Story By: Ana Marjanovic, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
This cop killer who murdered two people when he was just 16 has now married a woman 18 years younger in prison even though they had never met before they exchanged their vows.
Killer Srdjan Mladjan, 38, is serving 27 years in Lepoglava penitentiary, the oldest prison in Croatia, for three murders and has now married 20-year-old Elia Molnar in the prison.
Mladjan murdered Elizabeth Subic, 16, and Petar Jancic, 61, when he was just 16 years old and was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the two murders, because he was a minor at the time.
Just four years later, he received his first free weekend and travelled to the Croatian capital Zagreb, robbed a bank and killed a policeman with three gunshots. After an hour-long hostage negotiation he surrendered to the police and was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the crimes.
Croatian law allows convicts to stay in a special visitation room after a wedding where they are given space and time for intimate moments after the marriage. However, because Mladjan is considered a high-risk prisoner this right was denied and the ceremony was heavily guarded.
Local media report the bride’s mother died in an accident five years ago and her father left when she was a child. Reports suggest she has had run-ins with law enforcement, but these were not specified, and she was reportedly receiving treatment from a psychiatrist for a short time.
The witnesses to the marriage were two convicts, the bride brought the rings and reports say the wedding was the first time the couple had met in person. She had previously asked for visitation rights, but they had not been approved for security reasons because he is considered a high-profile criminal.
The bride lives with her grandparents who told reporters they tried to talk her out of the relationship when they learned of her letter correspondence with the killer but they could not do so.
They said: “She was in love and we were powerless, we did not think it would last.”
Because he is now married, Mladjan is now entitled to a telephone call at his own expense. His wife will also be able to send him a package once a month and for holidays, and she will be able to visit him twice a month and on holidays, for at least an hour.
Reports state he will not be able to have conjugal meetings with her because of his bad behaviour in the past.
Mladjan’s sentence ends in 2027 when he will be 46 years old.
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