Milica Kostić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милица Костић; 24 April 1956 – 4 September 1974) was a high school student from Serbia (then part of Yugoslavia) who at age 18 died by suicide to avoid being raped. She was lured to a 12th floor apartment in Kruševac by a group of young men who then tried to rape her. To avoid being assaulted, she jumped from the window of the apartment and fell onto the street. She died from her injuries two days later but gave the police a full description of the incident before her death.
Milica Kostić | |
|---|---|
 Kostić in 1974 | |
| Born | 24 April 1956 |
| Died | 4 September 1974 (aged 18) |
| Cause of death | Suicide by jumping |
| Resting place | Strojinci |
| Education | Kruševac high School of Medicine |
| Occupation | High school student |
This event sparked outrage across Yugoslavia and demonstrations against perpetrators were held in Kruševac. Media outlets gave large publicity to the case and the public was unanimous in condemnation. Most commentators praised Kostić's bravery and heroic death. Five perpetrators (one of whom was a minor) were sentenced to prison. It is not known for certain how much time each of them spent in prison. It was reported that one of them, Tomislav Ž. Nikolić, was sentenced to 13 years and was released after 9½.
Early life
editMilica Kostić was born on 24 April 1956 in Strojinci near Brus, Serbia (then part of SFR Yugoslavia) as the fourth child in the family of Milen and Slavka Kostić.[1] After finishing elementary school, she enrolled in the Medical High School in Kruševac in 1971. While attending the high school, she was living in Kruševac with a roommate.[2]
Suicide
editOn Monday, 2 September 1974 (the first day of school), Kostić left her village and arrived in Kruševac around 7:15 AM. Since it was too early for school, she decided to take a walk.[3]
A group of five men (Miroslav Mađarac, Tomislav Ž. Nikolić, Zvonko Ivanović, Slavoljub Trifunović, and a minor, S.V.)[2] assembled that day and decided to lure a girl into an apartment and rape her. On the Main street, they saw Kostić walking and decided to approach her.[3] Nikolić[4] then approached her and asked her for help. He told Kostić that he wanted to call his girlfriend to come out from her apartment with him, but that her parents were very rigid and would not let her go with him. So, he asked Kostić if she would come with him to his girlfriend's apartment pretending to be his girlfriend's colleague and ask her parents if she could come out. This was just a ruse to lure her to the apartment.[3]
Nikolić took the girl to the apartment belonging to S.V. on the 12th floor of the nearby "Rubin" building. Other perpetrators waited nearby, and when they saw Nikolić coming with a girl, they rushed to the apartment before the two came in. One of the perpetrators disabled the doorbell and turned on loud music so that the neighbors would not hear anything. When Nikolić and Kostić appeared at the door, one of the perpetrators opened the door and let her in. As soon as she stepped into the apartment, Nikolić locked the door behind her. They took her to the bedroom by force while she was screaming and resisting.[3]
Inside the bedroom, the five men told Kostić that they wanted to have sex with her and asked her to consent to their demands. When she refused, they tried, one by one, to persuade her. One of the men began to hesitate when he suspected she was still a virgin.[3] Still, they continued to pressure her, but she continued refusing. At one moment, she was left alone in the room and jumped out from an open window. After falling for about 40 metres (130 ft), she landed on an awning of a cafe. The awning then broke, and she fell onto a chair. The cafe guests took her to the hospital.[3]
She was admitted to the city hospital unconscious. In the hospital, she briefly regained consciousness and was questioned by the police inspector. She told him all the details of the incident and said that she jumped because she thought it was the only way for her to keep her honor.[3] Soon she fell into a coma and died on Thursday, 4 September 1974.[5]
Aftermath
editMilica Kostić was buried on 5 September in Strojinci.[2] Thousands of people, including 400 of her fellow students, came to the funeral.[3]
All major newspapers in Yugoslavia including Politika and Večernje Novosti reported widely on this incident.[2] The public was outraged. On Wednesday, 4 September, the police had to protect the five perpetrators from a lynching attempt.[3] The public interest about the event was enormous. On 5 September, the high school students silently demonstrated in Kruševac against violence, wearing a large photo of Kostić at the head of the column.[2] As the public unanimously condemned the violence, the death of Milica Kostić had a lasting impact on both public and police reaction to violence. Police began to intensify preventive measures against youth violence.[2]
All five men were sentenced to prison, although it is not known for certain what their sentences were and how much time each of them spent in prison.[6] According to some reports, Tomislav Ž. Nikolić was sentenced to 13 years and was released after 9½.[3][2]
The act of Milica Kostić was praised by many as brave and heroic.[4][7] Glas Koncila, a Roman Catholic journal from Zagreb, called her "Maria Goretti of Šumadija".[4] An initiative was made in the Serbian Orthodox Church to canonize Kostić as a martyr. Although she has not been canonized yet, she appears on a fresco in the parish church in Ub as "Saint Milica of Kruševac".[8] According to some reports, famous singer Zdravko Čolić dedicated his song "Ona spava" ("She's Asleep") to Kostić.[5][9]
In 2013, a controversy erupted when Nikolić, the main perpetrator of the crime, was elected as a member of the "Lazarica" local council in Kruševac. He is an activist of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).[10] When asked about the eligibility of Nikolić, then Minister of Defense and high-ranking member of SNS, Bratislav Gašić, told the press that Nikolić "has served his sentence and has all the rights to be elected as any other citizen".[9]
References
edit- ^ "Живот и личност Милице Костић (1. део)" [The life and personality of Milica Kostić (part 1)]. Православље (in Serbian) (1118).
- ^ a b c d e f g "TRAGEDIJA NA 11. SPRATU Na današnji dan 1974. počela je Miličina krvava drama, ali njena priča JOŠ NIJE DOBILA EPILOG" [TRAGEDY ON THE 11TH FLOOR On this day in 1974, Milica's bloody drama began, but her story has NOT YET RECEIVED AN EPILOGUE] (in Serbian (Latin script)). Blic. 2 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Vučić, Jasna (3 September 2020). "Jedino tako sam mogla da sačuvam čast: Milica (18) skočila sa 11. sprata kule da je ne bi silovali" [This was the only way I could save my honor: Milica (18) jumped from the 11th floor of the tower to avoid being raped] (in Serbian (Latin script)). Telegraf. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
- ^ a b c "Kako je katolička štampa pisala o mučeničkoj smrti Milice Kostić" [How the Catholic press wrote about the martyrdom of Milica Kostić] (in Bosnian). Pouke. 12 November 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ^ a b "Tragedija zbog koje je plakala Jugoslavija: Zdravko Čolić joj posvetio pjesmu "Ona spava"" [The tragedy that made Yugoslavia cry: Zdravko Čolić dedicated the song "Ona spava" to her] (in Croatian). Buka magazin. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ^ ""Jedan navodno ubijen": Šta se desilo sa mladićima zbog kojih se ubila Milica Kostić?" ["One allegedly killed": What happened to the young men for whom Milica Kostić killed herself?]. ATV (in Serbian (Latin script)). Retrieved 2020-09-04.
- ^ "Мученички подвиг ученице Милице (4. део)" [Martyrdom feat of the student Milica (part 4)]. Православље (in Serbian) (1120).
- ^ "МИЛИЦА КРУШЕВАЧКА - НЕОБИЧНА ФРЕСКА У УБСКОМ ХРАМУ" [MILICA KRUŠEVAČKA - AN UNUSUAL FRESCO IN THE UB TEMPLE] (in Serbian). Crkva Ub. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ^ a b "SMRT MILICE KOSTIĆ (18) IZ KRUŠEVCA: Odbornik SNS pokušao da je siluje, ubila se da sačuva čast!" [DEATH OF MILICA KOSTIĆ (18) FROM KRUŠEVAC: SNS member tried to rape her, she killed herself to save her honor!] (in Bosnian). Kurir. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ^ "IZ ZATVORA U POLITIKU Krivac za smrt mlade Kruševljanke danas je lokalni funkcioner SNS" [FROM PRISON TO POLITICS The culprit behind the death of a young woman from Kruševac today is a local SNS official] (in Bosnian). Blic. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2020.