Predrag Perisic, a Canadian citizen who lived in Montreal until 2007, was indicted by a grand jury in Texas on Friday for capital murder and capital attempted murder - both of which are punishable with the death penalty upon conviction. The 55-year-old is alleged to have shot his 10-year-old son, Deyan, to death and seriously wounded his 12-year-old daughter, Danyela, on Dec. 13 in Coldspring, Tex., about 100 kilometres from Houston.
Perisic had been missing with his children in Texas for more than a month at the time of the shooting. A Quebec Court order had been issued for him to return the children to the custody of their mother, Vera Vucerakovich, in Montreal. The couple was in the process of getting a divorce.
Richard Countiss, the district attorney in San Jacinto County, told The Gazette that Perisic was actually indicted on five counts; capital murder, attempted capital murder, murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The reason for that is that Quebec Court documents in the custody case left Countiss uncertain that he could prove that Perisic was guilty of kidnapping. One of the documents expired five days before the shooting, although Countiss said he received other documents Thursday that showed the custody order had in fact been extended and was in effect at the time of the shooting.
The kidnapping charge will be handled by a prosecutor in another county, Countiss said.
The murder and attempted murder charges are "fall-back" charges, Countiss said, that could be used instead of the capital murder and capital attempted murder charges should Perisic and his lawyer have the capital charges quashed because the Quebec documents are deemed unclear, or not strong enough proof that a kidnapping took place. A capital case involved the commission of at least two different types of felony crimes, Countiss said.
The murder and attempted murder charges are both punishable with consecutive life sentences, Countiss added.
Perisic will continue to be detained in San Jacinto district jail for the time being. He could face a trial as soon as this summer, Countiss said.
Asked if he had any reluctance to pursue the death penalty against a citizen of Canada, which does not have the death penalty, Countiss said no. "No disrespect to Canada, since it's one of the few respectable places that I would consider living outside of the United States," Countiss said. "But when you visit a country, you live by the laws of that land."
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