CAMDEN — A Camden man was arrested on charges that he beat and choked members of his family over many years.
Senad Brkic, 42, was arrested last week for allegedly violating a protection from abuse order obtained by his wife on behalf of their two daughters.
Senad Brkic, left, speaks with defense attorney for the day Daniel Purdy during a hearing Monday in Knox County Unified Court. Courier Gazette/ Stephen Betts
Brkic has since also been charged with two counts of Class B aggravated assault and one count of misdemeanor domestic violence assault. The arrest warrant also contained details on an incident two years ago in which Brkic refused to allow the couple’s 2-year-old daughter to get medical care. The girl later died.
Police say Brkic returned to the couple’s home after the court-issued protection order was served on him. Bail was set at $2,500 cash for that offense.
The new charges of aggravated assault and domestic violence assault were filed Monday in Knox County Unified Court.
District Court Deputy Chief Judge Susan Sparaco set a concurrent bail of $2,500 cash on the new charges during Brkic’s brief court hearing Monday. Even if he raises the money, he would be required to reach a contract agreement with Maine Pre-Trial Services before he could be released.
He remains at the Knox County Jail in Rockland.
The affidavit filed in court by Knox County Sheriff’s Office Detective Dwight Burtis cites statements from both Brkic’s wife and daughters detailing abuse they have suffered at his hands over the years.
Both daughters said he put his hands around their necks to the point that they couldn’t breathe. During the summer, he allegedly tried to strangle one of the girls and slammed her head against a car window. Another daughter reported that he tried to strangle her as he held her down on a couch at their home.
Brkic’s wife reported that Brkic assaulted her many times, including one incident in 2009 during which she suffered broken ribs. A Knox County detective confirmed with Waldo County General Hospital in Belfast that she was treated for broken ribs at the time she reported.
The family members also said their father was apprehended by police in New Mexico in 2013 after he got angry and intentionally drove the car in which they were all passengers the wrong way on the interstate. That incident was also confirmed with police in New Mexico.
The incident involving the 2-year-old girl occurred two years ago. The girl was very ill, but Brkic refused to let her be seen by a doctor. The wife eventually took her to Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport. The 2-year-old died soon after from sepsis, as the result of not being treated for influenza, according to police.
That matter remains under investigation, according to the affidavit.
The wife told the detective that her husband suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. He lost his left arm while fighting in the Bosnian civil war, according to the affidavit. That civil war occurred from 1991 until the end of 1995.
The woman said the family has lived in the United States for 16 years, but her husband would not let her make friends or get a job and isolated her. When she complained about his abuse, Brkic told her that he would win in court and that she did not understand the U.S. legal system.
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