Alexandra Pesic was very disappointed to realize that her husband always prioritized his parents over her and their child. She also did not want to raise her child in a tense environment, next to her harsh mother-in-law, so she decided to file for divorce. However, things would not end as simply as she thought.
The Thunderbolt of Love
Alexandra Pesic was born into a working-class immigrant family living in the suburbs of Vancouver, Canada. With her beautiful looks, blonde hair, tall and slender figure, attractive appearance, and humorous personality, Alexandra stood out from her peers.
Alexandra won a local beauty pageant title and competed in the Miss Canada pageant in 1985. Her appearance always drew attention from boys.
At age 20, Alexandra worked as a dental assistant and enjoyed spending time with her mother. One of their hobbies was attending local open houses. At one such event, they coincidentally met and became acquainted with a woman from the same country of origin. Her name was Jelka Pesic.
Jelka’s family owned an auto repair shop. So when Alexandra needed car maintenance, she remembered Jelka and brought her car to Jelka’s shop. There, she met Jelka’s 27-year-old son Joe, who worked at the family’s garage. The two were immediately struck by a thunderbolt of love. They quickly started a romantic relationship.
Joe always treated his girlfriend very affectionately. He frequently showed up with bouquets of flowers and took her to the finest restaurants. Joe also often took Alexandra for rides on his motorcycle.
Mother-in-Law vs. Daughter-in-Law Conflict
Just one month into dating, Joe proposed to Alexandra. This made not only Alexandra happy, but Jelka, Joe’s mother, was also overjoyed.
However, the wedding planning process led to some tensions between Jelka and Alexandra. According to Alexandra’s friends, Jelka had strong views, and wanted others to follow them, and this caused conflict with her future daughter-in-law. The tension escalated to the point where Alexandra began having doubts about marrying Joe. Nevertheless, on June 11, 1988, the wedding went ahead as planned.
Even after the young couple officially married, Jelka continued to be domineering and interfere in their life. Jelka wanted to control the decisions they made, including anything Alexandra did, even what clothes she wore. Meanwhile, Alexandra felt that since she and Joe were married, they should make their own decisions.
But then Alexandra and Joe received an offer they could not refuse. Joe’s parents offered to give them a sizable sum of money upfront to help the newlyweds buy a house near Joe’s parents’ home.
According to Alexandra’s friends, the couple agreed to accept this gift. However, the disputes did not end. Alexandra and her mother-in-law clashed over even minor things in the kitchen when they had differing views.
By the end of 1989, Alexandra and Joe had a son whom they named Brandon. One might think this joyous event would improve the relationship, but instead, Brandon’s arrival led to the most serious battle between Alexandra and her mother-in-law.
A Marriage Cracking Apart
The arrival of their son led to the most serious battle amidst the simmering conflicts between Alexandra Pesic and her mother-in-law Jelka Pesic.
One evening, Alexandra and her husband Joe went out on a date night. Jelka took responsibility for babysitting her infant grandson. Jelka then told her daughter-in-law that she would give the 6-month-old baby a special tea to help him sleep soundly, but Alexandra insisted her mother-in-law not give her son that drink.
When they returned home, baby Brandon was so soundly asleep that Alexandra could not wake him up. She could barely even feel his pulse. At this point, Jelka admitted she had given the baby the tea.
Brandon eventually recovered, but Alexandra was furious that her mother-in-law had ignored her instruction. She immediately took her son back to her parent’s home and issued an ultimatum to her husband.
Alexandra was disappointed to realize that Joe always prioritized her and their child below his own parents. She felt she could not continue living like that and also did not want to raise her child in that tense environment next to her harsh mother-in-law.
Two years into the marriage, Alexandra filed for divorce. But things only got worse from there.
A bitter custody battle ensued between the couple. They also clashed over the ownership of the house and finances. In the end, Alexandra was awarded full custody, child support from her ex-husband, and ownership of their shared home.
A Brazen Daytime Murder
In November 1991, the divorce was finalized. Alexandra Pesic felt relieved that her tumultuous custody battle with her ex-husband was finally over. But things would not end that simply.
On August 5, 1992, after finishing her work shift, Alexandra and her co-worker Bernice Courson walked together to Alexandra’s car in the parking lot.
Bernice stated that as she was walking around behind Alexandra to get into the car, she suddenly heard the first gunshot from very close by. Alexandra’s shoulder and head slammed into Bernice’s back. Once the gunfire stopped, Bernice heard a car’s tires squealing as it sped away. She immediately ran into the office to get the doctor they worked with.
Alexandra was rushed to the hospital but did not survive the severe gunshot wounds. Alexandra’s life ended at age 25.
The brazen daytime assassination had many witnesses. Over 30 people in the area told investigators they saw a red car with two young men with dark hair inside. One witness even watched from start to finish as the red car pulled up next to Alexandra’s vehicle, shot her, and then sped off. This witness later provided the license plate to the police.
When authorities checked the plate, they found it was from a recently stolen vehicle.
Investigators questioned Joe, who had just gone through the contentious divorce and custody battle with the victim. However, Joe had an alibi as he was at a swimming pool with his son several kilometers from the crime scene.
At this point, Alexandra’s friends told investigators about a concerning incident that had previously occurred.
The Hidden Killer
After Alexandra Pesic was shot dead in broad daylight, witnessed by many people, her close friend Angie Casoria told investigators about a concerning incident.
According to Casoria, before being murdered, Alexandra had received a paperback book mailed to her from an unknown sender titled “The Death of Cindy James.” It was a story about a woman named Cindy James who was terrorized before being killed.
Notably, certain passages in the book were highlighted by someone, including a part about Cindy James’s lawn being set on fire.
A few days later, when Alexandra and Casoria were at Alexandra’s home, they heard a crackling sound from the front yard. Running outside, they saw the grass in the yard ablaze. Alexandra also noticed a car had been following her.
Casoria stated that everything happening to Alexandra mirrored the highlighted details in the “Death of Cindy James” book.
From this, Alexandra even knew what would happen to her next – that she would be shot by her stalker. So Alexandra hired a private investigator to find out who was behind it all and made threats against her. However, she could not avoid the tragic outcome.
The Stolen Getaway Car
After Alexandra’s murder, this private investigator contacted the police and provided them with useful information.
On the day of the killing, his team split into two groups – one surveilled Joe Pesic, Alexandra’s ex-husband, confirming he was indeed at a swimming pool. The other group monitored Joe’s parents and also verified they were at their auto shop at the time of the murder. They all had alibis.
The private investigator then provided authorities with the license plate of the white car that had been following Alexandra.
Meanwhile, police found the stolen red getaway car the suspects had driven from the crime scene. Inside, they recovered a fingerprint and a strand of hair. A witness reported seeing two men exit this car, get into a waiting white vehicle, and flee.
From the white car’s plate, authorities identified it as belonging to a man named Milan Nenadic. His fingerprints were on file due to prior convictions. However, the print from the red car didn’t match Milan’s – it belonged to another petty criminal named Lawrence Delorme.
Both Milan Nenadic and Lawrence Delorme were immediately put under 24/7 surveillance. Very quickly, the investigation team got what they needed.
The Valuable Call
On August 10, 1992, police spotted Milan arriving at the home of Jelka Pesic – the victim’s former mother-in-law – and getting into a car with this woman. He lay down in the vehicle to avoid being seen with Jelka. They drove to a shopping mall, went inside together, then shortly returned to the car. Milan again hid by lying down.
Police immediately planned to arrest Milan as he prepared to drive away. Upon being apprehended, a sum of money fell out of Milan’s shorts pocket – $30,000 cash.
At the same time, police received a call from an acquaintance of the Pesic family providing valuable information. The woman stated that a few weeks prior, she had witnessed Jelka Pesic, Alexandra’s former mother-in-law, setting fire to Alexandra’s front lawn.
Additionally, the acquaintance confirmed that Jelka had a copy of the “Death of Cindy James” book that Alexandra received with threats from her stalker. The witness also revealed having previously seen Milan Nenadic at Jelka’s home. As Milan left, she overheard Jelka say: “So that’s good. It will all be over soon.”
With all the evidence gathered, police arrested Jelka on the murder charge. Searching her residence, authorities found the murder weapon. They also discovered a note at Lawrence Delorme’s residence with Milan Nenadic’s name, phone number, and address, linking the two suspects.
The Truth Emerges
Investigators determined Lawrence was the getaway driver, Milan supplied the weapon and car, while Jelka was the mastermind. But who was the actual trigger man?
Continuing the investigation, police found a note with a partial address and the name David Segoviano. Visiting that address, they met a man who introduced himself as David’s roommate. In conversation, he revealed David had recently cut his own hair and provided those hair samples to police.
Subsequent analysis showed a match between the samples and the hair strand recovered from the red getaway car used in the crime – directly linking David to the two accomplices.
David’s girlfriend agreed to wear a wire and have a conversation to get him to confess his role and that of his accomplices in the murder plot. This gave the police the final piece they needed.
In 1993, all four suspects in Alexandra Pesic’s death – Jelka Pesic, Milan Nenadic, Lawrence Delorme, and David Segoviano – stood trial. Each received the maximum sentence for first-degree murder in Canada – life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 25 years.
Meanwhile, Joe Pesic was never charged. His and Alexandra’s son was raised by Alexandra’s mother.
