STA, 27 January 2022 - The Celje Higher Court has upheld the sentencing of a man who attempted to murder his former partner and their daughter with tranquillisers concealed in doughnuts to 23 years in prison. The sentence imposed by the Celje District Court last June is now final, the daily newspapers reported on Thursday.
Luka Vlaović was given the combined sentence for two attempted murders in a vicious and insidious way, and for threatening the ex-partner's father.
He was given a 13-year sentence for the attempted murder of the former partner, a 12-year sentence for the attempted murder of the daughter, and a three-month sentence for the threats, which were combined into a 23-year prison sentence.
The case emerged in early January 2021, as it was revealed that Vlaović tried to poison his former partner and their daughter, who was six years old at the time, with doughnuts laced with Lorazepam.
The man was spending time with the daughter on the day of the incident as scheduled, but failed to bring her back to her mother at the arranged hour.
When his former partner called him to announce that she was coming to pick up the child, he told her to enter his apartment as they were making doughnuts. When she came in, he offered her and the daughter the doughnuts containing the tranquilliser.
The mother and daughter fell ill as they were driving home, so they called their relatives and sought medical assistance. It was determined in hospital that they had been poisoned.
During the trial, the prosecution somewhat modified the indictment to accuse Vlaović of attempting the murders out of revenge, as the former partner had submitted a proposal to court that his contacts with the daughter be supervised, which he could not accept.
The court also heard a pharmacology expert, who testified that the former partner had consumed at least 20 Lorazepam pills in the doughnuts and the daughter consumed at least six to eight pills.
The expert said that the pills reached full effect in an hour to two after consumption, and that they had definitely had an effect on the partner's ability to drive a vehicle.
Reporting the upholding of the sentence, the newspapers Delo, Dnevnik, Večer and Slovenske Novice said today that the Celje Higher Court had rejected all appeals by Vlaović's defence and by Vlaović himself, who has not admitted guilt.
The defendant had told investigators that the substance that caused the poisoning was a medication intended for his use.
According to the media, what contributed to such a high sentence is Vlaović having a previous criminal record of violent offences, including an attempted murder.
