The case of Danka Ilić: Indictment confirmed again, body missing

High Court in Zajecaru issued a decision confirming the indictment of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Zaječar in the case of the alleged murder of a two-year-old girl Thank you Ilić which was erected on September 24 last year.

The indictment was brought against the defendants DD from the village of Zlot and SJ from the village of Luka, town of Bor, for grave murder in complicity and against RD from the village of Zlot, for not reporting the crime and its perpetrator and for helping the perpetrator after the crime was committed.

Previously, on December 30, 2024, the Chamber of the Appellate Court in Niš passed a decision revoking the decision of the High Court in Zaječar on the confirmation of the indictment and sent the proposal back to the first instance court in Zaječar for a new decision.

The search for Danko Ilić began on the same day she disappeared in the town of Banjsko Polje, March 26, 2024, and was intensively covered by the media, but there are still no results. The case of her disappearance was turned into creepy reality show, the same day that Danka disappeared.

Controversial recording of a girl in Vienna

First, a video made in Vienna appeared showing a girl who resembles Danka Ilić, for whom a yellow Interpol warrant was issued in the meantime. The girl in the video was with some women.

Two days later, the Viennese police announced that they believe that the two-year-old girl Danka Ilić was filmed, and appealed to eyewitnesses and people who know the women who were seen on the video with the girl to come forward immediately.

The family of the missing girl watched the video footage and stated that it was "highly likely" that it was Danka.

Arrest of suspects

Then, on April 4, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Zaječar announced that the police in Bor arrested JS (50) from the village of Luka and DD (50) from the village of Zlot, suspected of killing Danka on March 26.

It was stated that the workers of the local "Vodovod" were arrested and that it is suspected that they killed the girl "just seven minutes after the reported time of disappearance" with a company car of the "Fiat" brand.

The higher public prosecutor's office in Zaječar announced that the suspects threw the girl's body at the landfill after the murder and that they were charged with aggravated murder.

The higher public prosecutor's office in Zaječar confirmed to "Vreme" at the time that two suspects were being investigated for serious murder.

Arrest of accomplices

The case experienced a new complication already on April 6, when RD (73) and DD (40), the father and brother of DD (50) were arrested. They are suspected of helping DD (50) to move the girl's body from the landfill near Banjsko polje to a now unknown location.

They were detained for up to 48 hours and were to be brought to the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Zaječar along with a criminal report.

Death at the police station

However, DD (40), the brother of one of the suspects in Danka Ilić's murder, died in custody.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that he died in the Police Department in Bor, with the explanation that he fell ill, and that, despite the timely response of police officers and doctors from the Health Center in Bor who attempted resuscitation, he died, and that the doctor concluded that it was a natural death.

Due to the case of Danka Ilić, a kind of precedent took place on the political and social scene of Serbia, i.e. not very often the acceptance of vicarious responsibility of superiors, so the director of "Vodovod" in Bor, where the murder suspects worked, submitted resignation for moral reasons.

The unsuccessful search for Danko continued, and almost a month after her murder, the public faced the unpleasant truth - the brother of the murder suspect, DD (40), died because he was so beaten by the police that he succumbed to his injuries.

Denial of accusations

Finally, on June 4, SJ (50) completely denied killing Danka Ilić at the hearing in the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office.

He said that he was not guilty of killing the girl and that he had never seen her in his life, neither on the day she was killed nor ever before.

He explained to the prosecutor his movements, that is, the timing of the fateful day.

He mentioned when he was repairing a shaft, which is why he and DD (50) came to Banjsko polje and how long they stayed there.

He said and said that he stopped next to the landfill where the wanted body of Danka Ilić was because he was talking on the phone.

He pointed out that he had nothing to do with the plot and that he had not met Danka, let alone hit him with a car.

Three new witnesses

At the end of June, it was announced that new witnesses in the case of the disappearance and murder of Danka Ilić will be heard on July 5. The two witnesses are residents of Banjsko Polje who stated that they did not see Danka Ilić that day.

The third witness is a resident of Bor who ran on the Starobanjski road that day. He confirmed that he saw the Vodovod vehicle that passed by him.

Apart from the mystery of the disappearance of the body, another one appeared after the analysis of DNA and GPS expertise, which showed that there are DNA traces in the official car that Janković and Dragijević were driving, but none of them belong to Danka.

The body of Danka Ilić has not yet been found.