Rifet Redzic (Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office)
A 53-year-old man in Florida was arrested this week for allegedly killing his girlfriend, stabbing her multiple times — including once in the back — and then claiming her wounds were self-inflicted. Rifet Redzic was taken into custody on Wednesday and charged with one count of first-degree murder in the slaying of 50-year-old Nafa Secic, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, deputies assigned to the Patrol Operations Bureau at about 9:50 p.m. on the evening of March 9 responded to a call regarding an allegedly “suicidal subject” at a residence in the 2700 block of 62nd Avenue North in St. Petersburg, Florida, which is about 20 miles southwest of Tampa.
According to the release, the caller told the emergency dispatcher that his girlfriend, who he identified as Secic, had stabbed herself and was dead.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders said they located Secic in her bedroom suffering from what appeared to be multiple stab wounds to her chest and abdomen. She was pronounced dead on the scene and a knife found at the scene was taken into evidence.
Redzic was still at the scene when deputies found his girlfriend, and he spoke to investigators about what he claimed happened.
“He told detectives he was sleeping, and when he woke up, he witnessed Secic go to the kitchen and retrieve a knife before returning to their bedroom where she began stabbing herself,” the release states. “Redzic told detectives he attempted to stop Secic but was unsuccessful.”
However, authorities said that Redzic’s initial story was undercut by the physical evidence — and his own subsequent statements.
As the investigation continued, detectives said they located an additional stab wound on Secic’s back. They also said that following Secic’s death, Redzic “provided detectives with several inconsistent statements about what had occurred.”
“When detectives interviewed Redzic, he initially maintained the claim that Secic stabbed herself, but then continued to provide detectives with inconsistent statements,” the release states. “Redzic eventually admitted to stabbing Secic in the back, but maintained the other stab wounds were self-inflicted.”
In a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, detectives wrote that in a post-Miranda interview, Redzic claimed Secic “first threatened him with a knife then stabbed herself in the abdomen.” It was only after she had stabbed herself that Redzic claimed “he stabbed her in the back,” per the affidavit.
Ultimately, investigators determined that Secic had suffered five stab wounds — three in the chest, one in the abdomen, and one in the back — all of which were inflicted by Redzic.
Redzic is currently being held at the Pinellas County Jail without bond. He is scheduled to appear in court at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 14.