Croatian woman detained after missing sister's body discovered in freezer: report

Smiljana Srnec who is suspected of killing her sister Jasmina Dominic is escorted to a police vehicle from a court in Varazdin, Croatia, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019. A Croatian court on Wednesday ordered one month’s detention for Srnec of killing her younger sister, whose body was found in a freezer more than 18 years after she went missing. (AP Photo)

Days after the remains of a Croatian woman who vanished nearly two decades ago were located in a freezer, her older sister was reportedly given a one-month detention order by a court in the country on Wednesday.

The order to hold Smiljana Srnec, 45, suspected of killing her sister, Jasmina Dominic, was handed down by a court in the Croatian city of Varazdin, according to The Associated Press.

The decision reportedly stemmed from concerns that Srnec could interfere with the investigation’s witnesses or attempt to flee as the probe unfolds.

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Dominic was 23 years old when she disappeared in 2000, according to the outlet. However, the young woman wasn’t reported missing for another five years.

This screenshot provided by the Croatian Interior Ministry on Monday, Feb. 18, 2019 shows a missing persons information sheet Jasmina Dominic who was reported missing in 2005 but was last seen in 2000. Croatian police say they have detained one person after a body was found in a freezer apparently of a woman that went missing 18 years ago. Police in northern Croatia said Monday they have detained the sister of Jasmina Dominic. (Croatian Interior Ministry via AP)

The unit where her body was found on Saturday was located at the Dominic family home in Pavlovec, police previously said in a statement. Srnec was detained after the discovery.

Following the disappearance, Dominic’s relatives told authorities that she’d been living out of the country, police spokesman Nenad Risak said.

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"They (family) turned us in other directions," Risak said of the initial investigation. "We checked the house (during the investigation) ... but didn't have information anything could have happened at home."

An autopsy on the remains determined that the 23-year-old was hit in the head at least twice with a blunt instrument, according to Croatian media.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.