In the Rosica Koceva case, the Interior Ministry’s Internal Affairs Department has initiated disciplinary proceedings against 11 Veles Internal Affairs Sector police officers. The case concerns the double murder-suicide on 15 September, when Ilija Stefanovski, Rosica Koceva’s ex-partner, killed her and her father, and then took his own life.
According to police, the 11 officers didn’t act in full and in accordance with legal obligations and procedures in relation to previous reports. The Veles Prosecutor’s Office has been notified about the non-compliance with procedures.
In the majority of cases, police acted according to the law, the Ministry explains. In that regard, a criminal charge was filed against Stefanovski, which resulted in him getting a suspended sentence in court.
On 21 May of this year, Rosica reported to the Veles Internal Affairs Sector there had been failure to comply with a court verdict by Stefanovski because he wasn’t complying with additional measures for protection against domestic violence and continuing to send texts and photos in an attempt to communicate with her.
Three days prior, on 18 May, Rosica had reported to police that Ilija had stolen, from outside the family’s yard, the car owned by her father. Following that report, Veles prosecutors ordered the Ministry to secure evidence from telephone communication, in addition to issuing four orders to secure CCTV footage from different locations in Veles.
The Ministry’s still acting upon those orders. At the time of the double murder-suicide, the ban against Stefanovski to leave his residence, that is, the city of Skopje, as well as the restraining order, were in force. Commenting on the disciplinary proceedings, SDSM stated everyone responsible for oversights had to be held to account.