"Impossible to throw 4 people at once, to investigate if there was an accomplice", what was found at the place where the tragedy of Alma happened
Sunday, May 5, would start sad, gloomy after the call that a fisherman would make to the Shkodra police. The body of the 9-year-old girl, Ergesa, would be found in this area of the Buna River. The discovery of her body raised alarm bells that the mother who disappeared a few days ago with her three children may have committed suicide. They were last seen right by the river, until they lost all contact.
On the afternoon of May 2, Alma Arrazi with her three children and sister-in-law were drinking coffee in one of the bars in the city of Shkodra.
"What the witnesses tell the employees of the local Panorama service in Shkodër is that both women appeared calm and were sitting at a table near the place where the children were playing," said journalist Anila Hoxha.
The moment they left, Alma didn't want to go home. Referring also to the testimony given by the sister-in-law, she had said that she would meet her brother.
The meeting between the sisters-in-law in this bar was weekly according to the testimony of the waiters. According to them, Alma was a calm and devoted mother with her children.
"The special thing that he had seen on the last day was that, compared to other days, both women always went to the bar together and in the company of their children, and on May 2 they went separately. The first one arrived at the Alma bar together with the children and then her sister-in-law arrived. He didn't see anything that could be different from the other times except for the long time they stayed in the bar waiting for the children who were playing. The waiter also told me that Alma was a woman very dedicated to children who mostly stayed at the nearest table and next to the children,' said Anila Hoxha.
What was found at the scene
It has been proven that the young mother with her three children has crossed this bridge. Then he went on foot to the area covered with bushes and gravel at the foot of the Buna bridge, on the side that goes to Muriqan. Here, on this part of the coast, the police have the strongest suspicions about the scene. A doll and some chocolate cards were found there.
"A doll was found there, which was in the place where it is suspected that the woman committed suicide, and children's food products, chocolate and chips, were also found, and from there the search began," said journalist Anila Hoxha.
This flower is thought to have been cut from one of the girls' dolls as it has identical color and material. Sources told Inside Story that the doll was shown to family members who confirmed that it belonged to the deceased girls.
It is believed that the young mother, desperate and in the condition of a deep mental shock, threw herself into the river with the children. This as a sign of revenge against her husband and his betrayal. Due to continuous psychological violence, Erdgys Arrazi is currently in prison under the charge of causing suicide. But the concrete dynamics of how the children were thrown still remains a mystery. Perhaps, this is never to be learned.
"You cannot file a charge against your husband, regardless of the circumstances, saying that he insulted her continuously and then caught a video of another person on his cell phone. For these two things, no one in the Republic of Albania goes to prison for 7 years, but it is absurd that it is a wrong law. Article 99 of the criminal code is badly constructed and is very subjective", said the professor of criminology, Ervin Karamuço.
Another possibility is that the mother committed suicide and the children followed her, carried away by their emotions. According to forensics experts, it will be necessary to reconstruct the event to determine who died first and how the event may have happened.
"The investigative team must determine precisely not only the route but also the fixed place where the victims were thrown into the river. To determine how the victims were thrown into the river. All these dynamics seem to be of no importance to the public, but they matter to investigations. To understand the simple fact, are we dealing with a criminal offense committed only by the mother of the children, do we have other possible accomplices, and finally the way in which the drowning of the three children was carried out, since even in the simple view of a with human logic, it is impossible for 4 people to immediately jump into the water and drown immediately", said the former prosecutor, Eugen Beçi.
What was the dynamic of Alma's drowning with the three children
It is important to carry out toxicological examinations as it is thought that the children may have been under the effect of sedatives. At least, this is another clue raised by experts on the real circumstances of how the children could have ended up in the waters of Buna. It is difficult to think that a child is thrown knowingly.
"Toxicological analyzes generally determine the fact if the victims have used different substances, either sedatives or stimulants, but these are obtained through blood samples, parts of the stomach from the autopsy performed by the forensic doctor to see the cause and details in the victims' body to determine finally whether the victims were under the effect of any sedative or not and whether they had physical violence", said the former prosecutor, Eugen Beçi
After the first girl's body was found, day and night search operations immediately began. Until that moment, no one had suspected the drowning in the river, despite the denunciation of the head of the family about the disappearance of Alma and the children. Officials of FNSH Shkodër and RENEA focused their research on the waters of Buna. A very difficult operation due to the strong currents that this river has.
"From dinner, the fishermen started to engage. The next morning they called for help from the civil emergency, the military and everything. Why were they delayed? The delay was not justified because the victims might no longer be found," said the professor of criminology, Ervin Karamuço.
The Inside Story team has been part of intensive research documenting the danger that threatened pigeons. They were at war with time. The area where the bodies disappeared is near the estuary, and if they ended up in the sea, they may never be found.
The body of one of the girls was found very close to where they are thought to have stayed before being swallowed up by the cold waters of Buna. More than 72 hours of searching by Renea's pigeon hunters, local fishermen, the army and the police have passed. We were all at war with time and the raging waters of Buna. The fear we all had was that they might not be able to locate the other bodies. But on Tuesday, May 7, the doves would signal a good lull in this great tragedy. At a distance of less than 3 km from the place where it is thought that the children and the mother fell into the water, the body of little Arditi was also found. With only a few hours difference, the body of their mother, Alma Arrazit, would also be found that day. The latter was found far away, about 35 kilometers from the Buna bridge.