The Municipal Court in Prague continues to unravel the case of the so-called Kutnohorsk sect. Two women are facing charges, accusing dentist Magdalena Šifferová and retired teacher Irena Stejskalová of murder. The public prosecutor proposed a sentence of 12 to 16 years in prison.
The defendants claim that they killed Guru Richard at his request and that he forced them to do so. Moreover, they say that he told them that after death his body would disappear. They waited for that to happen, but then went to report themselves to the police.
Experts from the fields of psychology and psychiatry, who drew up review reports, spoke before the court on Wednesday. These were ordered by the trial panel because the prosecution and defense experts disagreed on whether the women were sane at the time of the crime or not. That is, whether they should bear criminal responsibility.
Clinical psychologist Petr Vavřík, who collaborated on the assessment with a team of doctors from the University Hospital in Hradec Králové, was the first to present the conclusions of his examination. According to him, the behavior of both defendants is psychologically explainable and was not morbid.
“It is impossible to look for any transference of the victim’s morbid ideas to the defendant,” said Vavřík in the address of the defendant Irena Stejskála, and he expressed the same opinion about the other defendant Šifferová.
At the same time, however, he stated that both women were under the strong influence of guru Richard, were dependent on him and, for that reason, capable of behaving irrationally. The dentist Magdalena, who was also his partner in the last year, also experienced traumatic moments with him when he abused her mentally, physically and sexually.
“If she committed the act that she is accused of, it can be psychologically explained as an act of obedience,” said expert Vavřík about what, in his opinion, led the defendant to kill her partner.
The defense is trying to get the court to acquit the women, on the grounds that they had limited recognition and control abilities at the time of the crime. In a previous court hearing, the defense hired experts in the field of psychology and psychiatry, who claimed that according to their examination, the women were suffering from a so-called induced delusion. In other words, they were under the total influence of a person who himself had a morbid, i.e. in this case delusional, thinking.
But the prosecution’s expert did not agree with such an opinion. That’s why the court had audit reports drawn up.
The psychiatrist from the Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové, Ladislav Hosák, who testified in court today and who drew up a review report for the court, believes that the women were mentally healthy and did not suffer from the indicated delusions.
“At the time of the crime, the defendant’s recognition abilities were fully preserved, the controls were slightly limited,” he said to the defendant Šifferová. He came to the same conclusion, with the minor difference that control abilities were also fully preserved, in the case of the second defendant.
He suggests outpatient protective treatment at the defendant’s dentist.
Photo: Kristina Ciroková, Seznam Zpravy
Former teacher Irena Stejskalová, the second of the defendants.
Sect leader
Richard Šiffer worked as a healer in Kutná Hora. For many years, hundreds of people from all over the country came to see him, believing that he had miraculous powers. Over time, he created a community of around a hundred people around him. He powerfully manipulated his closest followers. At his command, they would leave their partners and move in with other sect members, isolate themselves from family and friends, or even mutilate themselves.
But at the same time, Guru Richard made a lot of money from his followers. Not only did they pay him for the treatment, but also for his other alleged help. Sometimes it involved hundreds of thousands of dollars. After his death, the police found more than 90 million crowns in his possession.
Psychologist Petr Vavřík also created a personality profile of the leader of the Šiffer sect. According to him, he was grossly unbalanced – sometimes he seemed authoritative, had sadistic tendencies, other times he was fragile, when he walked around the apartment with a teddy bear. Nevertheless, with his charisma, he was able to impress even university-educated people and manipulated them in order to gain power over them.
“There is a lot of evidence that he acted with purpose,” said the forensic expert.
Another six accused
The case of the Kutnohorsk sect has a second part, which the police are also dealing with.
Even before the death of Richard Šiffer in August 2022, two other members of the community died under circumstances that have not yet been clarified. Fifty-nine-year-old Jiří H. and fifty-six-year-old František J. In connection with the first death, the police have already initiated criminal prosecution of six former members of the sect. According to information from Seznam Zpráv, dentist Magdalena Šifferová is among them again. These are criminal charges of extortion and failure to render assistance.
According to information published by irozhlas.cz and which coincides with what the Seznam Zpráv reporter found, it is suspected that Jiří H. died as a result of a forest ritual. It took place in the woods near Český Šternberk. According to witness statements, Jiří H. was beaten with a wooden stick in the buttocks, kidneys and head during the session. When he began to collapse, the others called three other members of the sect instead of an ambulance. They loaded him into a car and drove him to the swimming stadium in Kutná Hora. They just called an ambulance there. But it was too late.
František J. was found just four days before the death of Jiří H. in the parking lot near Kozojed in Central Bohemia. His brother told the Seznam Zpráv reporter that he should have shot himself. However, the detectives have not yet closed the case.
Members of the community described that after these events, Guru Richard began to fear that the police would come for him. It seems that this is why he finally ordered his then-partner, the dentist Magdalena, and another loyal follower, Mrs. Irene, to kill him. For fear that he might lose his charisma.
