Teenager was hit by killer's car before she was murdered

Teenager was hit by killer's car before she was murdered

BELGRADE -- The suspect in the murder of a 15-year-old girl is Dragan Đurić - a 34 year-old Belgrader who lives in the suburb of Surčin, the interior minister has said.

The victim, Tijana Jurić, was reported missing on July 26 from the town of Bajmok in Serbia's northern province of Vojvodina.

Minister Nebojša Stefanović specified during a news conference on Thursday that the suspect, who works as a butcher, first hit the victim with his car, and then when she asked for help, dragged her into the car and drove to some 10 kilometers from the town of Sombor, where he murdered and buried his victim.

The minister said that it was determined that the girl did not sustain any serious injuries from the traffic accident. The killer later struck the victim and her clothes were removed, whle the post mortem will determine whether she was also raped, the minister said.

Stefanović referred to the suspect as "a monster" and added that "because of such monsters and acts I am sometimes sorry that Serbia abolished the death penalty," and added that "obviously our society is not ready for European norms of behavior."

The minister then added that the investigation showed the suspect had no accomplice, and that as the police observed him before he was arrested he went about his day normally and "showed no signs of regret."

The suspect also took and failed a polygraph test, and later admitted to the crime and led the police to the location where he said he buried his victim.

Stefanović added that the suspect and the victim never met before the crime took place, and had no previous communication, and that the police "cannot claim he was...