The wife of Ardian Nikulaj has spoken for the first time after more than a year since the murder of her husband, Ardian Nikulaj in Shengjin, Lezha. Vera Nikulaj spoke about the journalist Tom Kelly, investigative editor at the Daily Mail, who traveled to Shengjin.
In the Daily Mail article, it is said that Ardiani’s family agreed to speak just a few days before the decision to extradite the perpetrators of the murder this Tuesday in the London court.
Ardian’s wife, with great pain and tears in her eyes, told the Daily Mail how her family welcomed the group of British people who came as tourists to stay at Nikulaj’s hotel in the newly inaugurated hotel, but in fact the plan helped the client Edmond Haxhia in his execution.
The group of killers stayed at the ‘Coral’ hotel owned by Nikulaj, received free food from the businessman, talked with his wife and played pool with his son. All this time they monitored Nikulaj’s movements, until one of them gave the signal to execute him on April 19, 2023. Ruben Saraiva is suspected to be the executioner who then entered the hotel restaurant and shot Nikulaj six times.
Vera, sitting next to the already ‘reserved’ table, where her husband was shot, with tears in her eyes told how because of the blood feud they were wary of threats from the Albanians, but they never suspected that the British could be involved in the murder of Nicholas.
Vera Nikulaj has said that she first saw British Harriet Bridgeman, mother of a little boy, in her hotel premises. Bridgeman was disguised as a tourist, but in fact her only purpose was to observe Nikulaj’s movements with the aim of killing him.
“She tried to communicate with Ardian. I spoke to her and told her that I speak English and how I could help her. He asked us to find him a car for rent, and Ardiani helped him with that,” said Vera.
The next day the Nikulaj family dined at the restaurant at the next table with Bridgeman and one of the British men.
“She wanted to pay with a credit card, but it didn’t work. Ardian told the waiter ‘don’t worry, I will pay them’.
“They came to us and thanked Ardian for paying for their lunch.”
For the Daily Mail, Ardian’s son, Luisi, now 14 years old, also spoke, telling how he saw Harry Simpson at the pool table that was in front of the restaurant where his father was killed. The boy also tells of a moment when he talked with the British Simpson.
‘The next day I was eating with him at the same table. I was eating beans and Simpson said: ‘let me try this traditional Albanian food’.
He took his spoon and started eating the beans from my plate.
“I told my mother that the man seems a little strange.”
The 14-year-old also tells what his father told him: “Don’t worry, son, he’s just a tourist, you shouldn’t worry about him.”
“On the third day, after finishing his pizza and beer at the restaurant, Simpson took his tray and tried to send it behind a curtain in the hotel restaurant where staff and family were working,” Vera Nikulaj said.
Vera says her husband told Simpson, “Don’t worry, leave the tray on the table, you’re on vacation.”
“But Simpson was very curious to know what was behind the curtain,” continues Vera Nikulaj.
Suspected attacker Ruben Saraiva, a British resident born in Portugal, was also seen watching over the hotel, near a staircase near the scene of the shooting in the days leading up to it. Children in the area reported seeing a ‘strange man all the time’ and one was able to give a detailed description of him after the murder, relatives told the Daily Mail.
The British court decided today to extradite to Albania 4 of the 5 arrested for the murder of businessman Ardian Nikulaj in Shengjin. The extradition of the customer Edmond Haxhia, as well as the British Thomas Mithan, Harry Simpson and Harriet Bridgeman, is expected.
A decision has not been made for Steven Hunt at the moment, as he has been diagnosed with cancer. Meanwhile, the Portuguese Ruben Saraiva, who is suspected of being the executioner of Nikulajat, was extradited to Albania on December 31, 2023.
Nikulaj was executed on April 19, 2023 in Shengjin in his hotel. The murder of businessman Ardian Nikulaj was in the wake of the chain of revenge that the victim’s family has with the Lekstakaj tribe, a conflict that has produced many victims over the years.
