Police officer Pavol Kikloš died in the line of duty in July 2020. He was the victim of an accident caused by a drunk driver at a speed exceeding 200 kilometers per hour. She had two per million of alcohol in her blood. She was later sentenced to ten years in prison.
The policeman was subsequently buried in Ostrava and his grave was decorated with two medals. They were placed in glass cases. After the medals disappeared from the display cases in 2022, a police investigation was launched. The police first found out that a little boy found medal ribbons not far from the crime scene.
“His mother said that her son found two ribbons that he liked lying on the ground. He took them and pinned them to his sweater. However, none of them had any idea what kind of ribbons they were and that they came from criminal activity,” said police spokeswoman Eva Michalíková.
Photo: Police of the Czech Republic
The medal ribbons were worn by the boy who found them.
The mother gave the ribbons to the police, and the detectives sent them for examination, among other things, to secure traces of DNA.
The turning point in the case occurred only now, when the profile of a 42-year-old man was entered into the National DNA Database, which was found to match the DNA profile determined from the previously secured trace.
It didn’t take long before the police could charge a forty-two-year-old man with theft, he faces up to two years in prison.
“From the beginning, the accused had several versions, for example, that he found the medals, then claimed that he got them from someone. In the end, he confessed to the crime investigators about the theft itself,” added the spokeswoman, adding that he first removed the ribbons from the medals and then wore them attached to his keys the entire time.
The medals will thus be able to be returned to the family of the deceased policeman.
During the inspection, a thief pryed open a display case in Legiovlak and stole rare medals
Crime stories
Tags: police medals stolen grave colleague thief key fob year
