The time-barred death of three young women in Prague: a serial killer can attack again
The capital terrified in the early 1990s. Even though three decades have passed since the murders he committed, the crime of murder should be time-barred, as in the UK. He is convinced of this by the former investigator and detective of the Organized Crime Unit of Tibor Lévai. At one time, he was also watching the journalist Sabina Slonková, when she was threatened with death. Now he’s talking about a mysterious serial killer.
“The families of the victims deserve the police to investigate the case, even though it is long overdue,” Lévai thinks. “At the same time, the public could sleep in peace if the perpetrator was eventually caught and convicted,” he notes for Deník.
Three brutally murdered young women
The first victim was student Markéta Čápová († 19). The killer attacked her on December 27, 1990, near the Otava university dormitories in Prague 4. She brutally raped and strangled her. An unfortunate night bus arrived at the scene.
Serial about statute-barred murders is created thanks to cooperation with the association We will not expire, which brings together victims of statute-barred crime
“I heard about her death from television. To this day, I think of Markéta and I would say more and more often. I have not yet visited her grave, “said Hana Vondráková from Jihlava, Diary of Markéta’s Diaries after years. Markéta came from nearby Brtnice, where she grew up with Hana. “She was an extremely talented, beautiful and ambitious girl,” adds Vondráková. To this day, Margaret’s parents do not want to comment on the tragic death of their daughter.
Another girl who chose a fatal portion of bad luck was high school student Šárka Hynčicová († 16). She also traveled by night bus and got off in Prague 4. Her friend accompanied her to the stop, he thought she would be safe. But he was wrong about that, on August 13, 1991, they found Šárka raped and strangled.
However, this did not end the terrifying series of deaths of young women. On November 5 of the same year, Pavlína Horčičková († 26) returned to the Zelený pruh hostel. The killer surprised her at a local park and killed her like his previous victims.
The same design
Josef Lottes, the chief commissioner of the Prague Crime Squad, headed the Prague assassination for many years, caught the Spartakiad murderer, went after the Eagle murderers, and searched for the lost Anička. He retired four years ago.
He recalls the murders in Prague’s South City: “The murders were connected by the same Modus operandi. The killer hit the girl in the face, raped and strangled her. He then stole a trifle from each victim. At that time, we were one of the first to use the most modern methods of work. We also provided detailed samples and, for the first time, examined the genetics and genetic profile of the offender in such serious cases. In all cases he agreed. This confirmed our initial assumption that he was indeed one perpetrator. But we didn’t catch him. “
There are still hostels in the areas where the crimes took place, where hundreds of foreigners lived at the time of the murder. Everyone checked in as he came. There were no lists. There were also a lot of amnestied people. It is therefore possible that the perpetrator is one of the foreigners or people who later emigrated.
“According to experts, the method of murder testified to the mental illness of the perpetrator. So it means assuming that the perpetrator can continue the murders, “concluded Lotes.
The association does not expire
● It was established in 2020 at the instigation of survivors and victims of cases of statute-barred crimes, specifically murder.
● It is made up of people across companies with a professional or personal relationship to the topic – lawyers, victims of crime, journalists or forensic scientists.
● It opens a social discussion on the topic of the functioning and meaningfulness of the limitation period for serious acts and fights for the extension of limitation periods – the Czech Republic is below the European average and, for example, in neighboring Austria, murder is not time-barred at all.
WE DO NOT PROMISE THE ASSOCIATION