Mother in Novi Sad charged after one-and-a-half-year-old daughter beaten to death
A 33-year-old woman is accused of repeatedly striking her daughter on 2 November 2026; father detained on a failure-to-help charge.
Authorities in Novi Sad have charged a 33-year-old mother, identified as A.Š., after her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, M.Š., died following severe beatings on the evening of 2 November 2026. The child succumbed to catastrophic injuries despite emergency services' attempts to save her.
Details of the case and criminal counts
According to the preliminary investigation, A.Š. is suspected of striking the child repeatedly across the body and head with a belt and a blunt wooden object. The metal buckle on the belt caused especially severe wounds. Early forensic results indicate the death resulted from direct complications: severe damage and failure of the adrenal glands, followed by fatal traumatic shock.
The mother was detained for up to 48 hours after police secured physical evidence, including the implements allegedly used in the attack. She faces a count of aggravated murder, an offense that carries a statutory penalty ranging from a minimum of ten years' imprisonment up to life without parole.
The child's father, T.Š., 54, was also arrested on suspicion of failing to provide assistance; that charge carries a potential sentence from three months to five years in prison. Both suspects are to be handed over within the legally prescribed timeframe to the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad for further questioning.
Neighbors in the family's Novi Sad neighborhood described the household as living in poor conditions and relying largely on social assistance and occasional manual work by the father. Witnesses said the parents had struggled with substance use.
"That woman is a monster… She has, I think, three other children besides that little girl. The baby was only one year old, probably cried and bothered them, who knows… I heard she beat her with a belt, and the blows with the metal buckle hurt anyone, let alone a small child," one outraged neighbor recounted. Investigators continue collecting evidence to fully reconstruct what happened.
Photo: press material from the event
