Naim Murseli, who allegedly ordered the murder of his wife, Liridona Ademaj, has completed his testimony before the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Pristina.
His lawyer, Teuta Zhinipotoku, said that Murseli denied the version he gave during the police interview. According to her, Murseli has also denied media reports about strained relationships with his wife and allusions to treason.
"The testimony of the defendant Naim Murseli is over. Today is the end of his statement at the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Prishtina, which has denied the version given during the police interview. His statement was given in detail in the explanation of the event that denied his implication in this case. The defendant has denied the information that has been published regarding the strained relationship between the spouses regarding their fidelity. The prosecution continues with the collection of further evidence", Zhinipotoku told the media in Kosovo.
The Basic Court in Pristina in December 2023 extended the detention of Naim Murseli, Granit Plava and Kushtrim Kokalla, who are suspected of murdering the 30-year-old, for another two months.
The Basic Prosecutor's Office of Pristina said two weeks ago that intensive investigations are underway for this case. At this stage, they state that they cannot provide other information to preserve the integrity of the investigations, reports "Express".
"Regarding your questions, we inform you that intensive investigations are underway regarding the case in question, so at this stage we cannot provide any other information due to the preservation of the integrity of the investigative process", says the answer of Laureta Ulaj, the spokesperson of Prosecutor's office.
The 30-year-old woman with Swedish citizenship was killed on the evening of November 29, in the village of Brërnica in the Municipality of Pristina. Three people have been arrested for her murder, which, according to the investigation and prosecution files, is suspected to have been staged. Her murder was allegedly ordered by her husband, Naim Murseli, with whom Liridona had two children.
The murder is suspected to have been committed by Granit Plava, after Murseli had promised him 30,000 euros. The suspect is Mursel's nephew, Kushtrim Kokalla, who was a member of the KSF. According to reports, he had found Mursel's glove.
All three were arrested on the day Liridona was buried, exactly a few hours after the burial ceremony.
According to the announcement of the Basic Court of Pristina, Murseli is suspected of the criminal offense of "Aggravated murder in complicity", Plava for the criminal offense of "Aggravated murder" and the criminal offense of "Unauthorized ownership, control or possession of weapons", while Kokalla for because of the criminal offense "Agreement to commit the criminal offense Serious murder.".
"There is a well-founded suspicion that the defendant NM, with the intention of depriving his wife of her life in a cunning way, had agreed with the defendant GP to kill the now deceased LM, where previously the defendant NM had equipped the defendant with a weapon GP and staged the crime of Robbery, which was carried out on 29.11.2023 at around 20:25, in the village of Bernicë, Municipality of Pristina, in such a way that while the defendant NM was driving his car, in which were the deceased LM and their two children, the defendant GP suddenly appeared in front of the car with a mask on his head and a revolver in his hand, where according to the prior agreement the defendant NM and the children had gotten out of the car and left the scene could have fled, while the deceased remained in the car, whom the defendant GP had shot at close range with a bullet in the neck and as a result of the fatal wound, the deceased LM had died at the scene, while for these actions, the defendant NM had previously promised the defendant GP the sum of €30,000.00", the Court's notice said.
Meanwhile, on December 9, another person was arrested for this case. The fourth suspect is TD, from Novosella i Gjakova. He allegedly sold the gun to Doras.
The motive of the murder is still unknown.
The Director of the Kosovo Police, Gazmend Hoxha, stated a few weeks ago that some leads are being investigated, but they cannot be made public until there is a clear conclusion on the motive of the murder.
"The investigative process continues in several stages. The police in this case proved to be very efficient and professional. In record time, he solved the murder and managed to arrest the persons involved in this case. The motive for this murder remains to be discovered. We are investigating several tracks, but I cannot make anything public until we have a clear motive", said Hoxha on T7's Frontal.
He had said that there may be other arrests in the case.
"The arrests have not ended, it depends on other developments that may emerge. I can't prejudge if there will be or not. But this is not the whole thing even though almost everything has been clarified", said Hoxha.
Asked if the moment of Liridona's murder was captured by security cameras, Hoxha said that there are no cameras in the place where the crime took place.
"The moment of the murder is not focused. It was an area that was not caught by the cameras", he further said.