Ivic said that Paravinja denied the crimes he is suspected of, namely the attempted rape of a girl near the southern coastal town of Omis and the murder of Antonia Bilic, whom he allegedly strangled to cover up the rape attempt.

Paravinja told the judge that on the day in question he did not drive along the route as claimed by the police and that he had nothing to do with the disappearance of Antonia Bilic. He said he did not put her in his truck and that the traces found in the truck were planted.

Paravinja said that he had made up his statement to the police in the northwestern Bosnian town of Banja Luka because he was under pressure, and that for the same reason he had also falsely confessed to the attempted rape of a woman in Sokolac, eastern Bosnia, according to the court spokesman.

Paravinja was also questioned about the attempted rape of a woman in Omis, near Split. He admitted having contact with the woman who identified him as the assailant, but insisted that he had not attacked her or tried to rape her.

After his arrest in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Paravinja admitted to the police in Banja Luka that he had strangled Antonia Bilic and dumped her body into the River Krka. Later on, he retracted his statement before the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, claiming that it was extorted by beatings.

Antonia Bilic, an underage girl from the village of Kricke near Drnis, was last seen on the morning of June 7 entering a truck driven by the convicted rapist Paravinja, who stopped to give her a lift. Police later found traces of her blood in the truck. A search for her body continues.