Terrifying details from the Kecmanović trial: Did the killer boy's great-grandfather burn the Zvicer family?

Vladimir Kecmanović, the father of the boy who carried out the massacre at "Vladislav Ribnikar" Elementary School on May 3, 2023, denied the charges brought against him by the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade during yesterday’s retrial. He is accused of a serious offense against public safety and of abusing and neglecting his child. Kecmanović maintained that he is not guilty and claimed to have "two theories" about who influenced his son to become the youngest mass murderer in Serbia.

Kecmanović refused to answer questions from the prosecutors and the lawyers representing the families of the victims but agreed to respond to questions from the judicial panel.

Unofficial sources report that, because the trial is closed to the public, one of the judge’s questions concerned whether he knew about an event involving his grandfather and the Zvicer family in Montenegro.

"My grandfather was decorated, and when I was a child I always went to Montenegro with my father. If there had been any danger to us, he would never have taken me," Kecmanović reportedly replied, implying that his grandfather was a hero and that there was no risk of blood vengeance.

It is alleged that Kecmanović’s grandfather, on the night of April 24–25, 1923, in the village of Rokoči, led a unit that brutally tortured and ultimately burned the house where the wife, mother, sister, brother, and three young children of Petar Zvicer were staying.

An anonymous source said the judge’s question about the crime allegedly committed by the boy’s great-grandfather more than a century ago was not without reason. Given that the grandfather reportedly killed seven people, it is possible that the 13-year-old boy “inherited a murderous gene,” though the parents neither noticed any warning signs nor sought expert help.

According to the source, Kecmanović’s description of his grandfather as “decorated” mirrors how he speaks about his son’s crime, emphasizing that they are a “respected family.”

In presenting his defense, Kecmanović was asked why the massacre at "Ribnikar" occurred. He stated that he has two theories: the first is that someone influenced his then-twelve-year-old son via the internet, essentially encouraging him to commit the massacre. The second theory is that someone in the boy’s immediate environment “gave him the idea.”

Sources note that this is not the first time Kecmanović has attempted to place blame on anyone other than himself or his wife, who is also charged in the case.

Uros Arsic/NurPhoto / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia