The Randy Blythe manslaughter case was a court case in the Czech Republic, stemming from a 2010 Lamb of God concert in Prague, wherein 19-year-old fan Daniel Nosek sustained head injuries leading to a coma and death. During the investigation, Czech police unsuccessfully asked United States authorities for cooperation. When the band returned to the Czech Republic for another concert two years later, its vocalist Randy Blythe was arrested, charged with causing Nosek's death, and remanded in custody for five weeks.
According to a verdict delivered by the Municipal Court in Prague on March 5, 2013, it was proven that Blythe had thrown Nosek offstage and thus had moral responsibility for his death. However, due to the circumstances, Blythe was not held criminally liable, and most of the blame lay with promoters and security members. The acquittal was upheld by the Prague High Court on June 5, 2013.
The trial was documented in the film As the Palaces Burn, directed by Don Argott.
2010 concert incident
During a concert on May 24, 2010, in the Prague club, Abaton, Blythe was involved in an incident that resulted in the death of Daniel Nosek, a 19-year-old attending fan. According to eyewitness statements cited by the Czech online daily newspaper aktuálně.cz following Blythe's arrest, Blythe was chanting "Come on!" between songs, which, the newspaper stated, may have been intended to invite applause from the audience and not a direct invitation to fans to approach the stage. The newspaper went on to report that the fan tried to climb onstage and was thrown by the singer from the stage, falling backwards directly on his head. According to the same paper, Nosek was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, suffered serious brain trauma, fell into a coma, and died weeks later from his injuries.
A report about the concert at issue released on May 26, 2010 by topzine.cz stated that "one of the things that was unexpected was the behavior of the singer Randall Blythe, who on a few occasions struck some fans in a relatively brutal way off the stage." The article also contains pictures, one of them showing Blythe holding a fan down on the ground. Meanwhile, another report released two days after the concert by metalopolis.net alleged that "Randy in a totally uncompromising way took down an impertinent fan, who has climbed the podium several times. The front-man clearly showed that it is his territory, he struck the intruder down, punched him a couple of times and sent him through the air off the podium, without even stopping singing (!)" On May 28, 2010, the report by marastmusic.com stated that "some broken heads was a testimony to the fact that the band does not like anybody on the stage", (Google Translate link) while abysszine.com stated that "the only negative thing about the concert was, to say it mildly, disputable approach of the band towards the stage-divers ... when somebody tried to climb the stage, he was brutally swept down."
Following Blythe's arrest, Tomáš Fiala, a promoter of the concert, said that there was no fight between the fan and Blythe, and that "it was an unfortunate incident which happened during the concert when someone climbed onto the stage where he was not supposed to be." According to the Lamb of God publicist Adrenaline PR, "[the] incident deals with a fan that three times during the concert jumped the barricade and rushed Randy during the performance. It is alleged that the third time, security was not able to reach him and that Randy pushed him back into the audience where supposedly he fell and hit his head." However, it was revealed during the trial that it was a different fan who previously got into contact with Blythe than Nosek. Guitarist Willie Adler said, "I can't recall that particular show, let alone a fan being beaten on the stage. I think I would've noticed something like that considering the Dime thing."
According to Blythe's attorney Martin Radvan, the police launched an investigation following the death of Nosek, about a month after the concert and following a coma. After interviewing several eyewitnesses from the concert, the police asked the United States Department of Justice to take part in the investigation; however, they refused to cooperate and, moreover, did not notify anyone from Lamb of God or its management.
Arrest and charges
On June 27, 2012, Blythe was arrested by the Czech police on suspicion of manslaughter. Lamb of God was prepared to play in Prague on June 28, 2012, but Blythe's arrest upon arrival at Ruzyně Airport caused the concert to be canceled.
According to TV Nova, Blythe stated that he had not been aware of Nosek's death and expressed his remorse.
A police spokesperson stated on June 29, 2012 that the police had formally charged Blythe under section 146(4) of the Czech Criminal Code, which contains intentional infliction of bodily harm resulting in death (i.e. manslaughter). He faced 5–10 years of imprisonment if found guilty.
Court remand and bail
On June 30, 2012, the State Attorney brought a motion to remand Blythe in pre-trial detention, as he considered Blythe a flight risk. During a hearing conducted the same day, judge Petr Fassati of the Prague 8 District Court ruled that Blythe would be held on remand, with the possibility of a bail of CZK 4,000,000 (~ US$ 200,000), Blythe's alleged annual income; Blythe was held in Pankrác Prison. Bail was deposited in the court's bank account on mid-day of July 3, 2012. After this, the State Attorney had three working days to either accept the bail or to challenge it by filing a complaint. Due to public holidays it was not until July 9, 2012, that the State Attorney filed his complaint, which was to be dealt with by appellate court, the Prague Municipal Court. (Google Translate link)
On July 17, 2012, Prague Municipal Court's panel of three judges headed by judge Luboš Vrba overturned the bail decision by doubling the bail amount to CZK 8 million (~ US$400,000). (Google Translate link) After this, the State Attorney challenged the conditions of release, trying to achieve that the bail is subject to Blythe staying in the country and/or Blythe having to report at a given police station regularly until the criminal proceedings are finished. On August 2, 2012, the appellate court rejected the State Attorney's second complaint and ordered Blythe's immediate release. Blythe left the Czech Republic the next day, claiming in an interview with TV Nova that he would return for the trial.
Indictment and trial On November 13, 2012, the spokesperson of the Prague State Attorney's Office announced that the police had formally closed their investigation and proposed to the State Attorney to indict Blythe. After reviewing the case file, the State Attorney indicted Blythe on the aforementioned charges on November 30, 2012. Two weeks later, a judge set the trial to commence on February 4, 2013, with a plan to conduct the hearings in four consecutive days. Blythe was summoned to attend the hearing in person.
The case was heard by a panel of the Prague Municipal Court, consisting of presiding professional judge Tomáš Kubovec and two lay judges. Trials in the Czech Republic are public. In general, the court is bound to decide on the deed as stated in the indictment; however, it is not bound by its legal assessment by the State Attorney.
Both the defendant and the State Attorney may appeal the decision; the appeal would be heard by a panel of the Prague High Court, consisting of three professional judges. A decision of second instance court is final and enforceable. Nevertheless, an extraordinary appeal may be lodged by the defendant or the Supreme State Attorney, which would be heard by the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic in Brno; an extraordinary appeal may, however, rest only on issues of law and does not provide for full review of the case. After exhausting all of these remedies, the defendant may also lodge a petition to the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic. The petition may be based on allegation of violation of rights under the Czech Constitution and Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms.
State Attorney Vladimír Mužík
Indictment against Blythe was brought by State Attorney Vladimír Mužík. Mužík had tried a number of murderers, such as Luboš Mika (life in prison), Roman Fidler (life imprisonment at 1st instance, 25 years on appeal), Maria Zolotukinová (13 years imprisonment) and Petr Procházka (11 years imprisonment). He also tried a case against Andranik Soghojan, an alleged head of Russian mafia, requesting 25 years in prison for ordering a murder. The Municipal Court in Prague acquitted Soghojan due to lack of evidence; however, the decision was repealed on appeal by the High Court, and the case will be heard again by a different tribunal of the Municipal Court. Another of Mužík's murder cases which ended in acquittal due to insufficient evidence is that of Miroslav Rus, who was indicted in connection with disappearance of Miroslav Kříž, a vice-chairman of the Czech Football Association.
Defense lawyers Randy Blythe was represented by Prague lawyers Martin Radvan and Vladimír Jablonský. Radvan studied law at the Faculty of Law of Charles University and New York University School of Law. From 1990 to 1992, he served as external advisor to the then-Prime Minister Marián Čalfa. A former partner at Baker & McKenzie, Radvan established Radvan & Co. in 1996. He is also a member of the board of directors of Forum 2000.
Jablonský gained fame as an attorney for his representation of Yekta Uzunoglu, a Kurdish national who was first charged in 1994 with preparing to commit three murders and committing blackmail and torture. His prosecution became one of the longest criminal cases in the Czech history, as the witnesses and alleged victims gradually withdrew or changed their testimonies against Uzunoglu until he was exonerated by the Municipal Court in Prague in 2007. The court held that although the crimes did take place, there is no evidence that Uzunoglu took part in them. Jablonský had also represented Pavel Nagy, who was indicted of accepting a bribe. The proceedings ended with Nagy being found insane and criminally not liable. Jablonský also acted as a defense attorney in the case of a hairdresser of Czech VIPs indicted on charges of rape and torture. During the proceedings, the judge sent Jablonský to face the disciplinary commission of the Czech bar association for what he perceived as "behaviour bordering on contempt".
Day 1 of the trial
The trial started on February 4, 2013. Blythe testified that when he wanted to see the club before the concert, Lamb of God's technician told him that the club was terrible and messy. According to Blythe, the technician went on, saying that the stage was small, there were too many people, and that it was rather dangerous.