František shot Marek at the Štefánik Memorial, received 16 years in prison
A court found the 56-year-old František guilty of murder and sentenced him to 16 years. The case occurred in March during an evening walk with a dog in Bratislava.
Convicted of murder of dog walker: family of murdered Marek speaks through legal representative
The City Court Bratislava I found 56-year-old František B. guilty of the particularly serious crime of murder and sentenced him to 16 years' imprisonment. However, the verdict has not yet become final — the defence appealed against it and the Regional Court in Bratislava will determine the final fate of the convicted man.
The legal representative of murdered Marek's family, Ľuboš Pejhovský, accepted an invitation to the Svet zločinu podcast by the Nový Čas publisher, where he explained how the family received the verdict and what tension accompanied the trial process. Pejhovský touched on an exceptionally sensitive topic — the verbal attacks to which Marek's family was subjected by the family of the accused František at almost every hearing.
The fateful March evening at the Štefánik Memorial
The tragedy occurred on Friday, 21 March in the evening hours at the Memorial of General Milan Rastislav Štefánik in Bratislava. Marek (47, deceased), a family man, got into a conflict with František while walking his dog. According to the order for remand in custody, which the editorial office has at its disposal, František was sitting in a car when the situation began to escalate. He claimed he was restricted by the safety belt and did not know how to react in the panic.
Instead of seeking a milder solution, however, he reached for a loaded pistol, pointed it at Marek and fired. The bullet struck Marek in the head and the man succumbed to his wounds. František claimed he only wanted to frighten him, but the court rejected his version.
Court pointed to unpredictable reactions
The speed with which František reached for a weapon raised serious questions in the court's view. The court pointed to his sudden and unpredictable reactions and stated that they presented a risk of similar conduct being repeated in the future. This circumstance was among the key points the court considered in its decision.
After the shooting, František was charged with the particularly serious crime of murder. The City Court Bratislava I initially released him, but the Regional Court in Bratislava subsequently remanded him in custody, where he remained throughout the entire proceedings.
Family faced verbal attacks
Legal representative Pejhovský described in the podcast the psychologically exhausting moments that the bereaved experienced during the individual hearings. Marek's family faced repeated verbal attacks from relatives of the accused, which accompanied the trial from the beginning until the verdict was delivered.
The case, which shook Bratislava and marked the lives of two families, thus reached another significant turning point. A definitive conclusion has not yet been reached — the appeal court has the final say.
Source: Nový Čas