The Prishtina Basic Prosecution filed on Wednesday an indictment against four individuals for the murder of 30-year-old Liridona Ademaj, which occurred in November 2023.
Her husband, Naim Murseli, is among the accused. They had two children and lived in Sweden together.
The other three defendants are identified as Kushtrim Kokalla, Granit Plava, and Tom Dodaj.
Javorka Perlincevic, the case prosecutor, told the media that Murseli is suspected of planning the murder by staging a robbery while he, Ademaj, and their two children were in the car.
According to the indictment that was obtained by BIRN, Murseli aimed to benefit his wife’s life insurance, which was worth 3 million Swedish krona (around 261,000 euro). The insurance policy was paid on June 25, 2022.
Murseli allegedly met with Kokalla several hours before the murder and stated that “today, this needs to be done,” alluding to Ademaj’s murder. Both Murseli and Kokalla are charged with aggravated murder.
The prosecution alleges that Kokalla denied committing the murder himself but introduced Murseli to Granit Plava, who is accused of carrying out the murder via shooting. Plava was to be compensated with a sum of 30,000 euros for his role. He is charged with the criminal offenses of aggravated murder and unlawful possession of a firearm.
According to the indictment, Murseli signaled Plava with his car’s headlights, then grabbed Liridona Ademaj’s arm to ensure she couldn’t dodge the bullet fired by Plava. Murseli reportedly exited the car with the children and fled the scene.
The fourth defendant, Tom Dodaj, is accused of supplying weapons.
Prosecutor Perlincevic told the media on Wednesday that the filing of the indictment was delayed because of the difficulties in finding the motive behind the murder. “We sought information from authorities there [in Sweden] about potential problems,” she explained, claiming that the couple had a “troubled marital and family relationship,” while living in Sweden.
“You may learn the other reasons Naim had for planning and committing this murder in court,” she added.
Zejnullah Gashi, Prishtina Chief Prosecutor, describing the case as highly sensitive, told the media that “the incident was initially staged as a robbery, but we managed to identify the perpetrators in a short period. The investigation covered multiple dimensions, including expertise from both domestic and international sources.”
Liridona Ademaj was killed on November 29, 2023, on ‘Dalip Alshiqi’ Street in Prishtina. Initially reported as a “robbery with fatal consequences,” the case took a turn when, two days later, on December 1, 2023, Kosovo Police announced the arrest of two suspects, including her husband, Naim Murseli.
The Prishtina Basic Court extended the detention of the three suspects—Murseli, Kokalla, and Plava—multiple times, with the last extension issued on December 27, 2023.
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