Death of Danka Ilić

On 26 March 2024, 22-month-old Danka Ilić disappeared while walking with her mother, Ivana, in Banjsko Polje near Bor, Republic of Serbia. Around 1:45 p.m. local time, Ivana lost track of her daughter. Authorities alleged that Danka was struck by a car at 1:52 p.m. and was still alive at that point, and that one of two later-identified suspects then killed her. The two men allegedly transported her body to a landfill and moved it again on 28 March. Serbia issued the country's first-ever Amber Alert in response to her disappearance.

Initial searches in the area produced no leads. Interpol became involved and issued a yellow notice in the case by 1 April. Investigators considered the possibility that Danka had been taken out of the country, and Viennese police examined a video purportedly showing her, but concluded it had no connection to the case.

On the morning of 4 April, police found blood on a utility vehicle and arrested two 50-year-old men, Dejan Dragijević and Srđan Janković, in connection with Danka's disappearance and death. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stated that the two had confessed to killing her. Police said the suspects would lead investigators to where the body had been left, but despite being taken to various locations under police supervision, the body was not found. On 5 April, the suspects were brought before the state attorney in Zaječar; Dragijević reportedly confessed to strangling Danka and said his father and brother had helped hide the body, while Janković invoked his right to remain silent. Both men were ordered detained for 30 days on charges of aggravated murder, punishable by life imprisonment; their detention was extended by another 30 days on 30 April. On 4 June, Janković, at his own request, was interrogated again and denied committing any crime, and Dragijević did the same on 11 July.

On 6 April, Dragijević's father, 73-year-old Rade, and brother, 40-year-old Dalibor, were arrested on suspicion of helping dispose of the body and ordered detained for 48 hours. Rade was brought before the state attorney on 7 April, invoked his right to silence, was ordered detained for 30 days, and was released on 29 May. Local police initially reported that Dalibor Dragijević died of natural causes at a police station in Bor at 3:10 a.m. on 7 April. However, Serbian media reported on 19 April that an autopsy revealed violent causes of death, contradicting the police account; it was later established that he had been beaten to death, with evidence of torture. On 1 May, an internal police inspection recommended disciplinary action and suspension for three officers in connection with his death.

On 8 May, it was reported that no DNA belonging to Danka had been found on any part of the car alleged to have hit her. On 15 May, Dragijević's mother died of natural causes. The veracity of the suspects' initial reported confessions has been disputed in subsequent months due to a lack of corroborating evidence, limited transparency, and strong evidence of police torture.

The case remained in pretrial proceedings for more than two years. On 8 April 2025, the Court of Appeals in Niš ruled that the Higher Court in Negotin, rather than Zaječar, was the competent court to examine the indictment, and the case file was transferred there. On 5 May 2026, the Court of Appeals in Niš rejected the defendants' appeals and upheld the indictment against Dragijević and Janković for aggravated murder committed jointly. On 1 June 2026, the Higher Court in Negotin confirmed that indictment while separately discontinuing proceedings against Rade Dragijević; the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Zaječar appealed that dismissal, but the Court of Appeals in Niš upheld it, finally clearing him. As of September 2026, the trial of Dejan Dragijević and Srđan Janković, who face a possible life sentence if convicted, was proceeding at the Higher Court in Negotin, with a preparatory hearing expected by the end of September and the main trial expected to begin in early October. Danka Ilić's body has still not been found.