A former police officer Jozef H (38) brutally killed his two elderly neighbours last Saturday in Velka Lehota, apparently over a land dispute.
The man owned up to his crime a few days later, according to daily SME.sk, in the knowledge that the police would catch him sooner or later anyway, but it seems they were already on his trail. He now faces the possibility of life imprisonment.
The family of the murdered couple became concerned when they did not pick up their phones, so they went to the house, only to find it abandoned, with their phones and other personal belongings still inside.
After an extensive police search for the bodies, it turns out that the killer had stored the corpses at his own house. The police found also guns and the clothing the man was wearing when he committed the murders. The perpetrator left the service five years ago at his own request.
The death of the two pensioners was down to a dispute over title to an access road to their properties. The former police officer pulled out a gun and shot them after an argument. He also mutilated the bodies to the extent that one officers said he had “never seen anything like it”.
Fences Matt? Any form of boundary marking or enclosure is a lost art here. The number of “animal strikes” and the dangers they pose would be reduced if farmers were forced to fence their land along roads – there is EU money for this but there seems to be little take up. Domestic boundaries – there most probably is a legal requirement to maintain boundary fences etc, but the non-jobs can’t or won’t enforce it. I’ve found the Land Registry very good and their surveyors will come and verify boundaries for a reasonable fee so why this issue resulted in the two deaths is more to do with the mentality of the former police officer rather than difficulty in establishing ownership. The general acceptance of firearm possession in this country needs to be addressed. The number of crimes where guns are used appear to be on the increase and far too many young men are carrying weapons of all kinds as a fashion accessory. The police don’t set a very good example when they will resort to bullets to stop vehicles, the pit manoeuvre is far more effective and poses less danger to innocent bystanders. Guns were designed for one purpose only – to kill and for as long as Slovak society accepts the the ridiculous number of firearms in private ownership, the ease with which they are obtained and the growing preparedness of both criminals and the mentally challenged to use them, unfortunate cases like this one will continue to be in the news. The law makers could help by setting harsh minimum sentences for firearm possession and use.
Protecting and Serving, even after retirement/firing!
Mike G, be careful. Big Mother is watchin you ?
Sad for the elderly couple. Isn’t their a law you must put up a fence around your property
to state boundaries so that there is no dispute? Seems like a good law to keep disputes to a minimum over land rights.
What no pikkie of corpse laying prone, covered with plastic sheet and blood pools seeping all around the body scene ?
Heck JB, you`re really going to have to get current, if you ever want the Slowvaks to read this website .