Vladimir Kecmanovic, the father of the boy who committed a mass murder in May 2023 at the “Vladislav Ribnikar“ elementary school; in Belgrade, was sentenced today to 14.5 years in prison by the High Court in Belgrade, Radio Free Europe (RFE) reported, bTV reported.
According to the same court's decision, the boy's mother, Miljana Kecmanović, was sentenced to three years in prison.
The High Court also sentenced Nemanja Marinković, an instructor at the shooting range where, according to the prosecution, Vladimir Kecmanović took his son to practice shooting, to one year and three months in prison.
The sentences are at first instance and the convicted have the right to appeal.
The minor son of Vladimir and Miljana Kecmanović, then thirteen years old, fatally shot on May 3 last year. nine students and one security guard and injured five more students and a teacher, RFE/RL recalls.
The parents were held liable because criminal proceedings cannot be initiated against their son, who committed the mass murder, since he was not 14 years old at the time of the crime.
On December 20 this year, the Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, Nenad Stefanović, asked the court to sentence the defendants to the maximum penalties under the law.
Vladimir Kecmanović is accused of having trained his 13-year-old son to handle weapons, as well as of failing to provide adequate conditions for storing firearms. The charges against Miljana Kecmanović were for illegal manufacture, possession and carrying of weapons and negligence and abuse of a minor.
The shooting instructor Nemanja Marinković was charged with giving false testimony.
The student who committed the crime has been in a psychiatric hospital since May 3, 2023, BTA reported.
His father Vladimir Kecmanović was in custody the entire time, and his mother Miljana Kecmanović was banned from approaching her son and communicating with him.
At the request of the prosecutor's office, the trial was closed to the public in order to protect the minor.