The medal of honor of the Police of the Czech Republic and the medal of the Moravian-Silesian police director were stored in a glass display case and glued to the tombstone of policeman Pavol Kikloš. When someone stole them three months after the funeral, it caused a wave of outrage. Police have also asked for the public’s help in the investigation.
Investigators first learned that the medal ribbons were found by a small boy. His mother explained to the police that the boy found them and because he liked them, he kept them and pinned them to his sweater. “However, no one knew that they came from criminal activities. The mother then gave the ribbons to the police,” described police spokeswoman Eva Michalíková.
Subsequent analysis and examination of the tapes yielded no revelations, so the case was shelved at the end of 2022.
The thief was making up his mind at first
However, the investigators did not forget about the robbery of their deceased colleague and regularly compared the obtained DNA profile with new samples in the genetic database. Long unsuccessfully. “The breakthrough came this year, when the profile of a 42-year-old man was entered into the National DNA Database, who was found to match the DNA profile determined from the previously secured trace,” stated the police spokeswoman.
The detained man had two explanatory versions in reserve. He started by finding the medals thrown away, which he then changed to having received them from someone. However, he finally confessed.
“He said that when he walked past the grave, the medals caught his attention. However, because he was at the cemetery with his parents, he returned later, broke the glass case and took two medals,” explained Michalíková.
The thief removed the ribbons from the medals and threw them away. He then surprised everyone by announcing that he did not sell the medals, but wore them as a key ring for the entire time since the theft, i.e. about a year and a quarter.
The medals and ribbons are now with the Police of the Czech Republic and will be returned to the mother of the deceased police officer. “The perpetrator faces up to two years in prison,” spokeswoman Michalíková pointed out.
The driver received ten years in prison
Police officer Pavol Kikloš died in a tragic accident on July 5, 2020 on the Prague highway, where a drunk driver crashed into a police car at a speed of 199 kilometers per hour. Despite all the efforts of the rescuers, the policeman died on the spot, two other passengers from the official car suffered serious injuries.
The driver who was responsible for the accident breathed over two per million of alcohol and also had traces of cocaine in her body. In September 2022, she was sentenced to 13 years in prison and a subsequent ten-year driving ban for the accident, but after her appeal, the High Court in Prague reduced the sentence by three years to ten years.
Tags: medal policemans grave worn thief ornament key ring DNA revealed
