February 1, 2021 – At today's press conference, the Sibenik police released new details about quadruple murder in Sibenik, revealing that the killer used the Chinese version of a Kalashnikov.

The Šibenik police held a press conference today on the quadruple murder and suicide in Šibenik and Vodice on Saturday, January 30, 2021. The Chief of the Šibenik-Knin Police Administration, Ivica Kostanić, opened the conference by explaining the case's chronology.

Kalashnikov procured illegally

"At 12:56 pm, we received a report that a dead man was found in a Mercedes in Vodice. We found him with gunshot wounds. The ambulance informed us about three more dead people on the South Highway. It was determined that they had gunshot wounds. An arrest warrant has been issued for the perpetrator.

During the inspection at 18:22, we received a report that a vehicle had been seen in the Vodice area. The report was from the citizens, and I have to thank the citizens for their help. The suspect's body was dead in the vehicle.

We determined that he used a 7.62 caliber weapon, the Chinese version of the Kalashnikov. He killed three people near Šibenik and then drove towards Vodice in the car of the murdered 60-year-old. He parked in front of the store of the injured 47-year-old. When he came out, he fired shots at him from the same weapon. Then he drove the Škoda outside Vodice, got out of the vehicle two kilometers away, and killed himself with the same weapon.

In addition to that weapon, he possessed a pistol, a rifle with optics, and 302 pieces of ammunition. We have determined that the motives are of a business nature and related to the pre-bankruptcy procedure," said Kostanić.

He added that the perpetrator acquired and owned the Kalashnikov and all other weapons illegally, and they are now investigating how. Kostanić also denied the possibility that there was any indication that the killer would commit this crime because there was no farewell letter.

Motive of the murder – business relationship

"By reviewing the documentation and interviews, we determined that the motive for the crime was a business relationship between the suspect and the victims related to the bankruptcy proceedings against the suspect's company and the amount for which the suspect's real estate and movables were or should be sold," Kostanić said.

Bankruptcy proceedings are being studied. The criminal investigation continues in the establishing business relations and court proceedings at the Commercial Court in Zadar.

"These are all criminal offenses in the field of economic crime. Extensive documentation should be studied here, and, based on what we have established, we could fully explain the motive for the committed crime. The fact is that it was a business relationship and the consequences related to it," Kostanić said.

Suspect had his weapon confiscated earlier

The murder happened an hour after the three victims, and the killer met in a business meeting at a warehouse in Ražine. In Vodice, the killer came in front of the "Djelo" shopping center and waited for the fourth victim.

At the murder places near the warehouse in Ražine, the police found 16 shell casings of automatic weapons and 21 shell casings in the car of the 47-year-old. They found a CZ pistol and 125 pieces of ammunition, a silencer for an automatic rifle, and a knife in a holster in the vehicle of the person they presume to have killed.

In the Škoda, which was searched for on Saturday, the police found an automatic rifle with 28 rounds of ammunition and a hunting cartridge. In one of his houses, ammunition for a pistol, an air rifle with optics, and ammunition for a hunting rifle was found. Bankruptcy documentation was found in another house.

"Although he was a hunter, his weapon was illegal and was previously confiscated due to domestic violence. In 2009, the weapon was confiscated. In 2014 it was returned. However, in 2018, the weapon was confiscated again due to the threat to one person. No elements were identified then, but when the police entered the house, they found that the weapons were kept inconsistent with the law. And we filed a misdemeanor motion, and the proceedings were ongoing," the chief explained.

He added that the mentioned report for the threat had nothing to do with this event. It was about neighborly relations.

As TCN reported earlier, a 47-year-old businessman from Šibenik was killed in Vodice. A 42-year-old businessman, a 61-year-old bankruptcy trustee, and her 62-year-old husband were killed in Šibenik. The suspected 57-year-old businessman was found dead after the murder.

Source: Index

January 31, 2021 – The Sibenik police issued a statement about the quadruple murder and suicide yesterday in Vodice and Šibenik.

The area of Šibenik and Vodice was shaken by four murders yesterday, and later in the day, the perpetrator of the murders was also found dead. Here we bring a statement from the Šibenik police about the fourfold murder.

"At 12:56 pm, the Šibenik-Knin Police Department received a report that a dead man had been found in a vehicle next to the road in Vodice. Investigations established that it was a 47-year-old man who was found in a car with multiple gunshot wounds on the body.

At 1:23 pm, police received a report from the Emergency Medical Service of finding three dead people, two men and a woman, in a facility on the South Highway. During the investigation, it was determined that they were a 42-year-old man, 62-year-old man, and 61-year-old woman, who, as determined, died a violent death and had gunshot wounds on their bodies.

Considering the collected information, a search for the possible perpetrator was announced, and the public was informed that a gray Škoda Karoq vehicle, registration number ŠI-959-HF, was wanted. The entire operational staff of the Šibenik Police, together with the Zadar and Split-Dalmatia Police Directorates, established checkpoints at the entrances/exits to detect and locate the perpetrator.

During the investigation at both places where the dead bodies were found, led by the Deputy County State's Attorney from Šibenik, at 6:22 pm, we received a report that a personal vehicle was found in the Vodice area, as well as the dead body of a 57-year-old suspect.

The dead bodies of all persons were transported to the Pathology Department of the General Hospital in Šibenik for an autopsy and to determine the cause of death. The used vehicles were transferred to the Police Administration, where inspection activities will be carried out during the day.

Also, during the day, police officers will perform some additional measures and actions to connect all the events that preceded the commission of criminal offenses, after which it will be determined what the motive of the perpetrator was," reads the statement from the Šibenik police.

The police will inform the public about all the new information at a press conference tomorrow.

Although the Šibenik police did not reveal the victims' nor the murderer's identities, Croatian media soon found out who they were.

Jutarnji.hr reports that a well-known Šibenik businessman was first killed in his car in front of the "Djelo" shopping center in Vodice at around 1 pm. The entrepreneur, allegedly killed by a burst from an automatic rifle, was the head of the entire "Djelo" retail chain, one of the largest in the county and Dalmatia and Croatia, a member of the national "Ultra" chain.

Then three more dead bodies were found in Ražine, in the basement of the former Matkol bakery. It was soon learned that those three people were the director of Sabirač company, a well-known Šibenik bankruptcy trustee and HDZ city councilor, and her husband, who happened to be at the scene of the murder, allegedly driving his wife to a pre-arranged meeting.

It soon turned out that the perpetrator, who was eventually found dead next to the car in which he fled to the police, was also a well-known Šibenik businessman. He failed in his bakery business, and his company, which he had been building all his life, went bankrupt before the great crisis of 2008.

January 30, 2021 – Four people killed in the Sibenik area today. Namely, at about 1 pm, one man was killed in Vodice. Shortly afterward, information arrived about a shooting in Šibenik, where three more people were killed. At about 7 pm, the police found the killer's dead body near Vodice. It is presumed that he commited suicide.

According to the first information, one man was killed with an automatic rifle in front of the "Djelo" store in Vodice. Šibenik.hr unofficially reports that he is a well-known entrepreneur. The attacker continued the bloody raid in Šibenik, in a bakery in the Ražina area, where three other people were shot. However, the police have not yet confirmed the link between these two murders.

Shortly after 3 pm, the Šibenik police reported on the events in a statement.

"The Šibenik-Knin Police Department received a report at 12:56 pm that a dead man had been found in a vehicle by the road in Vodice. At 1:23 pm, police received a second report from the Ambulance about three dead people, two men and a woman, in a facility on the South Highway. Initial information indicates that persons died a violent death.

An investigation is underway at both sites, and at this moment, we cannot confirm whether the deaths were related. Additional police forces were immediately sent to the field to find the person that could be linked to the found persons' death.

The Šibenik-Knin Police Department will promptly inform the public with new, verified, and confirmed information," the Šibenik police reported.

As Jutarnji.hr reports, after a police's statement, unofficial information was published but soon refuted that the suspected perpetrator, allegedly the owner of a stumbled bakery chain, had killed himself. The police denied that information, publishing the car brand and license plates of the male person being linked to the events.

"In connection with the events mentioned above, we are bringing a male person driving a ŠKODA KAROQ personal vehicle, gray, with license plates ŠI-959-HF. We call on citizens to report the location to the police at the following telephone numbers: 192, 022 / 347-139, or 022 / 347-446. We warn citizens not to approach the vehicle but to inform the police immediately. "

Slobodna Dalmacija writes that he is allegedly in a house that is under siege by the police.

As Večernji.hr reports, the police surrounded the area where the perpetrator (or several perpetrators) of the murder in Šibenik and Vodice are allegedly hiding. There is no official confirmation of the number of perpetrators yet and the identity of those killed.

Information about the events change from moment to moment, and Croatian media report that among killed was the owner of a retail chain, Šibenik bankruptcy trustee and city councilwoman and her husband, and another creditor. Unofficial information says that the killer is the owner of a failed Šibenik company that had a number of bakeries and shops in the city, but went bankrupt. The victims' friends claim that an unresolved business relationship caused the tragedy.

The streets of Vodice have been flooded with special forces since early afternoon. A Mercedes in which the victim was allegedly sitting at the time of the murder was parked in front of the "Djelo" store. The Šibenik police are on the streets, the Šibenik bridge, and the intersection in Ražine, where they have set up blockades and inspect cars.

UPDATE:

As Hina reports, Branko Koloper, who killed four people in Šibenik and Vodice earlier today, was found dead after most likely committing suicide.

According to the first information from police, Koloper's dead body was found just before 7 pm in an open space near Vodice. The vehicle that the police were searching for was also found. An inquest should confirm whether it was a suicide, as is presumed. Police did not reveal his identity.

From sources close to the investigation, Koloper, the owner of the bankrupt company Matkol, killed the married couple Mario and Radojka Danek and Toni Šparada in Šibenik with automatic weapons. In Vodice, he killed the executive director of the Djelo retail chain, Tedi Slamić.

A spokesman for the Šibenik-Knin Police Department, Šime Pavić, previously confirmed that the perpetrator was in a business relationship with the victims. The murdered Radojka Danek was the bankruptcy trustee of Koloper's company Matkol, but also the Šibenik city councilor from the ranks of the HDZ.

According to media reports, the spouses Danek and Šparada were killed in Šibenik's Ražine, where Koloper has a production plant. After shooting them with a 'Kalashnikov', he allegedly drove to Vodice where he shot Slamić in front of his shop.