Espoo Man Sentenced to Over 10 Years for Manslaughter of His Wife
The District Court of Western Uusimaa has sentenced 56-year-old Stevo Nedic to 10 years and 2 months in prison for the manslaughter of his 74-year-old wife. The verdict, delivered on Friday, is not yet legally binding.
The court found that Nedic assaulted his wife in their shared home in Matinkylä, Espoo, between late February and early March, leading to her death at the end of March after more than three weeks of hospital treatment. Yle reports that the most severe act involved striking the victim in the head with a metal rod and a tool made from a weight plate, causing a skull fracture measuring over 10 centimetres.
The court determined that Nedic must have considered death a highly probable consequence of his actions. The victim sustained severe injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, burn marks on her lower limbs, and bruises. Iltalehti notes that the woman lay injured at home for days before Nedic called emergency services on 3 March.
Nedic denied the charges, claiming his wife had been injured in an accidental collision in a dark stairwell. However, the court did not find his account credible. Ilta-Sanomat reports that the victim told paramedics and hospital staff that her husband had assaulted her, and she refused to allow medical staff to disclose her condition to him.
The court concluded that Nedic caused the majority of the injuries between 27 February and 3 March, resulting in significant pain and distress for the victim. While no motive or premeditation was established, the court emphasized the aggravated nature of the crime due to its context of intimate partner violence. Yle highlights that the court considered the act’s harmfulness and dangerousness to be significantly heightened by these circumstances.
The couple had been married for about 30 years, and Nedic claimed their relationship was good despite financial strain caused by his gambling addiction. Ilta-Sanomat reports that while the woman fought for her life in the hospital, Nedic used her pension money at a casino. The couple lived on the woman’s pension income, and Nedic was unemployed.
The police initially investigated the case as negligent injury before reclassifying it as aggravated assault and, ultimately, homicide. Iltalehti reports that the victim was a familiar figure in the Iso Omena shopping centre, but few knew her husband, and her relations with relatives had cooled over time. Neighbours also reported knowing little about Nedic.
The court sentenced Nedic to serve his term in Vantaa Prison. The verdict remains subject to appeal.