Police Complete Investigation into Lawyer Valko's Murder

Police Complete Investigation into Lawyer Valko's Murder
Bratislava, August 21 (TASR) – The police on August 16 completed their investigation into the murder of lawyer and former chair of the Czechoslovak Constitutional Court Ernest Valko, who was killed on November 8, 2010, with a motion to file charges against two men, director of Slovakia’s National Crime Agency (NAKA) Branislav Zurian told a press conference in Bratislava on Tuesday, adding that the motive was robbery.

One of the two, identified for legal purposes only as Jozef R., is accused of the particularly serious crime of murder, the misdemeanour of violating domestic freedom, and the misdemeanour and the crime of illegal possession of firearms and trading with arms. The other, Jaroslav K., is accused of robbery.
If 43-year-old Jozef R. is found guilty, he will face 20-25 years in prison, while 45-year-old Jaroslav K. will face 7-12 years. Both of them are currently serving sentences for other violent criminal activities.
According to Zurian, there was no evidence that the accused were tied to any criminal group or that it was a contract killing. Almost eight years ago the men went to Valko’s house in Limbach (Bratislava region) in order to rob him of money that was thought to be in his briefcase. But they found only Valko’s personal weapon, which they stole.
The initial lack of evidence ended when the men in prison started to testify about the tragic event. According to Zurian, in some parts their testimonies are in agreement, while in others they conflict. Investigators say that they have proven that Jaroslav K.’s testimony was true. He claims that Jozef R. did the shooting.
The men jumped over a fence around the lawyer’s villa on November 8, 2010 and applied an unknown chemical substance through the window frame in order to make Valko air the house when he arrived home. Valko opened both doors to the terrace.
“At that moment, both the accused burst into the living room, where a physical attack took place on the aggrieved Ernest Valko, who was actively defending himself. During the struggle, one of the accused – 43-year-old Jozef R. – used a firearm that he illegally possessed to kill Ernest Valko with one shot to the chest area,” said the head of the anti-crime unit. Having searched the briefcase, the two men fled the scene and went to nearby Pezinok.