The trial over last year’s murder of teenager Vanja Gjorcevska and 74-year-old Pance Zezovski started on Friday.
The defendants, Ljupco Palevski, Bore Videvski, Velibor Manev, Vlatko Kesisov and Vanja’s father, Aleksandar Gjorcevski, pled not guilty. Palevski, who’s the principal defendant, said he was a victim, not a killer. Describing the process against him as staged, he stated that it was founded on a statement by one of the other defendants.
“I was not in Veles when Zezovski was murdered. DNA of mine wasn’t found during the investigation. I will submit evidence over that,” Palevski stated.
On behalf of Vanja’s mother, prosecutors requested that the main hearing not be public because it would have serious consequences on her and her second daughter’s health.
However, the Criminal Court rejected the request. She, too, will be a witness in the process. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the defendants had planned the murder for several days.