Triple murderer in Split sentenced to 40 years in prison again

(Patria) - Filip Zavadlav was again provisionally sentenced to 40 years in prison today for the triple murder in the center of Split in 2020.

However, his motive, according to the judge of the Split County Court, Višnja Strinić, remained unexplained.

He will go to prison for the murders of Jurica Torlak (37), Marin Boban (25), and Marin Ožić Paić (25), which he committed in Šperun and Varoš in January 2020, when he shot Torlak and Boban who were on a motorcycle, and then Ožić Paić.

In explaining the verdict, Judge Strinić stated that during the proceedings, it was not proven that Zavadlav killed out of reckless revenge, nor was there evidence that his victims were selling drugs and extorting his brother Stanislav.

In addition, the part of the verdict that spoke of Jerko Malvasija's house as a place where drugs were sold was removed.

He received 15 years in prison for each of the murdered, and was ultimately sentenced to a unified prison term of 40 years, Hina reports.

Zavadlav, who appeared in court with a shaved head, tried to say something to the judge at the end, but she refused, saying it was over and that he could not.

During the reading of the verdict, he laughed, shook his head, and at one point even applauded Judge Strinić.

- Reviewing the video surveillance footage confirmed that Filip Zavadlav was the perpetrator of the triple murder.

As for the motive, it remains unexplained because it is hidden in the psyche of the perpetrator. He was aware of his actions and wanted to take the lives of his victims - said Judge Strinić among other things in explaining the verdict.

She added that this is one of the most serious crimes not only in Split and Dalmatia, but in all of Croatia.

- The accused should have reported to the institutions due to his problems, help was offered to him, but he acted in the worst possible way - emphasized the judge.

No one from the victims' families was noticed in the courtroom during the pronouncement of the verdict.

After the trial ended, Filip's brother, Stanislav Zavadlav, caused a scene in front of the County Court building and was literally carried away by the police.

He desperately wanted to talk to numerous journalistic teams, but the police did not allow him to.

For the retrial, which followed after the High Criminal Court overturned the first verdict upon appeal, Zavadlav came from the prison in Gospić.

In the courtroom, he sat chained and in a bulletproof vest, changed several lawyers, and will be remembered for communicating with the court panel exclusively in Italian for a period.

He still claims that he is not the perpetrator of the triple murder that shocked Split.