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Killings of the Zec family

UNSOLVED1991Zagreb, Croatia (approximate — city centroid; the killings occurred in and near Zagreb, with two victims killed in the Medvednica mountain area)3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

On the night of 7 December 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence, three members of a Serb family were killed in and near Zagreb, Croatia. At around 11:00 p.m., five people surrounded the Zec family home. Four of them — Siniša Rimac, Munib Suljić, Igor Mikola and Nebojša Hodak — belonged to a paramilitary unit that formed part of the reserve units of the Croatian Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to the source account, the group entered the property purportedly to arrest Mihajlo Zec, a butcher, over alleged links to rebel Krajina Serbs.

Mihajlo Zec ran into the street and tried to escape but was fatally shot from about thirty meters away. His wife, Marija, and their 12-year-old daughter, Aleksandra, were tied up, placed in a van with no license plates, and driven to the Medvednica mountain area, where both were killed and left in a garbage pit. Two other Zec children, Gordana and Dušan, hid during the attack and fled to their grandmother's home in Banja Luka.

Within days, police arrested the group, and during early questioning the suspects described the killings in detail. Because these statements were taken without lawyers present, they could not be used as valid evidence. Witnesses testified that they saw Siniša Rimac shoot Mihajlo Zec, and forensic analysis linked seized weapons and the van to the crime. The County Court in Zagreb nonetheless returned a not-guilty verdict. On 19 February 1992, the Supreme Court of Croatia remanded the case, but on 9 July 1992 the County Court again returned a not-guilty verdict, a decision widely criticized by legal experts.

The Zec family killings were never resolved through the Croatian legal system. After their release, Siniša Rimac served in the Croatian Army and, on 30 May 1995, received a state honor awarded by then-President Franjo Tuđman. In 2005, Rimac, Suljić and Mikola were convicted in a separate case, the 'Pakračka poljana' proceedings, receiving sentences of eight, ten and five years respectively for crimes unrelated to the Zec verdict. Nebojša Hodak was sentenced in June 2005 to one year in a separate attempted-extortion case. Munib Suljić surrendered to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in June 2006, was returned to Croatia, and died in a Zagreb prison hospital on 25 August 2006.

The surviving siblings, Dušan and Gordana, sued the Republic of Croatia with the assistance of attorneys Ante Nobilo and Mara Mihočević. In the spring of 2004, the government of Ivo Sanader agreed to a settlement, compensating the family 1,500,000 Croatian kuna. The killings later inspired a novel, a film, and a stage play.

Key facts

Victims
Gordana Zec, Dušan Zec, Mihajlo Zec, Aleksandra Zec, Marija Zec
Date
1991
Location
Zagreb, Croatia (approximate — city centroid; the killings occurred in and near Zagreb, with two victims killed in the Medvednica mountain area)
Case status
unsolved

Case timeline

  1. 1991-12-07

    The Zec family home near Zagreb is surrounded; Mihajlo, Marija, and 12-year-old Aleksandra Zec are killed, while two other children escape.

  2. 1992-02-19

    The Supreme Court of Croatia reviews and remands the case after an initial not-guilty verdict.

  3. 1992-07-09

    The County Court in Zagreb again returns a not-guilty verdict for the accused.

  4. 1995-05-30

    Siniša Rimac receives the Order of Nikola Šubić Zrinski, awarded by then-President Franjo Tuđman.

  5. 1997

    The separate 'Pakračka poljana' case, involving the same unit, is first brought to trial.

  6. 2004

    The government of Ivo Sanader agrees to a settlement, compensating the surviving Zec siblings 1,500,000 Croatian kuna.

  7. 2005

    Rimac, Suljić and Mikola are convicted in the separate 'Pakračka poljana' case for the murder of Aleksandar Antić.

  8. 2005-06

    Nebojša Hodak is sentenced to one year in prison in a separate attempted-extortion case.

  9. 2006-06

    Munib Suljić surrenders to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague.

  10. 2006-08-25

    Munib Suljić dies in a prison hospital in Zagreb.

  11. 2015

    Igor Mikola is extradited to Croatia to serve the remainder of his 'Pakračka poljana' sentence.

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People

  • Gordana Zec

    VICTIM

    Surviving child who hid and escaped the attack; later a plaintiff in the 2004 compensation settlement against the Republic of Croatia.

  • Dušan Zec

    VICTIM

    Surviving child who hid and escaped the attack; later a plaintiff in the 2004 compensation settlement against the Republic of Croatia.

  • Nebojša Hodak

    ACQUITTED

    One of four men named as surrounding the Zec home. Tried and acquitted in 1992. Later sentenced to one year in a separate attempted-extortion case (June 2005).

  • Igor Mikola

    ACQUITTED

    One of four men named as surrounding the Zec home. Tried and acquitted in 1992. Later convicted as an accessory in the separate 'Pakračka poljana' case (2005) and sentenced to five years; extradited to Croatia in 2015.

  • Munib Suljić

    ACQUITTED

    One of four men named as surrounding the Zec home. Tried and acquitted in 1992. Later convicted in the separate 'Pakračka poljana' case (2005), sentenced to ten years; surrendered to the ICTY in June 2006 and died in a Zagreb prison hospital on 25 August 2006.

  • Mihajlo Zec

    VICTIM

    Father, a butcher; fatally shot near the family home in Zagreb on 7 December 1991.

  • Siniša Rimac

    ACQUITTED

    One of four men named as surrounding the Zec home; a witness identified him as having shot Mihajlo Zec. Tried and acquitted by the County Court in Zagreb in 1992. Later convicted in the separate 'Pakračka poljana' case (2005) and sentenced to eight years.

  • Aleksandra Zec

    VICTIM

    12-year-old daughter; abducted and killed in the Medvednica mountain area on 7 December 1991.

  • Marija Zec

    VICTIM

    Mother; abducted and killed in the Medvednica mountain area on 7 December 1991.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Zagreb, Croatia (approximate — city centroid; the killings occurred in and near Zagreb, with two victims killed in the Medvednica mountain area)

45.8150, 15.9819

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Three members of a Serb family were killed in and near Zagreb, Croatia in December 1991; the participants were identified and reportedly confessed but were acquitted in 1992 and never convicted for the killings.
Where did the killings happen?
Zagreb, Croatia (approximate — city centroid; the killings occurred in and near Zagreb, with two victims killed in the Medvednica mountain area).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: unsolved. Last verified July 2026.
More cases in Croatia

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICMurder of the Zec familyWikipedia · 2026-07-05
  2. PRESSCroatian's Confession Describes Torture and Killing on Vast ScaleThe New York Times · 2026-07-05
  3. PRESSOptuženici krivi za slučaj Pakračka poljana (Defendants found guilty in the Pakračka poljana case)index.hr · 2026-07-05

Record history

First published
JUL 06, 2026
Last verified against sources
JUL 06, 2026