ZAGREB, 21 June 2022 - The death of Croatian national Matej Periš was not due to violence or a crime but toxicology analyses have revealed the presence of toxic concentrations of amphetamine, ethyl alcohol and cocaine, Belgrade media quoted local prosecutors as saying on Tuesday.
The prosecutorial authorities said they issued the statement on the cause of death of the 27-year-old native of Split considering the circumstances of his disappearance in Belgrade in the night between 30 and 31 December 2021 until the discovery of his body in the Danube River in Belgrade on 18 May 2022.
The medical report was made by three forensic pathologists.
Periš went missing after leaving the Gotik night club in the Serbian capital in the night between 30 and 31 December 2021.
He had arrived in Belgrade with his friends for New Year's Eve and was last seen on footage from surveillance cameras, running in the streets of Belgrade.
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May 20, 2022 - The body of Matej Periš was taken to the Church of St. Anthony in Belgrade at around 2 pm on Friday, where a mass was held, followed by a farewell to his native Split, where he will be buried. ''It's over, I'm going home with my son'', said his father Nenad.
A large number of citizens from Belgrade gathered in front of the church to pay their respects to the man from Split who, under as yet undetermined circumstances, died in the Serbian capital, reports tportal.hr.
According to the preliminary results of the autopsy, Periš drowned in the Sava on a fateful night, and his body was found only on Wednesday, almost five months later, in the Danube near Ada Huja.
Nenad Periš, the father of Matej Periš, was the first to arrive at the church.The Holy Eucharistic Mass at today's farewell from Belgrade in the church of St. Anthony of Padua was led by the Archbishop of Belgrade Stanislav Hocevar, and in a farewell speech, he was joined by the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) Patriarch Porphyry.
On behalf of the Diocese, a bouquet of 27 white roses was placed on the coffin, symbolizing the years of Matej Periš.
''All of us will, sooner or later, follow the path that Matej took from this world, but that path is not determined by us, this path is God's will'', said the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
"I thank Belgrade for its great heart, regardless of the fact that my son's life ended there. The heart given to me by the people of Belgrade in these 139 days helped me to feel the human care that I needed in these moments'', said Nenad Periš.
He also thanked the Ministry of the Interior of Serbia, emphasizing that he had ''human and professional contact'' with the police officers.
''I would like to say thank you to every cop. I would also like to thank the Croatian Ministry of the Interior, which has also done an amazing job. Thanks also to the BiH Ministry of the Interior. Thanks to all the journalists, and cameramen. I think you have shown that you are human and that in such difficult situations you know the difference between news and pain'', he continued.
''Thank you to every man in Belgrade, regardless of whether he is a believer or not. It has come to an end, I am going home with my son, and I am turning a new page that will be printed in Belgrade. After this, I think I will be a much better man. I think that God's call has a deeper meaning ', said Periš.
He pointed out that no public farewell from Matej would be organized in Split, and that the funeral would be held among family and friends.
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