She Is Not Aware of What She Has Done
Investigation into ten fires in the Zadar area reveals that the suspects had been consuming alcohol for days before getting into a car and setting dry grass along roadsides on fire.
Investigation into ten fires in the Zadar area reveals that the suspects had been consuming alcohol for days before getting into a car and setting dry grass along roadsides on fire.
Four suspects accused of deliberately starting ten fires in the Zadar area on August 14 and 15, 2026, including 33-year-old Polish national Aleksandra Cichocka, had been consuming alcohol for days before setting the fires, a source close to the investigation told 24sata.
"She is unaware of what she has done, but she will be in time," the source said of the Polish woman, adding that Cichocka is in a close friendship with one of the other defendants. "She was passing through Croatia; they had been drinking for several days, with unlimited amounts of alcohol," the source described.
The source close to the investigation says it is unclear what motivated the four to take such action. "As far as I know, after the party they had among themselves, they just got in the car and went on an adventure," he stated. Earlier, police noted that at the time of committing the crimes, they were under the strong influence of alcohol.
In addition to the Polish national, the investigation also involves three Croatian citizens of Serbian origin, aged 42, 45, and 46. They are Daniel Stegnjaić, Vladimir Ćupić, and Jovan Miović.
After his father's death, Stegnjaić inherited the family agricultural business and continued farming. From 2017 until August 18, 2026, he received a total of €220,974.42 in agricultural subsidies.
Ćupić is known to the public from the "Black Hill" affair. He had allowed his inherited land, located on the outskirts of a village, to be used for material disposal, believing that construction waste would be dumped there. However, approximately 140,000 tons of silicomanganese and ferromanganese slag ended up on that land. As for the third suspect, Jovan Miović, there is currently little publicly available information.
Investigating judge Hrvoje Visković of the Zadar County Court on Monday ordered one month of pretrial detention for all four due to the risk of reoffending. The prosecution charges them with the serious criminal offense of endangering public safety, which carries a sentence of one to ten years in prison. For three of the suspects, additional detention was ordered due to the possibility of influencing witnesses, and for one, also due to flight risk, as he holds both Croatian and Serbian citizenship.
Judge Visković does not rule out the possibility that the charges may later be reclassified, including as terrorism, depending on what the investigation reveals. "So far, as far as I know, phones have been seized, they will be examined, and we will see what messages they contain, and the investigation will proceed accordingly," Visković said.
According to the investigation's findings so far, the fires were started by igniting dry grass along roadsides, which, according to the judge, points to deliberate action. "At all these locations, the origin of the fires still needs to be analyzed. Once we see what caused the fire, we must analyze their clothing to see if there are traces of accelerants. So far, we have the fact that they admitted to setting the fires; they say they used lighters, and that's all we have," the investigating judge concluded.
The fires were set at locations including Bilog Briga in Zadar, then in Zemunik Donji, Galovac, Donji Biljani, Zapužani, Zemunik, Zagrad, Lišani Tinjski, Škabrnja, and Benkovac.
Meanwhile, the investigation has uncovered additional details. According to RTL Danas, the sister of one of the male suspects is married to a Polish citizen, which may be a link to the Polish woman. Also, during searches of the suspects' homes, police found and seized a pistol from the 46-year-old, while a semi-automatic rifle with ammunition was found at the 42-year-old's residence. Chief State Attorney Ivan Turudić earlier commented on the possibility of reclassification as terrorism: "Terrorism? Well, that is not ruled out either. That possibility always exists," he said, noting that it still needs to be determined whether the suspects acted with a motive that could point to such a crime.
