Manhunt spans Croatia and Slovenia after suspected femicide

Police are searching for a man suspected of killing his pregnant partner and seriously wounding her sister in a Roma community near Mursko Središće on Thursday night.

Doctors at Čakovec Hospital say the wounded young woman remains in critical condition.

Authorities have launched a cross-border manhunt after the suspect’s vehicle was found in Slovenia, Međimurje Police Chief Ivan Sokač confirmed. The suspect, 40-year-old Josip Oršuš, has a long criminal record, and police have released his photo to the public. Both Croatia and Slovenia have issued arrest warrants, warning that he is armed and dangerous.

Interior Minister Davor Božinović said Oršuš has around 35 prior charges, describing him as “a recidivist.”

“A search is underway,” he said. “The person suspected of this crime—which, although it is not my place to say, is very likely femicide since the suspect was close to the victim.”

Božinović added that the victim had previously stayed in a women’s shelter because of her partner’s violent behavior and that police last intervened in the case in July.

Residents of Sitnica, the village where the attack occurred, expressed anger and frustration, saying the crime could have been prevented.

“Police and the system failed,” one neighbor said. “Everyone knew what this man was like. When they had him, they let him go. They should have locked him up.”

In Parliament, Roma minority representative Veljko Kajtazi rejected suggestions that domestic violence is more common among Roma communities, warning against harmful generalizations.

“Because of five percent of the Roma population, we want to blame the entire community. That’s a bad message,” he said. “Every time something happens, the Roma individual is not named but the entire community is condemned.”

The victim is the twelfth woman killed by a partner in Croatia this year. Justice Minister Damir Habijan strongly condemned the killing, saying that while Croatia has a legislative framework to address domestic violence and femicide, “stronger action is required from all stakeholders in the system.”