Both women, with university degrees and doctorates, belonged to the narrow circle of followers of the fifty-year-old man’s teachings that formed around him. He is said to have asked them for help when he decided to “return home” – i.e. leave this world. The dentist procured medicines, including a strong anesthetic and an instrument, and brought it to the teacher’s Prague apartment. There he was found naked on a bed after the now convicted women contacted the police. No signs of life.
The proceedings of the court, which has been dealing with the case since last spring (and the chairwoman of the criminal panel paid great attention not only to clarifying the circumstances of the healer’s death, but also other contexts), showed that a man capable of manipulating others around him created a group of followers with features of a sect.
He firmly controlled their lives with his instructions, manipulations and collective influence. It follows from the witness statements that the healer bullied the members of the group mentally and physically (and apparently some women also sexually), robbed them of money – and the Central Bohemian police are even investigating two suspicious deaths within this community.
In the “murder of the healer” case, the court is still waiting for a key expert opinion
However, this is not the subject of discussion in the current main trial. The dentist and the teacher are to explain how and why they contributed to the death of their guru. So far, they have talked about it mostly in the context of the police investigation. Apparently, they followed instructions to help him commit suicide.
The dentist provided sedatives. They are said to have been taken by the man himself – and it was their ingestion, according to expert opinion, that led to their death. It was not caused by bleeding, the hole was originally in the man: the dentist gradually caused bleeding wounds in his groin and arm using scalpels brought from her office.
From the earlier statements of the women accused of the murder, it appears that they believed in a transition to another world or dimension – and according to the healer’s words, they were convinced that along with the departure of the healer’s soul, his body would also disappear. When this did not happen and the corpse remained in the apartment, they cleaned up in an exemplary manner and went together to the police station to report the incident.
Several experts have commented in the past on whether their recognition and control abilities were preserved and possibly to what extent they could be reduced. They fundamentally disagreed. At the same time, their opinion is crucial for deciding whether the criminal panel can assess guilt and possible punishment, or whether the person concerned should be acquitted of the charges due to insanity. Therefore, the Municipal Court assigned the preparation of audit reports to an expert institute from Hradec Králové. He should get acquainted with his opinion on Wednesday.
The case of the murder of the healer: the sanity of the defendants is still pending
Otherwise, according to the judge’s statement, the evidence is actually over. The finding court’s verdict in this case might not be far away. It is practically certain, however, that no matter what the criminal panel decides in the first instance, based on the appeal of at least one of the parties, the Supreme Court in Prague will still deal with the assessment of the case. State representative Jana Murínová confirmed this to Deník.
