Murder by axe in Vratimov: Vladimír J. sentenced to nearly 16 years imprisonment
On Christmas Eve, Vladimír J. (58) killed his friend Pavel K. (†54) with an axe. The court imposed a sentence of 15 years and 11 months.
Christmas murder in Vratimov ends with sentence: nearly 16 years behind bars
Blesk.cz reports that criminal investigators responded on Christmas Eve last year to a case in Vratimov that was among the most serious in their service. In one of the houses there, they found a man lying in a pool of blood with a shattered skull. Near the body lay an axe. The perpetrator Vladimír J. (58) stood directly above the dead Pavel K. (†54) and immediately admitted to the act. The court has now imposed a sentence of 15 years and 11 months imprisonment. Part of the sentence also includes mandatory drug rehabilitation treatment.
The victim and the perpetrator were connected by the same sexual orientation and drug addiction. On the fateful evening they smoked marijuana, snorted methamphetamine and ecstasy. Alcohol was added to the mix. "Driven by the intention to kill him and without any prior conflict," the prosecutor David Bartoš described the course of the attack in court.
Pavel K. was returning from the shower at that moment. Vladimír J. attacked him with an axe without any prior argument. He struck the victim's head at least eleven times. "With such intensity that the injured party fell to the floor and gasped in a pool of blood. Even then he continued the attack and inflicted further blows. Particularly brutal and devastating," prosecutor Bartoš added.
After the attack, Vladimír J. himself called the police and admitted to his act. In court he stated: "I admit guilt. Drugs clouded my mind. I do not remember the attack." He refused to say anything about the motive. The state prosecutor retained the deadline to consider a possible appeal.
Vladimír J. expressed remorse in court: "If I could, I would turn back time. That is my greatest wish. I would like to apologise to the family for what happened."
The sisters of murdered Pavel K. followed the course of the proceedings. One of them, Květa (58), wept in court: "He was supposed to come to us for Christmas Eve supper. Instead, he went to his murderer. He killed him out of jealousy and because the drugs had addled his brain. Our beloved Pavlík will never return to us."
Source: Blesk.cz