The murder of the Judge of Appeal in Tirana, Astrit Kalaja, on October 6, 2025, in the courtroom, was allegedly planned four days earlier by the suspected perpetrator, Elvis Shkambi.
The suspected scenario of premeditated murder was discovered after examining the seized phones of Elvis Shkambi and his uncle, Gjon Shkambi. According to the file, three experts of the cyber laboratory near SPAK have discovered some messages that Elvis Shkambi had sent to his uncle.
Messages being investigated by SPAK
As it turns out in the criminal file, on October 2, 2025, Elvis Shkambi sent a message to his uncle, Gjon Shkambi, in the evening hours, writing to him: “...I'm going to make you dirty...”.
Meanwhile, on October 3, 2025, at 10:56 p.m., Elvis Shkambi sent another message to his uncle, where he wrote: “...the situation is very difficult, but it is a little more difficult...”.
Two minutes after this message, on the evening of October 3, 2025, Elvis Shkambi sent another message to Gjon Shkambi, writing: “...let's keep our nerve for Hana...”.
October 6, when the serious murder took place in the premises of the Court of Appeal, was a Monday.
The judge was killed by three pistol bullets
On October 6, 2025, judge Astrit Kalaja was killed with three pistol bullets of the brand “Welt Waffen Ë. Germany, Cal.765 mm, Browning”.
According to the data in the file, all three bullets were penetrating, causing the immediate death of the judge.
The messages discovered on the seized phones have led the prosecutors of the case, Arenc Çela and Ridvan Suka, to the conclusion that the murder of the judge was allegedly premeditated four days ago by Elvis Shkambi.
Three serious charges against Elvis Shkambi
Based on the investigations, three charges have been brought against Elvis Shkambi:
- The murder of public officials”, to the detriment of judge Astrit Kalaja.
-Murder in other qualifying circumstances” against the litigants, committed in cooperation, to the detriment of Ragip Kurtaj and Ervis Kurtaj.
- Unauthorized possession of weapons and explosive ammunition”.
If convicted of these charges, Elvis Shkambi faces a sentence of 35 years to life in prison.
Meanwhile, during the one-year investigation, the prosecutors did not establish the involvement of his uncle, Gjon Shkambi, in the murder of judge Astrit Kalaja.
