Murderer Killed His Second Girlfriend Right After Leaving Prison — Court Upholds 27.5-Year Sentence

The High Court in Olomouc has rejected the appeal of a man named Cigoš, convicted of murdering his second girlfriend, and upheld the regional court's sentence of 27.5 years in prison. Combined with the remaining time from his first murder conviction, he must now serve a total of 32.5 years behind bars.

The defendant had already admitted guilt at the regional court, where he faced up to life imprisonment, and the court accepted his confession. However, he found the sentence too harsh and filed an appeal.

"I sincerely regret what I did. I didn't plan it. My girlfriend treated me badly, and unfortunately I couldn't control myself," the defendant told the court, asking for a more lenient punishment. His request was dismissed as unfounded.

Killed Just Years After Leaving Prison

"The sentence is lawful and corresponds to all the circumstances. The conditions for imposing an exceptional punishment were met. The crime was committed for a second time, in a particularly agonizing and brutal manner — and directly after his release from prison for an entirely similar act," explained Ivo Lajda, chairman of the judicial panel at the High Court in Olomouc.

Cigoš previously had five years left on his sentence for the first murder: he had been released on parole but failed to justify the trust placed in him, meaning he must now serve that remaining time in full.

They Met While He Was Serving His Sentence

The defendant met his second girlfriend, his future victim, while still serving his first sentence — toward the end of his imprisonment he had been working outside the prison. On November 26 of last year, while intoxicated, he killed her after an argument in the apartment they shared in the town of Mirov in the Šumperk district, stabbing her multiple times with a kitchen knife with a blade of about 25 centimeters, attacking her from behind.

The woman suffered 36 stab wounds to her back, neck and head and died at the scene. The immediate cause of death was blood loss combined with an air embolism. According to expert findings, she experienced mortal fear and extreme physical suffering during the attack.

After the murder, the man washed himself, changed his clothes and left the scene. He called a taxi and headed to Šumperk, where, according to his account, he was looking for housing. Unable to find anything suitable, he drove around the surrounding area and eventually ended up at a gas station in Zábřeh, where he bought food and alcohol before asking staff to call the police.

His First Murder Was Committed at Age 25

Cigoš killed for the first time at the age of 25, attacking his then-girlfriend, who was six years older than him. In late May 2014, in an apartment in Frýdek-Místek, he stabbed the woman 45 times, 17 of them to the neck. During the investigation, he admitted to using ten different knives; that time, too, he called the police himself. At the time of the crime he was drunk and under the influence of drugs.

The Regional Court in Ostrava sentenced him in February 2015 to 16.5 years in prison. He committed the second murder ten years and nine months after that sentence. Before the first murder, he had no criminal record.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz