A new hearing was held in the trial over the Ivana and Katja case on Wednesday. For almost three hours, Prosecutor Adela Bojchevikj, Judge Ivica Stefanovski, and the defense were asking the witness, Martin Sazdov, questions.
That person was the one that came to pick up Ivana and Katja the night when the suspect, now-widower Stojanche Jovanovski, left them on the highway near Shtip. In tears, he testified about what happened the day when the woman and her six-year-old daughter lost their lives. Answering questions, Sazdov spoke about violence suffered by Ivana, often in front of him.
An eyewitness to one of Stojanche’s attacks on Ivana also testified. According to her testimony, she tried to calm Jovanovski down while he was beating Ivana in the park in Gjorche Petrov.
Even though she called the police, Ivana did not want to file a report against her husband. She asked the police for help on the day of the tragedy, but did not want to file a report. Officers told her she could be held liable for false reporting, while their advice for her was that they should resolve their problems amongst themselves. The trial will continue on Thursday (April 2).