At the new hearing in the Kochani fire trial, held on Tuesday, the defense for the Pulse nightclub owner, Dejan Jovanov, again requested that his detention measure be replaced with a house arrest one due to his health condition.
However, parents and other relatives of those killed in the tragedy fiercely reacted to that, shouting “Send him to a hotel”, and “Release him so that we deliver a sentence against him”.
The house arrest measure request was rejected. Prosecutor Natasha Saramandova provided the defense with an additional response to questions in relation to the Forensic Medicine Institute that were asked in the expertise order. The document was not read in the courtroom.
The Prosecutor’s Office announced there would be an explanation from the expert. However, some of the attorneys revealed that it contained data indicating that alcohol, drugs, or cyanide had been found in some of the victims.
During the break, the parents reacted, stating that such evidence had not been presented before and that it was unacceptable for it to be used to blame the victims. The parents are waiting for the forensic expert to come to the courtroom and answer all dilemmas.