The Skopje-based Criminal Court found defendant StojancheJovanovski guilty and sentenced him to a maximum of 12 years in prison for three domestic violence-related charges stemming from a pattern of continuous abuse that led to the deaths of his wife and 6-year-old daughter.
The court convicted Jovanovski of three criminal offenses, namely five years in prison for causing bodily injury, three years for threat to safety and five years in prison for inducing and aiding suicide. All three offenses are combined into a total prison sentence of 13 years.
According to the verdict, on March 2, between 11:00 am and 12:20 pm, at multiple locations, the defendant intentionally committed domestic violence and physically injured his wife Ivana. On the same day, between 12:45 pm and 1:35 pm, he continued the violence, seriously threatened her and caused her a feeling of insecurity and fear. These threats were made after they had gone to the Pestalozzi primary school in a BMW passenger car, driven by witness Martin Sazdov, to pick up their daughter Katja, after which they headed to their home.
The court proceedings established that between 2023 and 2026, at several locations in Skopje, as well as in their home, the defendant cruelly and inhumanly treated the injured party, who was financially dependent on him.
Such continuous violence caused the injured party severe psychological distress and a feeling of hopelessness. As a direct consequence, she committed suicide by jumping from a balcony together with their six-year-old daughter.
