The judicial panel of the Supreme Court of Kosovo has ruled on the appeal filed by the defense of the accused, Dardan Krivaqa, regarding the criminal offense of aggravated murder.
At the session held on December 22, 2025, the third-instance panel, after reviewing the case files, the claims raised in the appeal, the proposal of the State Prosecution, and the response of the representatives of the injured parties, by majority vote issued a judgment rejecting the defense appeal as unfounded and upholding the judgments of the Basic Court in Ferizaj and the Court of Appeals.
Under the first-instance judgment, the accused D.K. was found guilty of the criminal offense of aggravated murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The judgment was also confirmed by the second-instance court.
In examining the claims raised by the defense, the panel of the Supreme Court found that the judgments of the lower courts do not contain essential violations of criminal procedure provisions and that clear reasoning was provided for the decisions.
The panel assessed that the lower courts had thoroughly analyzed all evidence presented during the trial, including witness testimonies, expert reports, and material evidence, as well as video recordings obtained from the apartment where the accused and the victim had stayed. From this evidence, it was established that the victim, Marigona Osmani, was in a severely deteriorated physical condition during the critical period and that her injuries were caused as a result of the violent actions of the accused.
Furthermore, the panel evaluated the autopsy report and the statements of forensic medical experts, according to which the victim’s death resulted from multiple bodily injuries (polytrauma) caused by blows with a hard object. It was concluded that the victim endured severe physical pain at the time the injuries were inflicted, which supports the legal qualification of the offense as murder committed in a cruel manner.
The judicial panel also reviewed the defense’s claims regarding the retrial procedure, the psychiatric evaluation of the accused, and allegations concerning the influence of narcotic substances. It found that these claims were not supported by evidence that would cast doubt on the legality of the lower courts’ decisions. According to the report of the Institute of Forensic Psychiatry, no psychotic mental disorder was found in the accused, and he was deemed capable of understanding his actions.
The Supreme Court panel concluded that the life imprisonment sentence imposed by the first-instance court and confirmed by the second-instance court is in accordance with the law and the circumstances of the case, taking into account the serious nature of the criminal offense, the degree of criminal responsibility, and its consequences.