Woman on trial in Brno over bridge attack and fatal stabbing

A woman named Hrdová is on trial in Brno, accused by prosecutors of pushing an acquaintance off a bridge in Evišovice near Znojmo last June, and of stabbing another man 158 times in a hostel in November, killing him. The defendant told the court she admits her guilt and is ready to take responsibility for it.

Bridge attack staged for a selfie

The first episode took place last June in the village of Evišovice in the Znojmo area. According to the prosecution's account, presented in court by Iveta Eichlerová, the woman was out walking at night with an acquaintance and suggested he sit on the bridge railing so they could take a selfie together. Once the man settled onto the railing, she pushed him, and when he didn't fall right away, she grabbed his legs and tipped him over the railing. The man fell from a height of almost six metres. Hrdová then climbed down to him and punched him in the face. According to the prosecutor, he survived only by sheer luck.

A fatal attack at the hostel

The second, fatal episode took place in November at the hostel where the defendant's elderly acquaintance lived. According to the prosecution, during a moment of intimacy Hrdová picked up a knife, cut the man's genitals, and then began stabbing him all over his body. “In total, she inflicted 158 wounds,” prosecutor Eichlerová told the court.

An “imaginary friend” and alcohol

The defendant was brought into court under guard, wearing a large cross-shaped pendant around her neck. “I feel guilty and I'm ready to take responsibility for it. It's terrible to live knowing I'm a murderer. I suppose there's something wrong with me, and I'd like to get treatment,” Hrdová told the panel presided over by Judge Michal Zamečník.

She explained the first attack by saying that the man's fall had aroused her sexually. “An imaginary friend pushed me to do it, but I didn't want to kill him — she just said he needed to be hurt. She pushes me toward things I don't want to do. I was taking psychotropic pills that shouldn't be mixed with alcohol, and I'd drunk about ten glasses of beer,” Hrdová said.

According to her, the same “imaginary friend” was also behind the killing at the hostel. “She told me I had to kill him because he lived in filth and mess. When I started performing oral sex on him, I covered his head with a blanket, and then started cutting right at his genitals and kept on stabbing,” Hrdová recounted, completely unemotional. “I don't remember how long it lasted, and I don't remember inflicting that many wounds. Afterwards I locked the room and left. Then I called the police and said I was going to kill myself,” she concluded her testimony.

The case is being heard in a Brno court, with witness and expert testimony still to come. The defendant faces up to twenty years in prison, and in the event of an especially grave verdict, an exceptional sentence, including life imprisonment.

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Source: novinky.cz