Milica Kostić

Milica Kostić (; 24 April 1956 – 4 September 1974) was a high school student from Serbia (then part of Yugoslavia) who at age 18 died by suicide to avoid being raped. She was lured to a 12th floor apartment in Kruševac by a group of young men who then tried to rape her. To avoid being assaulted, she jumped from the window of the apartment and fell onto the street. She died from her injuries two days later but gave the police a full description of the incident before her death.

This event sparked outrage across Yugoslavia and demonstrations against perpetrators were held in Kruševac. Media outlets gave large publicity to the case and the public was unanimous in condemnation. Most commentators praised Kostić's bravery and heroic death. Four perpetrators (one of whom was a minor) were sentenced to prison. It is not known for certain how much time each of them spent in prison. It was reported that one of them, Tomislav Ž. Nikolić, was released after 9½ years.

Early life Milica Kostić was born on 24 April 1956 in Strojinci near Brus, Serbia (then part of SFR Yugoslavia) as the fourth child in the family of Milen and Slavka Kostić. After finishing elementary school, she enrolled in the Medical High School in Kruševac in 1971. While attending the high school, she was living in Kruševac with a roommate.

Suicide On Monday, 2 September 1974 (the first day of school), Kostić left her village and arrived in Kruševac around 7:15 AM. Since it was too early for school, she decided to take a walk.

A group of five men (Miroslav Madžarac, Tomislav Ž. Nikolić, Zvonko Ivanović, Slavoljub Trifunović, and a minor, S.V.) then approached her and asked her for help. He told Kostić that he wanted to call his girlfriend to come out from her apartment with him, but that her parents were very rigid and would not let her go with him. So, he asked Kostić if she would come with him to his girlfriend's apartment pretending to be his girlfriend's colleague and ask her parents if she could come out. This was just a ruse to lure her to the apartment.

Aftermath Milica Kostić was buried on 5 September in Strojinci. It is not known for certain how much time each of them actually spent in prison. According to some reports, Nikolić was released after 9½ years. Glas Koncila, a Roman Catholic journal from Zagreb, called her "Maria Goretti of Šumadija". According to some reports, famous singer Zdravko Čolić dedicated his song "Ona spava" ("She's Asleep") to Kostić.

In 2013, a controversy erupted when Nikolić, the main perpetrator of the crime, was elected as a member of the "Lazarica" local council in Kruševac. He is an activist of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). When asked about the eligibility of Nikolić, then Minister of Defense and high-ranking member of SNS, Bratislav Gašić, told the press that Nikolić "has served his sentence and has all the rights to be elected as any other citizen".