Šefka Hodžić was a girl whose beauty was talked about by the whole of Yugoslavia, not just the surroundings of Zvornik, where she came from. However, it seems that for her, that beautiful appearance was actually a great curse. While others admired her, she became one of the cruelest killers in our region. Her case precisely shows that certain people act unpredictably under environmental pressure!
What actually happened?
53 years ago, in 1969, an unprecedented crime took place. A scene that can only be found in horror movies astounded the people who found the corpse of Alija Hasanović (26) near Zvornik, in the village of Jušići, on October 7.
Alija was pregnant at the moment of her death. The investigation determined that she was killed with a pistol, with three shots, and that her stomach was ripped open, and the child was taken out and carried away.
-The child could have been kidnapped from the mother’s womb only by someone who wanted it too much, but could not have it. We should look for a woman who has a child but did not give birth to it – said Dr. Milan Vušić, a pathologist, based on the cuts on the stomach.
The investigation soon bore fruit. By questioning all the women who gave birth on the night between October 6 and 7, the police came to Šefka Hodžić.
She was a school friend of the brutally murdered Alija Hasanović. However, Šefka was considered one of the most beautiful women in that area, and as such, she was also the most desirable. Still, one thing ruined her happiness.
Zločin koji je šokirao Jugoslaviju: Šefka Hodžić, žena čiju su smrt svi tražili https://t.co/Ud10Myo26r pic.twitter.com/4l9P57zI3m
— Prijedor24.com (@Prijedor24com) August 20, 2019
She was married, but for a long time she could not have offspring with her husband. Pressure from the environment, her husband, and her mother-in-law followed. Yet, she could not get pregnant under any circumstances, which was considered very bad at that time.
In this case, that fact turned out to be very bad indeed, because it was the initial trigger for the most monstrous crime to happen, which shook the entire former Yugoslavia.
Šefka admitted that she had faked the pregnancy, and that she had been wearing rags for months and in that way improvised a stomach. She denied being the perpetrator of the brutal murder, while the police, during an extensive investigation in her house, found the jewelry of the deceased, a bloody knife, as well as a thread from the baby’s navel. These were solid material evidence that cast great suspicion on her.
The investigation determined that Šefka set an ambush for her friend Alija, fired three shots at her, then cut open her stomach, took the child and carried it away. The newborn died shortly after.
As an accomplice in this crime, Šefka’s brother-in-law, Avdija Hodžić, is mentioned because he covered up the whole case, while she gave him the pistol to hide it. The public was shaken, putting pressure on the prosecution, demanding the harshest punishment.
What is interesting is that Šefka’s first defense attorney was the famous lawyer, Toma Fila. After a conflict of interest, Fila left this case, which was taken over by his father, Filota Fila, while Toma took over the case of Avdija.
UBISTVA KOJA I DANAS LEDE KRV U ŽILAMA: Šefka Hodžić rasporila drugaricu i izvadila joj dijete https://t.co/TLPOqaPGoc pic.twitter.com/s0uwWTISKs
— Progovori (@Progovori1) May 31, 2018
In addition to the fact that Šefka had the best defense attorneys at the time, in 1970 the harshest verdict was pronounced – she was sentenced to death by firing squad, and Avdija to five years in prison.
Nevertheless, through the great efforts of the lawyers, who managed to obtain a retrial, that same year, a new verdict was pronounced – the death penalty was replaced with 20 years in prison.
At the trial, Šefka persistently denied the crime, claiming that she only knew Alija, and that someone else had brought the child to her house, telling her to care for it.
-I knew Alija well, I knew she was pregnant and that she would have a child, she was my friend, how could I kill her – she said at the trial.
After serving her sentence, all trace of Šefka is lost. She was released from prison in 1983. Toma Fila, guesting on a show, revealed that she changed her identity after finishing her prison term. He additionally surprised the public with the information that she remarried in the vicinity of Vojvodina and, finally, had a child.
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Source: Kurir, Photo: Printscreen X