Prosecutor Seeks Life Sentence in Slovak Gymnasium Attack Trial

A prosecutor at Slovakia's Specialized Criminal Court in Pezinok recommended on Tuesday that Samuel S., 18 at the time of a fatal attack on a gymnasium in Spišská Stará Ves, be sentenced to life imprisonment, arguing that the killing of two people in January 2025 was planned and carried out in cold blood.²⁴⁵⁷

The attack

On 16 January 2025, Samuel S. killed deputy school director Mária Semančíková, 51, and student Alena Čarnogurská, 18, with a knife at the gymnasium in Spišská Stará Ves, and wounded another student, Barbora N., also 18, according to SITA. He then fled to nearby woods, where police later arrested him.¹⁴⁵

According to SITA, Samuel S. had bought the knife at an army-surplus shop in Poprad. Police reporting cited by SITA said he told his father he had killed two, possibly three, people, and attempted suicide in the forest but was too weak to carry it out.¹

Prosecutor's case

Delivering closing arguments before judge Milan Cisarik, prosecutor Michal Šoltýs said the attack was planned and executed in cold blood and that protecting society required the harshest possible punishment. He asked for placement in a maximum security prison and for protective psychiatric treatment, saying he saw no hope that a lower sentence would lead to the defendant's rehabilitation.²⁵⁴⁸

According to Hospodárske noviny, Šoltýs said such a high sentence for a young person had never before been imposed in Slovakia, and argued that a 25-year term would see Straško freed at 43, still "at the peak of his strength" and dangerous to society. SITA reported a similar but not identical calculation attributed to the prosecutor, placing release at around age 40.³¹

Defendant's response

Samuel S. does not deny committing the act but fundamentally disputes its legal classification as aggravated premeditated murder in the indictment, according to reporting carried by Topky.sk/TASR and Standard.sk.⁵⁴

According to Prešovak.sk, Samuel S. denies planning the attack, saying he brought the knife to school out of fear of a court-ordered protective treatment order and that he attacked only after a conflict with the deputy headmistress. Hospodárske noviny reported that he described himself as "nevinný" (innocent) and rejected any suggestion the act was planned.⁶³

Background and earlier rulings

According to SITA, an individual study plan had been imposed on Samuel S. in December 2024, a measure he blamed on the deputy director. The same report said witnesses testified he had announced his intentions beforehand, quoting him as saying "Ja ju zabijem, prisahám, že ju zabijem" and "Zaslúžia si trest, zhynú v pekelnej bolesti".¹

SITA also reported that in April, both the Regional Court and the Supreme Court of Slovakia rejected requests by Samuel S. to be released from custody pending trial.¹

Separate incident

On the day of the closing arguments, a separate attack took place at a school in Staškovo, where an eighth-grade student attacked a female student and two teachers with a sharp object, according to Prešovak.sk. A 61-year-old teacher died of her injuries, and a 44-year-old teacher was taken to hospital in Žilina with a stabilized chest wound. Hospodárske noviny separately reported a school attack in the Čadca district around the same time.⁶³