Denis Buntić was arrested but quickly released.
Denis Buntić represented the Croatian national team during his playing career. EPA / AOP
Former top handball player Denis Buntić40, was arrested in September on suspicion of assault.
Buntić visited his wife on Friday by Klara Buntić attacked in a brutal way. The time wasn’t the first, but Klara Buntić decided it was the last.
He actually recorded the beating, which lasted almost ten minutes.
– He beat me in front of my nine-month-old child. I recorded him when he threatened to kill me, Klara Buntić said the Croatian In an interview with Jutarnji.
The recording shows the man shouting at the woman, hitting her with fists and various objects. The woman begs the man to stop.
Klara wanted proof of the abuse because she knew there would be no witnesses otherwise. He said he had no other choice. Otherwise, he wouldn’t survive.
A fateful game
That day they were watching a match in Mostar.
Denis Buntić drank a lot during the match and allegedly also used drugs. Klara would not have wanted to go home at all, because she knew what was to come. He also suspected that the child had contracted some kind of virus because the baby was not feeling well.
After reaching home, Denis Buntić started yelling at his wife. Klara Buntić put her child to bed and turned on the recording program on her phone.
– He has hit me before, but now it was bloodthirsty. I knew that if I didn’t get away, it was all over. He was determined to kill me.
Klara Buntić managed to escape and was picked up by her friend. The police arrested the former top player and found illegal weapons under his bed.
– Kalashnikovs, pistols… All wrapped in towels. I couldn’t believe it. If he had been able to drag me to where the guns were, I’m sure he would have killed me.
Klara Buntić endured years of abuse. She wanted to save the marriage and did not report the abuse to the police. In the hospital, he said that he had fallen on the stairs.
Denis Buntić was taken to the Ljubuško court. Denis Buntić’s mother has worked for decades in the same court. The plaintiff is his godfather.
Denis Buntić was released in less than 48 hours. He got a restraining order.
– I fear for my child’s life. The police and the courts did nothing to protect us. Vice versa. He is casually drinking coffee a kilometer away from my parents’ house, and I and my children are shaking with fear.
During his playing career, Denis Buntić was part of the standard equipment of the Croatian national team. In his career, he won, among other things, Olympic bronze in London in 2012. He also won two World Cup silver medals with Croatia.