Prosecutor Ljubomir Lape seeks life sentence for Trajko Bojkovski
Prosecutors say the shepherd is charged with four killings and two attempts; DNA traces were mentioned in court.
The prosecution asked the Basic Court in Kumanovo today to hand down a life sentence to Trajko Bojkovski, the man accused of a string of killings in the Staro Nagorichane area. Bojkovski faces charges in connection with four murders and two attempted murders.
The public prosecutor, Ljubomir Lape, told the court that Bojkovski, who worked as a shepherd, preyed on the vulnerable instead of protecting them and targeted older, solitary women.
"The evidence indisputably shows that Stanche Karevska, Janka Antevska, Marija Marinkovska and Mira Stankovska were killed in the same way, by strangulation and pressure on the chest. Some of them also had injuries to the genital area, and DNA traces from the accused were found on two of the victims and on one of the survivors," Lape said.
Evidence and defence
Prosecutors emphasized the pattern of the attacks and the forensic links they say connect Bojkovski to multiple scenes. They argued the gravity and repetition of the crimes warrant the maximum penalty.
Dragana Ilievska-Todorovic, lawyer for several of the injured parties, said the evidence also ties Bojkovski to the murder of Stanche Karevska — the killing he alone refuses to acknowledge.
The Basic Court in Kumanovo is scheduled to issue its verdict at the next hearing in the case.
Photo: press material from the event
