankovic pleaded not guilty today, October 30, 2026, to the aggravated murder of two-year-old Danka Ilic. The first step in the trial over Danka Ilic’s death was a preliminary hearing at the Higher Court in Negotin, a little more than two and a half years after the girl disappeared. The main trial begins on November 19.

What happened at the hearing in Negotin?

The hearing lasted almost three hours and was closed to the public. At 10:30 a.m. the defendants were brought from the District Prison in Zajecar to the large courtroom. They arrived in an official vehicle, handcuffed, and were taken into the building through a rear entrance under heavy security. After the hearing they were returned to custody, where they have been since their arrest, and led out through the back exit, which let them avoid the reporters waiting outside the court.

Judge Julijana Mogos-Zivkovic, who holds a master’s degree, presided over the hearing. According to the court, the indictment was summarized, the defendants entered their pleas, the evidence to be presented at the main trial was outlined, and the parties were given the chance to propose more. The Higher Court described who attended:

The preliminary hearing was held without the public present, in the presence of the public prosecutor of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Zajecar, the defendants and their defense attorneys, as well as the injured parties and their legal representative.

It was the first time the girl’s parents and the two defendants were in the same courtroom. Zivadin Bogdanovic, the defense attorney for Srdjan Jankovic, said, in his words, that “there is no material evidence or DNA that links them to the crime.” Some media describe the hearing as the start of the trial, but the court treats it as preparatory, and evidence is presented only at the main trial.

What are the defendants accused of?

The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Zajecar filed the indictment on February 4, 2026, after a supplementary investigation, charging aggravated murder as co-perpetrators. Prosecutors are seeking life in prison for both men.

According to the indictment, on March 26, 2024, in Banjsko Polje near Bor, the defendants struck the girl with an official vehicle belonging to the “Vodovod” public utility, put her in the car and killed her, then left her body at a dump. Prosecutors say the body was first thrown onto an illegal dump on the Starobanjski Road and then moved to an unknown location. For months the search covered dozens of sites, including caves, forests and canyons. The body has still not been found.

Guilt has not been established, and the presumption of innocence applies until a final verdict.

How did the case end up in Negotin?

Timeline of the case:

• March 26, 2024. Danka Ilic disappears in Banjsko Polje near Bor. That day the “Find Me” alert system was activated in Serbia for the first time.
• April 4, 2024. Police arrest Dejan Dragijevic and Srdjan Jankovic.
• April 6, 2024. Dragijevic’s father and brother are arrested. His brother Dalibor died on April 7 at the police station in Bor.
• June 4 and July 11, 2024. Jankovic, then Dragijevic, withdraw their earlier statements to the prosecutor. Right after their arrest both had confessed to police, but later they claimed they had never seen the girl or hit her with a vehicle.

The Court of Appeal in Nis twice overturned the Higher Court in Zajecar’s decision confirming the indictment. The second time it ordered an entirely new panel to rule on the indictment, which moved the case to the Higher Court in Negotin. Proceedings against the father of the first defendant, identified as R. D., who was initially charged with helping to hide the body, were discontinued by a court decision.

The main trial is scheduled for November 19, 20, 23 and 24, 2026, starting at 10 a.m. each day.