Nikola Radosavljević was born in 1968 in Jabukovac, a rural village in eastern Serbia, known by its Romanian minority as Icubovăț. He was ethnically Vlach, and worked seasonally in Austria as an agricultural laborer. Despite being described by his neighbors as quiet and kind, Radosavljević had a deeply troubled history that would eventually culminate in a mass killing.

His early life was marked by several traumas. He lost his sister as a child and later suffered the death of his newborn daughter. The deaths of both of his parents also had a lasting psychological impact. He was married to a woman named Jelena, with whom he had two children: Dalibor and Gordana. His brother, who also worked in Austria, was part of the extended family structure that remained close-knit within the village.

In the year before the massacre, warning signs began to emerge. In 2006, while traveling by bus from Austria to Serbia, Radosavljević violently attacked several passengers. This incident led to his first admission to the Laza Lazarević Institute for Neuropsychiatric Diseases in Belgrade in May 2007. Diagnosed with paranoid personality disorder, he was discharged after only one month of treatment.

Shortly afterward, he was committed again this time to a mental health facility in Klosterneuburg, Austria. He was released three weeks later, despite continued delusions that people were trying to harm or curse him. Psychiatrists noted that he exhibited persecutory delusions and paranoid thinking, often referencing Vlach witchcraft as the source of his suffering.

By mid-2007, Radosavljević had stopped taking his prescribed medication. In October 2006, he physically assaulted a coworker in Austria, which resulted in yet another hospitalization. By the summer of 2007, his behavior had become increasingly erratic. He reportedly believed that his sister-in-law, Anika Čogić, and her mother had placed a Vlach curse on him.

Two days before the shooting, he visited a local Vlach sorcerer with his son, who confirmed his fears and gave him supposed remedies. His wife and father discovered suspicious items in his home including incense and a spoon suggesting that he was actively performing rituals to rid himself of the alleged curse. His family farm also burned down weeks before the incident, further compounding his paranoia.

On 27 July 2007, Nikola Radosavljević’s mental breakdown escalated into one of Serbia’s worst rural massacres. That day, his wife Jelena returned from Vienna to spend time with the family. At lunchtime, they argued, and the dispute turned violent. Radosavljević broke his wife’s nose and jaw and left her injured on the floor of their home.

Immediately afterward, he attempted suicide by jumping into a nearby well. A neighbor heard struggling and rescued him, only to be threatened at gunpoint moments later after Radosavljević retrieved a shotgun from his house—belonging to his father.

Around 5:30 p.m., the shooting spree began. Radosavljević walked out into the village and encountered Branislav (57) and Draginja (55) Borongić in their yard. He shot and killed both. He then approached a neighbor's fence and, through a hole, shot and killed three more family members: Veljko Đorđević (58), his son Dragan (22), and Marina Barbucić (78).

Next, he confronted an elderly woman and asked if she practiced Vlach sorcery. When she denied it, he allowed her to flee.

He then shot his cousin Pera Vujić, who survived with serious injuries. A short time later, he encountered Srđan Badžikić (15) and shot him. When the boy’s father Siniša (36) bent over his son to protect him, he too was shot in the back. Srđan died in his father's arms. A neighbor, Jovanka Badejević (70), was also wounded.

Continuing his rampage, Radosavljević killed Branislav Badejević (31) and seriously wounded Vanuca Badarević (72), who managed to hide and survive. Her neighbor, Persa “Jelica” Banković (37), was fatally shot while washing clothes outside.

His final target was his sister-in-law, Anika Čogić (62). He blamed her for “everything that had happened,” accused her of witchcraft, and called her an “old witch” before shooting her in the chest, killing her instantly.

After the massacre, Radosavljević fled to the cemetery, where he shot himself in the stomach in a failed suicide attempt. He was found by police near his parents’ grave at around 1:30 a.m. on 28 July. He was taken to a hospital in Negotin, then later transferred to Niš for emergency surgery.

Following his arrest, Nikola Radosavljević was transferred to a psychiatric facility in Belgrade. A court-appointed team of neuropsychiatric experts diagnosed him with acute paranoid personality disorder, concluding he was legally insane at the time of the killings.

As a result, he was not convicted, but instead committed indefinitely to the Belgrade Central Prison Hospital. His wife Jelena divorced him, later remarried, and reportedly never returned to Jabukovac.

As of 2021, Radosavljević remains confined in the Special Psychiatric Hospital “Gornja Toponica” near Niš, Serbia. His case remains one of the most horrific spree killings in Serbian history and is often cited in discussions on mental health, witchcraft beliefs, and institutional failure.