Jozef Slovák (born 1951) is a Slovak

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

who murdered at least five women in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

from 1978 to 1991. He is currently serving a life sentence for four murders in

Ilava Ilava (german: Illau, hu, Illava) is a town in the Trenčín Region, northwestern Slovakia. Name The name is of uncertain origin. The historic medieval names were ''Lewe'', ''Lewa'' (the same historic name as Levice), ''Lewa de cidca fluviom V ...

Prison in

. Slovák remains one of the most significant participants in the controversial wide-ranging

amnesty Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offici ...

of the newly elected President of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then as ...

. Because of this amnesty, Slovák served only eight years in prison for the murder of a 21-year-old Yugoslavian woman, and after his release, murdered at least four other young women in less than a year and a half before again being captured. Jozef Slovák remains one of only two people convicted of a series of murders without any ties to

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

in the modern

history of Slovakia The History of Slovakia, dates back to the findings of ancient human artifacts. This article shows the history of the country from prehistory to the present day. Prehistory Discovery of ancient tools made by the Clactonian technique near ...

(the other being

Ondrej Rigo Ondrej Rigo (17 December 1955 – 14 June 2022) was a Slovak serial killer and necrophile who targeted women in Bratislava, Munich and Amsterdam from 1990 to 1992. He served a life sentence until his death for nine murders and one attempted murd ...

Early life

Little is known about Slovák's early life. He was born in Plavecký Štvrtok,

on April 7, 1951. Altogether, he was sentenced to prison eight times during his life.

Murders

Jozef Slovák was convicted of the murder of five women, listed below. Jozef Slovák met his first victim,

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

n woman Blažica P. on a train. On August 22, 1978, he took her into the woods in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

, Železná studnička (today part of

Bratislava Forest Park Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

) and tried to have sex with her. As she refused and tried to fight back, he choked her to death. After the murder, he dragged her body deeper into the forest and covered it with branches. After burning some of Blažica P.'s clothing right there in the forest, he gave some of the things she had on her body to his girlfriend. In 1982, Slovák was sentenced to 15 years in prison for this first murder. He started to serve his sentence in

Leopoldov Prison Leopoldov Prison ( sk, Ústav na výkon trestu odňatia slobody a Ústav na výkon väzby Leopoldov) is a 17th-century fortress built against Ottoman Turks that was converted into a high-security prison in the 19th century in the town of Leopoldo ...

but was released on probation March 10, 1990 because of a wide-ranging amnesty by president of Czechoslovakia

. Almost two-thirds of Czechoslovak criminals at that time were released from prison practically at the same time. Many murderers, career criminals and other dangerous people were released from prisons on probation or parole. Without the amnesty, Slovák would not have been released until 1997. From 1990 to 1991, Slovák murdered at least four women, committing his second murder just four months after being released from prison. He met his second victim, Monika Ondíková (from

Moldava nad Bodvou Moldava nad Bodvou ( hu, Szepsi; german: Moldau (an der Bodwa)) is a town and municipality in Košice-okolie District in the Košice Region of eastern Slovakia. History In historical records the town was first mentioned in 1255. Geography The to ...

), in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. On July 4, 1990, he left the capital with her for

Konopiště Konopiště Castle (; german: Schloss Konopischt) is a four-winged, three-storey castle located in Konopiště, now a part of the town of Benešov in Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic. It has become famous as the last residence of Archduke F ...

, near

Benešov Benešov (; german: Beneschau; also known as Benešov u Prahy) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The town is known for the Konopiště Castle. Administrative parts Villages of Baba, ...

, about 50 km (30 mi) southeast of Prague. In the manor park, Jozef Slovák shot her eight times from his

gas gun A gas gun may refer to: * A projectile-firing gun powered by compressed air: ** Air gun ** Airsoft gun (in particular a gas blowback airsoft gun) * Devices described as pneumatic cannons: ** Dynamite gun ** Holman Projector ** M61 Vulcan (also hydr ...

, using neuroparalytic gas. Then, he hit her in the head several times with a stick, killing her. He searched the body, finding and stealing US$2,400, 800 German marks, over 16,000 Austrian schillings, a ring and her makeup. Again, he dragged the body deeper into the nearby forest and covered it with branches. Slovák returned to her body a week later to put a railway ticket to

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; german: Budweis ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 93,000 inhabitants. It is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is t ...

into her pocket, trying to confuse the police. Two days after his last murder, Slovák was arrested in

. Bruises were found on his body caused by Anna Královičová. The police also found an illegal firearm. On August 20, 1993, he was sentenced to life imprisonment by the City Court of

for the murders of Monika Ondíková, Vladislava Maříková, Diana Lopuchovská and Anna Královičová. In 1997, Slovák complained to

city representatives that he was unable to create any new inventions in his field of electronics, mainly because of the lack of tools not having access to a typewriter.

Personality and psychopathological profile

Jozef Slovák is of above average intelligence, and is the author and holder of several patents in electronics. Psychologists arranged by the court found him to be a

narcissistic Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive interest in one's physical appearance or image and an excessive preoccupation with one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism exists on a co ...

psychopath Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent Anti-social behaviour, antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and Boldness, bold, Disinhibition, disinhibited, and Egotism, egotistical B ...

References

Sources

Kriminalistika.eu - "Kriminalistika: Muzeum zločinu"
(in

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

)
Interview with Jozef Slovák in Šarm magazine
(in Slovak) from 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Slovak, Jozef 1951 births Czechoslovak murderers of children Czechoslovak serial killers Living people Male serial killers Slovak prisoners and detainees Slovak prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment People convicted of murder by Slovakia People with antisocial personality disorder People with narcissistic personality disorder Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Slovakia Slovak people convicted of murder Slovak serial killers Violence against women in Europe

Early life

Murders

Personality and psychopathological profile

See also

References

Sources