Milan J., a municipal police officer from Hurbanovo, confirmed at a hearing on March 25 at the Specialised Criminal Court in Pezinok that a shooting spree last summer happened as described by the prosecution. The court will not now have to prove him guilty of shooting dead three people and injuring two others.
The man, aged 52, had already pleaded guilty already at the beginning of the trial; as a result, only psychiatric and psychological forensic experts will testify before the court. “I do not deny having committed the act as described in the charge,” Milan J. said, as quoted by the SITA newswire. His plea was accepted by the court – which means it cannot be recalled, even by a later appeal against the verdict. The argumentation will thus concern only the extent of the sentence, damage compensation or protective measures.
The shootings took place on June 16, 2012, shortly after 10:00. Milan J., then aged 51, parked his own car in front of the house of a Roma family and proceeded to shoot dead a 44-year-old man, his 19-year-old son and 24-year-old son-in-law. A second son was shot in the lung and the son’s wife was shot in the leg. The police located the gunman about an hour later, sitting in front of the house of Hurbanovo’s mayor, Margita Zemková, SITA wrote.
The motive was not officially stated, but according to reports, the gunman had become frustrated with the family and later tried to “bring order”. Investigators and the prosecutor claim that Milan J. had planned his crime in detail and procured a gun in the municipality of Marcelová. He faces up to 25 years to life in prison. The family is seeking compensation amounting to €90,000.
Source: SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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