Trial begins in the murder of Danka Ilić; Defendants arrive at court in a police van; Girl's parents present

They were transported to the courthouse entrance in a police van and escorted inside in handcuffs.

According to a Blic reporter at the scene, the parents of little Danka Ilić were also present at the trial for her murder.

The parties in the proceedings will deliver their opening statements today, after which the main hearing, or trial, will be scheduled.

R.D., the father of D.D., was also initially charged in these proceedings, but the court later dismissed the case against him.

The investigation was supplemented on the orders of the Niš Court of Appeals, after it twice sent back the decision confirming the indictment to the Higher Court in Zaječar. On the second occasion, it ordered that the decision be made by an entirely new judicial panel from the Higher Court in Negotin.

Life Imprisonment Sought

In its indictment, the prosecution proposed that the court sentence D.D. and S.J. to life imprisonment.

D.D. and S.J. are suspected of having struck the two-year-old girl with a vehicle on March 26 in Banjsko Polje, near Bor. They were driving a company vehicle belonging to the public utility company Vodovod, where they were employed, before allegedly placing the child inside the vehicle.

They are suspected of having dumped her body at a landfill before moving it to another location.

The girl's body has never been found.

R.D. is suspected of helping his son, D.D., move the girl's body.

D.D.'s biological brother, D.D., died on April 7, 2024, while in police custody at the Bor Police Department.