NORTH PORT, Fla. — An 88-year-old man killed his wife in North Port, police said, and they say he staged her death to look like a suicide.
The North Port Police Department reports that around 3 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 26, officers were called to the 2700 block of Halladay Street in North Port.
The 911 caller, a friend of 88-year-old Miroslav Maksic, said Miroslac called her and said his wife had shot and killed herself.
A police report says they could see 76-year-old Miljka Maksic's body through the window, lying in a "supine position in a pool of blood."
Officers say they found a .357 Magnum revolver in her left hand. They say Miroslav was not home at the time.
When detectives arrived, the report says they found a towel above Mailjka's head as if someone tried to wipe up the blood.
Investigators spoke with Miroslav, and the report says he appeared to be in a state of confusion and his statement to detectives changed several times.
The 911 caller told detectives she and her husband were closed with the Maksic's since the 1980's.
She told police Mailjka never had any suicidal thoughts and had dinner with them the night of the killing.
Police asked the friend what Mailjka's dominant hand was, and she said right.
Miroslav was interviewed by detectives through a Serbian interpreter, but the police reported redacted that information citing it's an active investigation.
The day after Mailjka's body was found, the medical examiner did an autopsy.
She suffered from two gunshot wounds: one in the cheek and the other in the back of her head, which was the fatal shot.
The examiner noted the fatal bullet was found in Mailjka's hand — the same hand the gun was found in. The medical examiner said this is "inconsistent with the path of the fatal projectile."
They determined she could not have killed herself and ruled it a homicide.
"Several things weren't adding up," said Josh Taylor, Chief of Staff and Public Information Officer for NPPD. "So, as the investigation continued it ultimately lead to to the arrest of the husband in this case."
After another interview, North Port Police arrested Miroslav for homicide. He was booked into the Sarasota County Jail without bond on Monday night.
Mike Hague, Miroslav's next door neighbor told Fox 4 that he was known as a friendly person.
"He was super talkative, like everything seemed really good he was a super sweet guy," said Hague.
Hague said he never would have expected Miroslav to be accused of murder.
"We were in shock because we would never expect like an older guy, like 88, to throw it all away and kill his wife," said Hague.
According to NPPD, this is the first homicide the department has investigated since September 2023.
