Serbian perpetrators have featured prominently in high-profile crimes ranging from domestic murders and serial killings to contract hits, mass shootings, and international cases. This article compiles various articles discussing Serbian war criminals, murderers and serial killers.
Historical and Serial Cases
Baba Anujka (Ana di Pištonja), known as the Witch of Vladimirovac or Banat Poisoner, is one of Serbia’s most prolific serial killers. Active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, she was convicted in connection with dozens of poisonings and is estimated to have caused between 50 and 150 deaths, primarily by providing lethal potions to wives seeking to eliminate their husbands.
Miodrag “Stole” Trifunović, dubbed the Belgrade Ripper or Serbian Jack the Ripper, ranks among the most brutal Serbian serial killers of the modern era. His crimes involved extreme violence and placed him among the bloodiest offenders associated with the former Yugoslavia.
Contemporary Murderers and Hitmen
Kristijan Aleksić, a Serbian national, was arrested in 2026 in Drniš, Croatia, for the alleged murder of a 19-year-old pizza delivery driver. He had previously served 12 years for the 1994 brutal murder of 22-year-old Marijana Sučević.
Čaba Der, known as the “Smiling Killer,” is a Serbian hitman sentenced to 40 years for the 2019 stabbing murder of Nebojša Marković in Belgrade. His calm, grinning demeanor during the crime and subsequent proceedings earned him notoriety.
Norbert Feher, a Serbian criminal from Subotica (of Hungarian ethnicity), became one of Europe’s most wanted fugitives. Convicted of multiple murders, including a 2017 triple killing in Spain (a farmer and two Guardia Civil officers), he operated under various aliases across the Balkans and Western Europe.
War-Era and International Links
Emir Šišić, a pilot in the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA), was convicted for the 1992 shootdown of a European Community helicopter near Varaždin, Croatia, killing five international observers. He was later imprisoned in Italy and transferred to Serbia.
Serbian organized crime figures and hitmen, including those linked to paramilitary leader Željko Ražnatović “Arkan” and his Tigers unit, have been implicated in contract killings and mafia-style executions both during and after the 1990s wars. Theories in the unsolved 1999 murder of British presenter Jill Dando have repeatedly pointed to possible Serbian state or paramilitary hitmen as retaliation linked to NATO actions.
Serbian Perpetrators: Additional Cases
Serbian individuals have been implicated in organized crime assassinations, fugitive manhunts, and high-profile arrests across the Balkans and beyond.
In 2017, four Serbian assassins were convicted in Cyprus for the attempted murder of a Ukrainian businessman, illustrating the reach of Serbian hitmen in international contract killings.
Milovan Zdravković, linked to the infamous Kavački drug clan, was arrested and brought to court in Velika Gorica, Croatia. His case highlighted ongoing operations against Serbian-led organized crime networks in the region.
Siniša Kačavenda from Banja Luka was arrested by Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina police in Neum in March 2004 on suspicion of serious criminal offenses.
Serbian war criminals and their admirers have been noted in discussions of global mass atrocities, with some figures idolized by later perpetrators of large-scale violence.
A dangerous Serbian murderer was captured after a mistake that exposed his location, while other fugitives, including boy killers and repeat offenders, have evaded capture with family assistance, prompting regional alerts.
These incidents reflect the continued activity of Serbian perpetrators in organized violence, drug-related clans, and cross-border crime during the 2000s–2020s.
Sources
HINA. “Federation Police Arrest Siniša Kačavenda in Neum.” March 18, 2004. https://www.hina.hr.
“Serbian Assassins Convicted in Cyprus.” Hercegovina.info, December 3, 2017. https://www.hercegovina.info.
“Milovan Zdravković Arrest.” RTL and regional Croatian media reports on Kavački clan, 2023–2024.
“Serbian Boy Killer on the Run.” Dubrovački vjesnik, January 10, 2024. https://dubrovacki.slobodnadalmacija.hr.
Kamenjar. “Serbian War Criminals as Idols.” May 24, 2018. https://kamenjar.com.
“Capture of Dangerous Serbian Murderer.” Index.hr, March 6, 2019 (related reporting).
“Baba Anujka.” Wikipedia. Accessed July 4, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Anujka.
“Norbert Feher.” Wikipedia. Accessed July 4, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norbert_Feher.
“Jill Dando.” Wikipedia. Accessed July 4, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jill_Dando.
“1992 European Community Monitor Mission Helicopter Shootdown.” Wikipedia. Accessed July 4, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_European_Community_Monitor_Mission_helicopter_shootdown.
Čaba Der coverage from Telegraf.rs, Dnevnik.hr, and 24sedam (2021–2022).
Trifunović references from true-crime reports and discussions (Blic, DOSIJE BJ, etc.).
“Arkan.” Wikipedia. Accessed July 4, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkan.
