Double murderer Mlynarovič: strangled his first victim, stabbed the second nine times
Štefan Mlynarovič, known as Džony, spent most of his life behind bars. After being conditionally released, he killed again – and received a life sentence.
Bratislava recidivist who was given a second chance and killed again
Štefan Mlynarovič spent more than sixty years of his life behind bars. According to Nový Čas, he was an inmate known by the nickname Džony, who progressed from a petty thief to a double murderer sentenced to life imprisonment.
He was born in 1941 in Bratislava and first encountered police at age eighteen – together with a friend, he robbed a bar in PKO. For this crime he received eighteen months. In the following years, more thefts, burglaries and desertion from basic military service accumulated. He spent most of his youth behind bars; in Leopoldov prison, at age 34, he completed primary school. It was there that he earned the nickname Džony among fellow inmates.
First murder: hid his strangled partner in the cellar
The worst turning point in his life occurred on 1 July 1975. He attacked his partner Božena, whom he suspected of infidelity, with a heavy ashtray in his parents' flat. He knocked her to the ground, fractured her skull, and when she was still breathing, he strangled her with a fabric belt from a skirt. He tied the body and hid it in the cellar behind boards. Before leaving, he attempted to wipe away the bloodstains, but left behind a written confession.
After the murder, he wandered around Bratislava for several days, sleeping on benches or with acquaintances, and repeatedly made unsuccessful suicide attempts. He told friends openly that he had killed Božena – no one believed him. He eventually confessed to his own mother. Police arrested him on 16 July, and he immediately confessed to everything.
The prosecutor sought the death penalty. The court finally sentenced him to 25 years' imprisonment in 1976. However, he did not serve the full sentence: following an amnesty and after meeting the conditions, he was conditionally released on 30 July 1991 – he regained his freedom approximately sixteen years after the murder.
Disappearance of girl Soňa – guilt could not be proven
Less than a year after his release, in mid-June 1992, eleven-year-old Soňa disappeared. Previously, the girl had been asking about "Uncle Džony", who had promised her a jumper. She was missing for nearly two months. When the owner of one of the flats returned from hospital, she noticed a strong stench. Under the mattress she discovered a large parcel in the washing tub, wrapped in plastic, cardboard and tied with string – inside was Soňa's body.
Mlynarovič had keys to the flat, and items belonging to the girl were found on the premises, and his hairs were found on her clothing. He refused to admit guilt and claimed that someone else was behind the murder. He was never finally convicted of Soňa's death.
In July 1992, police also investigated an attack on a young woman in Stupava. An unknown man had allegedly attacked her at night and sexually harassed her; the woman managed to escape. Mlynarovič was suspected of the attack, but during identification, the victim identified a different man. The crime could therefore not be proven against him.
Second murder: nine knife wounds to the chest
Only a few days after Soňa's body was found, on 4 July 1992, Mlynarovič killed again. Anna, a neighbour of his sister, had returned from hospital in early July and needed help with minor repairs to her flat. He came to help, but the situation gradually turned into drinking wine and beer. Following intimate contact between them, a row erupted. Drunk, Mlynarovič reached for a kitchen knife and stabbed Anna nine times in the chest. He covered the body with bedding, locked the flat from outside and broke the key off in the lock.
Police found Anna on 7 July. In the meantime, Mlynarovič had attempted to flee to Austria; he was apprehended at the Petržalka–Berg border crossing. Although he denied guilt, he left blood, hair and even a denture at the crime scene, which he had forgotten there.
Life sentence and death in a prison hospital
In September 1995, the court sentenced him to life imprisonment. In making its decision, an assessment was key, according to which his rehabilitation was practically impossible. The man who was given a second chance after his first murder never regained his freedom.
Behind bars, in his old age he devoted himself to faith and had an unconventional hobby – he made figurines from bread, angels or entire nativity scenes. In 2024 he attempted to secure his release and even considered marrying one of the women with whom he corresponded. He did not live to see freedom. Štefan Mlynarovič died on 23 December 2025 in the prison hospital in Trenčín at the age of 84.
Source: Nový Čas