The Best New True Crime Stories by Mitzi Szereto

Author:Mitzi Szereto [Szereto, Mitzi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781642500738
Publisher: Mango Media
Published: 2019-10-13T13:10:01+00:00

Brian Patrick Keenan, October 9, 1946–June 14, 1975,

buried in Thetford, Norfolk.

The Kičevo Monster

Mitzi Szereto

“The people of Kičevo live in fear after another butchered body has been found in the town. The corpse strongly resembles one discovered twenty kilometers outside Kičevo last year, and there is a possibility that these monstrous murders are the work of a serial killer.”

—from Nova Makedonija in an article by Vlado Taneski, May 19, 2008

Macedonia, which is only slightly larger than the US state of Vermont, is one of the poorest countries in Europe. Nearly a third of its approximately two million citizens live in poverty. Government corruption, political and ethnic tensions, and unemployment are all contributing factors. A recent UNICEF study shows that poverty rates are even on the rise, particularly among families with young children, with small farmers hit the hardest. Like many countries in the region, Macedonia has struggled with the transition from communism to capitalism.

The country has a long history of being taken over by others, including the Ottoman Empire, Serbia, Italy, and Albania. At the end of World War II, Macedonia became part of communist Yugoslavia, and it remained so until 1991. With the breakup of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Macedonia was formed. However, still more change was to come for this small landlocked nation. After a twenty-seven-year dispute with its southern neighbor, Greece, over history and national identity, the Macedonian parliament officially changed the country’s name in 2019 to the Republic of North Macedonia.

Set in a picturesque valley formed by the southeastern slopes of Mount Bistra, the small provincial city of Kičevo is about seventy road miles southwest of the capital Skopje and under two and a half hours’ drive to the Albanian border. Ethnic Macedonians make up the bulk of the city’s 27,000-plus population, followed by Albanians, Turks, and Roma. About 60 percent of residents are Orthodox Christians, with Muslims being the second largest religious group. Kičevo’s communist past can still be seen in its drab apartment blocks, faded murals, and beat-up old cars, all of which are juxtaposed against a Kičevo that wants to move forward into the future. This humble Balkan city isn’t a place most people are likely to have heard of, let alone visit. It’s not listed as a “must-see” destination in tourist guidebooks. People usually bypass Kičevo on their way to somewhere else—somewhere better—such as Skopje, the resorts of Lake Ohrid, or Sveta Bogorodica Precista (Holy Mother of God), the Christian Orthodox monastery nestled high in the mountains.

Yet Kičevo can claim some status. Not only was it the first Macedonian city to be liberated after World War II, but it also serves as the seat for the municipality of the same name. It has even produced a couple of saints, a handful of professional footballers, and a singer who represented the nation on the Eurovision Song Contest. Kičevo has also produced a serial killer.

•••

Mitra Simjanoska, aged sixty-four. Found dead in 2005.

Ljubica Ličoska, aged fifty-six. Found dead in 2007.

Živana Temelkoska, aged sixty-five. Found dead in 2008.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.