Metod Trobec

Murders

Trobec's method involved bringing unfamiliar women to his homestead, where he raped and strangled them; two victims were severely beaten until they bled. After killing them, he shoved the corpses into a masonry oven and set them alight with gasoline and firewood, later discarding the ashes and remaining bones in a wooden urn or a nearby septic tank. Victims' personal items and documents were either burned or taken to his homestead in Spodnja Bela.

Investigators could not determine why he did not kill every woman he brought, but some speculated he targeted those with health problems, as two victims had epilepsy. After his capture, officers found patches of blood in several locations, along with a novel titled "X-100" describing cruel murders and burning corpses, and another novel, "Lun in Ekskadus", in which Trobec had marked the sentence "I give all my secrets to the fire" in bold. During interrogations, he gave three different accounts: first claiming strangers brought and murdered the women; later saying he gave them pills and participated; finally admitting he strangled them during intercourse and burned the bodies.

He never stated the victims died of natural causes. The manner of death—suffocation—could not be proven with certainty at either trial, and forensic experts could not determine whether the murders occurred during intercourse or rape. In spring 1976, Trobec met 18-year-old Vida Markovčič at a bar in Ljubljana, offered her a motorcycle ride to the homestead, and severely beat, raped, and strangled her. Her white flip-flops, a piece of her dress, identification documents, and a photograph were later found at his homestead.

Chronology of murders

On March 25, 1977, he met 53-year-old pensioner and part-time cleaner Marjana Cankar at a Nama department store in Ljubljana; she was presumed raped and killed at the homestead that day or the next. Her coat and a burnt gold chain with a heart were found there, while other items turned up at the Spodnja Bela homestead.

Trobec later used her key to rob a crafting cooperative. On March 20, 1978, 21-year-old bartender Urška Brečko went missing near the Ljubljana Train Station; she had been picked up by Trobec and driven to the homestead, where he killed her. Her keys were later found.

Trials

On September 8, 1980, a five-judge panel at the Kranj Regional Court gave Metod Trobec an eight-year sentence for the Lampenau attack. Trobec told the panel’s president he had no memory of the event and insisted he was a different person after receiving electroshock therapy in 1974. Forensic expert Zlatko Vinek dismissed this, stating that Trobec had been labeled a psychopath following several evaluations by Vinek and two colleagues. They concluded he was sane, aware of what he did, and had acted with planning and cunning.

Robbery and murder trial

On October 30, 1980, Trobec returned to the same court for five murder charges. He withdrew his earlier confessions, saying his mind had been unclear until two or three years prior. He then mentioned a duodenal ulcer and kidney problems, leading his lawyer to ask for a look at his medical files. The next day, Trobec gave up his defense and refused to answer questions; the senate president warned this would only make things harder for his legal team.

The judge then read the indictments, starting with the robbery of Janez Valančič. Trobec said he had agreed to drive the pensioner to Dorfar, and Valančič handed over his ID card but not his watch, which reminded him of his old job at LTH. When Valančič got out, Trobec knocked him down and took the watch, later found in Spodnja Bela. Trobec claimed he bought it from a man in Ljubljana, but no one believed him.

On the attack on Jovanka K., Trobec simply said his life had not been all sunshine. On November 3, witnesses appeared.

Franc Plankl, a prison administrator in Radovljica, said Trobec started threatening guards and inmates once the murder investigation widened. He also mentioned a poaching conviction from the mid-1970s, with hunting trophies and newspaper clippings stained with dried animal blood found in Trobec’s possession. Trobec’s siblings chose not to testify.

Imprisonment

Trobec claimed he knew Pajić and had stolen her documents after killing her during a fight, then burned her remains in the oven, stating she was his first victim, not Markovčič, and using this to deny killing Brečko. A murder indictment was issued but Trobec was never tried for this alleged murder. After conviction, he was transferred to Dob pri Mirni Correctional Facility.

On May 23, Trobec, just released from solitary confinement, came up behind Vinko N. and stabbed him twice in the chest and right abdomen with a 7.5 cm shank, then handed the knife to a guard, saying it had snapped. He was placed in solitary confinement and guarded by two men with a dog from enraged prisoners. Moved to another prison in Novo Mesto, guards found a note detailing an escape plan involving attacking a guard and using his keys to free fellow prisoners; tear gas was also found in his cell.

Image of Trobec in Slovene society

As a New Year business gift, the mechanic printed a calendar with caricatures and anagrams for Trobec's surname; the January page showed a caricature of Trobec with the inscription "If a girl has a running mouth call the Trobec service!" Several philosophers commented on the case. Blaž Ogorevc described Trobec as the "Patriarch of Slovenian sexual derailments," while Slavoj Žižek said his actions were a "dark side of Cankarian loyalty" to his mother.

Literary critic Matevž Kos criticized Štefančič's approach as hypocritical regarding the criminal's morality and views on subjects like the Barbara Pit massacre. Lawyer Dragan Petrovec noted that one judge's fear of Trobec being freed seemed unreasonable, as he was too old, frail, and infamous to cause harm. Dežman also suggested Trobec might have been inspired by partisans in concentration camps where women were abused.