Václav Mrázek

Case summary

Václav Mrázek (October 22, 1925 - December 30, 1957) was a Czech serial killer who was convicted for murdering 7 people. All his victims were women. His murders (or murder attempts) were both sexually motivated and burglariously motivated. Besides murders, he was convicted of another 127 crimes. He was caught in March 1957 during a house inspection following a theft in the Libušín mine, where he was working as a spa staff attendant. He was condemned the same year and executed on December 30, 1957 in Pankrác Prison, Prague.

Timeline

• August 21, 1951 — Václav Mrázek committed his very first act of murder near Drahonice, Karlovy Vary. His victim was 15-year-old Hana Chloubová.
• (One month later, after acquiring a Walther 7.56 mm) — Mrázek murdered again in Jirkov, near Chomutov.
• November 9, 1956 — Mrázek burglarized Ladislav Beran's house in Svinařov at night.
• March 17, 1957 — Mrázek was arrested during a house inspection following a theft in the Libušín mine.
• December 30, 1957 — Mrázek was executed by hanging in Pankrác Prison, Prague.

The offence

Mrázek murdered seven women between 1951 and 1956. He satisfied his sexuality using a dead body in one incident. He committed six sex-motivated acts of murder and one murder with robbery.

August 21, 1951 — murder of Hana Chloubová

On August 21, 1951, near Drahonice, Karlovy Vary, Mrázek killed 15-year-old Hana Chloubová. He hit her head with a piece of wood, then had sex with her.

(After he acquired a gun) — shootings and deaths in Jirkov, near Chomutov

After obtaining possession of a gun, Walther 7.56 mm, Mrázek murdered again one month later. In Jirkov, near Chomutov, a couple of lovers became his victim. Mrázek fired three shots and shot dead 26-year-old Karel Tirfaj. One more shot killed 19-year-old Libuše Dufková when she tried to run away to save her life. After that, using the dead body, he satisfied his sexuality.

November 9, 1956 — murder and burglary in Svinařov

At night on November 9, 1956, Mrázek burglarized Ladislav Beran's house in Svinařov. Ladislav Beran was at work at that time. When Mrázek searched through the house, Beran's wife woke up, lit up, and said Mrázek's name. Mrázek, afraid of revelation, hit 57-year-old Alžběta Beranová's head several times with an axe, and she died. Her ten-year-old granddaughter, Jarmila, became the eye-witness of the event. When leaving the house, Mrázek sexually abused the girl.

Investigation

Mrázek had been searched for in the questioning of the murders in the Chomutov region, where he committed most of his crimes, and he escaped authorities for a long time. During the police investigations after his arrest, some facts and knowledge showed Václav Mrázek to be the possible multimurderer. During the house search, the gun and some of the murdered women’s belongings were found.

The investigation included the finding that Mrázek was suspected of murdering some other women from his neighbourhood. On those dead bodies, lots of the same signs and traces were found that were significant and typical of Václav Mrázek. Because of the lack of evidence against Mrázek, he was not accused of some more acts of murder. The file consisted of 16 volumes.

Arrest

On Sunday, March 17, 1957, Mrázek was arrested. He worked at Nejedlý I. Colliery, Libušín, near Slaný. He was caught redhanded when running through his fellow-workers' clothes in the cloakroom. Later, during the police investigations, facts and knowledge showed him to be the possible multimurderer. The events related to the arrest happened between Přečáply and Seník, Chomutov.

Trial

Mrázek was found guilty of multiple offences beyond the murders.

Guilty verdicts for sexual-abuse cases

Apart from murders, Mrázek was found guilty of 14 sexual-abuse cases.

Guilty verdicts for burglary, housebreaking, and theft

Mrázek was accused of burglary and housebreaking (33 cases), linen stealing (12 cases), pet stealing (16 cases), stealing six bicycles, and tens of various petty thefts.

Total number of crimes

Mrázek was accused of 127 crimes on the whole.

Sentencing and execution

Other details

Mrázek was born on October 22, 1925 and executed on December 30, 1957. People considered him to be a rather odd and shy, but tactful and hardworking man. When attending the basic school, Václav Mrázek completed five classes only. When talking about women, he was shy. He was a big football and ice-hockey fan and keen on cycling; during a trip, he met his future victims.

Mrázek was one of twelve. He was described as the murderer having the highest number of victims in the Czech Republic after World War II. Still, there was one question left: how Mrázek, a dangerous criminal, evaded justice for such a long time. One reason given was the lack of experience of the then policeman, as in 1948 - 1950 many pre-war experienced policemen were “replaced” with young men coming from working class and willing to hunt “the spies”, “the reactionaries”, “the profiteers”, simply “all ‘the Enemy of the People’s democratic order’”.

Miloslav Jedlička, D. C. L. was mentioned in connection with translation: “Translated by inspector WO Pavel Vršovský, M. A.”