Croatian authorities Monday ordered a 30-day detention period for the suspect in a high-profile murder that shook the nation four months ago, Hina news agency reported.
Prosecutors said they formally opened an investigation against the suspect, a 61-year-old drifter, who allegedly gunned down lawyer Ivana Hodak, 26, in broad daylight in central Zagreb on October 6.
Ivana was the daughter of a prominent criminal attorney, Zvonimir Hodak, and a girlfriend of another lawyer. Her father and her boyfriend are counsel for bitter underworld rivals, which provided fuel for speculation on possible motives behind her death, dpa reported.
The Hodak killing, committed in broad daylight, led Prime Minister Ivo Sanader to fire the interior justice ministers, as well as the national police chief.
The guessing game reached a frenzy three weeks later, when another assassination occurred with possible roots in organized crime. This time a controversial editor, Ivo Pukanic, and his associate were killed by a bomb.
However, Croatian police now contend that Ivana Hodak was the victim of a possibly deranged main, who killed her in a longstanding grudge against her father.
The man, a former guard at a sports complex in Zagreb, said Zvonimir Hodak broke a 13-year old promise to find him a new job. He became a homeless drifter and was caught by chance when police nabbed him for illegal possession of a firearm.