Lenko Bešlić Found Dead in Split Prison Cell
Judicial police officers discovered the lifeless body of the 51-year-old on Wednesday morning, known for multiple convictions for rape, fraud, and procuring prostitution.
Judicial police officers discovered the lifeless body of the 51-year-old on Wednesday morning, known for multiple convictions for rape, fraud, and procuring prostitution.
Lenko Bešlić, a prisoner with an extensive criminal record, was found dead in his cell at Split Prison. According to information from Slobodna Dalmacija, his lifeless body was discovered by judicial police officers on Wednesday morning, around 11 a.m.
He was in room number 4 on the first floor, in the so-called mixed wing, which houses both convicts and remand prisoners. Bešlić shared the cell with another person, who was out in the yard during the discovery of the body.
According to initial reports, dark bruises were observed on the deceased's body, but it is not yet known whether they are related to the cause of death. As this is a death within a prison facility, the exact cause is expected to be determined by an autopsy.
According to their findings, Bešlić had no health issues that would have posed a threat to his life. An inquiry into the circumstances of the death has been sent to the Ministry of Justice, Administration, and Digital Transformation, as well as the Split-Dalmatia Police Department.
Bešlić ended up in Split Prison after being sentenced to 14 months in prison by the Municipal Court in Split in late July 2025 for fraud and forgery. He defrauded the victim, a man with the initials M.J., of just under 30,000 euros. The verdict became final earlier this year.
According to details from the verdict, the fraud took place from early January to March 17, 2014. Bešlić falsely represented himself and told a dramatic story about a friend allegedly held captive by a loan shark in Zagreb. He extorted money from the victim on multiple occasions: first 8,000 Croatian kuna and 500 euros, then an additional 4,200 US dollars and 3,000 euros. He also threatened to reveal compromising photos to the victim's wife, demanding 30,000 euros, for which the victim paid him an additional 22,000 euros.
He also attempted to defraud the same person with a fake land purchase in Meje for 80,000 euros and an alleged bank loan of 25,000 kuna, but these acts were not carried out. After the verdict became final, Bešlić fled from the law for over a month. He was arrested in February on Ruđera Boškovića Street, where he was using one of several apartments.
This was not Bešlić's first run-in with the law. His criminal record spans two decades and includes a series of serious offenses. In 2010, he was sentenced to four years in prison for raping an 18-year-old girl in Dugopolje. On that occasion, posing as a police officer, he drove the girl to a forest and raped her.
In April 2014, he was given a suspended sentence of one year and eight months in prison with a probation period of four years for organizing international prostitution of girls from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Serbia. That verdict became final in September 2020.
During his arrest in February, police found an entire arsenal on Bešlić: five bottles of methadone, ten tablets of a medication for which he had no prescription, a small amount of cocaine, a digital scale with drug residue, a gas pistol, and 14 pieces of various ammunition.
Note: Sources differ on the age of the deceased. He was 52 years old, while Slobodna Dalmacija reports he was 51.
