Mother of Slovak school attack suspect remanded in custody

Slovak authorities reported on Oct. 4 that a judge had remanded V. H., the mother of the 13-year-old boy suspected of a fatal knife attack at an elementary school in Staškov, in custody after accepting an investigator’s request. The ruling is not legally final.¹³

Separate proceedings against the mother

The preparatory-proceedings judge approved the custody proposal filed after an investigator from the District Police Directorate in Čadca charged V. H. She reserved the period available to file a complaint against the decision, while the prosecutor waived that right, according to reports citing the Žilina Regional Prosecutor’s Office.¹³

Aktuality.sk and TV Markíza reported that the mother was accused after allegedly threatening to kill the director of the school attended by her son. The available reports do not describe the circumstances of the alleged threat or state when it was made.²⁵

Reports differ over the precise formulation of the charge. TASR and Hospodárske noviny described accusations involving violence against a group of inhabitants and an individual, together with disorderly conduct. A police statement carried by TV Markíza referred to violence against a group of inhabitants in conjunction with disorderly conduct.¹³⁵

Regional police spokesperson Daniela Kocková said authorities would not provide additional details while the investigation continued. The reports do not disclose the judge’s specific reasons for ordering custody.³

Fatal attack at the school

The separate school investigation concerns a knife attack in which a 61-year-old teacher died at the scene and a schoolgirl, Nela, later died from her injuries. Police detained a 13-year-old eighth-grade pupil suspected of carrying out the attack.¹³

Aktuality.sk and TV Markíza identified the teacher as Božena Mariaková. They also reported that another female teacher suffered serious injuries. Aktuality.sk said the boy was being held in a psychiatric department at a hospital in Martin, while TV Markíza likewise reported his placement there.²⁵

The criminal proceedings over the attack concern an especially serious murder offence, described as completed in part and attempted in part. Separately, Aktuality.sk reported that police were investigating the case as an especially serious offence of premeditated murder.¹²³

Prosecutors answer funeral-delay criticism

The Žilina Regional Prosecutor’s Office separately rejected a report that the supervising prosecutor had delayed permission to release the teacher’s body for burial. It said release depended on completion of required forensic procedures and that consent was granted on Thursday, Oct. 1, immediately after the investigator and forensic doctors confirmed those procedures were finished.⁴

The office said an autopsy is legally required when a death results from a violent criminal offence and denied that prosecutors had caused subjective delays or shown insensitivity towards the family. Pravda reported that the final farewell was scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 6, one week after the attack.⁴