General Prosecutor's Office uncovers systemic failings in case of teacher's murder in Gelnica
The General Prosecutor's Office of the Slovak Republic has released serious findings about shortcomings in criminal proceedings that preceded the murder of teacher Zuzana V. in Gelnica. The man who subsequently killed her had previously been convicted only of the misdemeanour of dangerous threatenin
General Prosecutor's Office uncovers systemic failings in case of teacher's murder in Gelnica
The General Prosecutor's Office of the Slovak Republic has released serious findings about shortcomings in criminal proceedings that preceded the murder of teacher Zuzana V. in the town of Gelnica. According to the prosecutor's findings, the case was incorrectly classified and the investigation did not proceed in accordance with the law.
Only weeks before the murder, the district court in Spišská Nová Ves found Tomáš V. guilty of the misdemeanour of dangerous threatening by criminal order on 9 June 2026. The man was sentenced to eight months imprisonment with suspension for fifteen months and outpatient protective alcohol-abuse treatment.
However, according to General Prosecutor Maroš Žilinko, the criminal prosecution should have been conducted for the crime of abuse of a close or dependent person, which is a significantly more serious criminal offence with stricter sentencing guidelines. For the misdemeanour of dangerous threatening, the penalty ranges from six months to three years, whereas for abuse of a close person it is three to eight years, or seven to fifteen years if the act is committed over a longer period against multiple persons.
From the victim's criminal complaint, according to the prosecutor, it emerged that this was long-term domestic violence. The woman described psychological terror, pressure, insults, but also burnt personal belongings, destroyed clothing and attacks against her minor daughter. She also reported the addition of salt, medicines or dishwashing liquid to food and drinks and mentioned repeated physical assaults including punches and resulting bruising. When filing the criminal complaint, she handed police a burnt note which she had written after one of the attacks and kept in her handbag "in case something happened to her".
The prosecutor's office found that incorrect legal classification of the act also led to defective evidence gathering. According to it, the investigation did not focus on substantive circumstances and was not conducted to the necessary extent. For example, appropriate witness interviews and expert assessments were missing.
Criticism was also levelled at the initial interview with the victim itself, which according to the findings was conducted inappropriately. The woman was not allowed to testify spontaneously and questions were posed in a manner that further victimised her.
Another serious shortcoming was that oversight of the legality of pre-trial proceedings was not conducted by a prosecutor specialised in criminal domestic violence cases, despite such a specialisation existing for this type of criminality. Co-operation with the non-criminal section of the prosecutor's office was also insufficient, although a minor daughter of the victim was among those attacked. According to the investigation findings, the heads of prosecutors at the district prosecutor's office did not ensure adequate supervision.
The General Prosecutor has described the identified shortcomings as so serious that they cannot be tolerated. The regional prosecutor in Košice has been ordered to take effective measures to prevent such violations of the law in future, and at the same time to hold accountable the subordinate prosecutors of the District Prosecutor's Office Spišská Nová Ves proportionate to the seriousness of the shortcomings and their consequences. The head of the Police Force is also to be informed of the investigation's findings.
Source: Novinky.cz – https://www.novinky.cz/clanek/zahranicni-evropa-slovenska-kauza-gelnica-generalni-prokuratura-odhalila-systemove-selhani-40586833
Source: Novinky.cz