Bio

Nikola Radosavljević was born in 1968. He was an ethnic Vlach and lived in the Serbian village of Jabukovac. Neighbors described him as a kind and calm man.

As a child, he lost his sister. That loss affected him for a long time. His parents later died, and those deaths also affected him.

He had a brother who worked in Austria. These family losses and ties shaped his life before later events.

Murder Story

On 27 July 2007 in the Serbian village of Jabukovac (Romanian: Icubovăț), Nikola Radosavljević killed nine neighbours and wounded five more. He had lunch with his wife Jelena that day. At around 17:00 they argued. He hit his wife and she was left injured. He went outside and tried to drown himself in a well. A neighbour heard him and pulled him out. He went home, took a shotgun that belonged to his father, and threatened the neighbour. The neighbour ran away.

Radosavljević left his yard at about 17:30 with the shotgun. He first shot Branislav Borongić (57) and then shot Draginja Borongić (55) in the back as she tried to run. He then shot Veljko Đorđević (58) and Veljko's son Dragan (22). He also shot Veljko's sister-in-law, Marina Barbucić (78), who died shortly after. He met an old woman on the street and asked if she practiced Vlach magic. When she denied it, he let her go.

He attacked his cousin Pera Vujić, who was severely injured but survived. He shot fifteen-year-old Srđan Badžikić in his yard. Srđan's father Siniša (36) was shot in the back while trying to protect him. Srđan died soon after in his father's arms. Jovanka Badejević (70) was shot and survived. Radosavljević then shot and killed Branislav Badejević (31).

He shot and injured Vanuca Badarević (72), who hid and survived. Persa "Jelica" Banković (37), who was washing clothes, was fatally shot and fell in the street. When he arrived at his sister-in-law Anika Čogić (62), he accused her of cursing him and called her an "old witch." He shot her in the chest. She was the last victim of the massacre.

After the shootings, Radosavljević went to the cemetery and tried to shoot himself in the stomach. Police found him on 28 July at about 01:30 near his parents' grave. He was arrested and taken to a hospital in Negotin for first aid. He was later brought to Niš for surgery.

Nikola Radosavljević was born in 1968 and was 39 at the time of the massacre. He was a seasonal agricultural worker in Austria and was an ethnic Vlach. He had a history of mental illness and paranoid thoughts. He had been admitted to the Laza Lazarević Institute for Neuropsychiatric Diseases in Belgrade two months before the shooting and was released after one month. He was later in a mental hospital in Klosterneuburg, Austria, and released three weeks later. He had stopped taking his medication at times and had prior violent incidents. Two days before the shooting, he and his son visited a local Vlach sorcerer who told him he was under a curse.

After the shooting, doctors concluded that he could not understand the significance of his actions or control them. A team of neuropsychiatric experts diagnosed him with acute paranoid personality disorder. He was not convicted but was sent to Belgrade Central Prison Hospital for treatment. Radosavljević and his wife later divorced. As of 2021, he was admitted to the Special Psychiatric Hospital "Upper Toponica" near Niš.