The Specialized Criminal Court in Pezinok has handed down a verdict in the case of the attack on a grammar school in the town of Spišská Stará Ves in January 2025.
Samuel S., who was charged in connection with the attack, was found guilty. The court sentenced him to 25 years in prison, to be served in a maximum-security facility. It also ordered the confiscation of his property, outpatient psychiatric treatment and three years of protective supervision. He must also compensate the victims for damages amounting to several tens of thousands of euros. As for the remaining compensation claims, the court referred the victims to civil proceedings.
Samuel S. has been in custody since his arrest in January 2025. The case, involving charges of intentional murder with premeditation, was brought to court a year later. The prosecution had sought a life sentence.
The verdict is not yet final and can be appealed.
On 16 January 2025, Samuel S., who was also only 18 years old at the time of the attack, used a knife to attack a teacher and two students. Two people were killed: 51-year-old deputy headteacher Mária Semančíková and 18-year-old student Alena.
It was previously reported that the attacker had been considered one of the best students at his school. He had taken part in various district and regional student competitions, performed well in German, and played mini-football, basketball and floorball.
At the same time, his classmates said he had displayed aggressive behaviour. For example, he often threatened girls from his own and neighbouring classes and had once assaulted one of them, for which he received a suspended sentence. As a result, his classmates repeatedly asked teachers and school management to transfer him to external study.
After his arrest, it emerged that just two days before the attack, the possibility of inpatient psychiatric treatment had been considered at the prosecutor’s request. However, the court refused to send him to a psychiatric hospital.
Before the trial began, the defendant attempted to reach a plea agreement on his guilt and sentence, but the prosecutor did not agree to the procedure. During the first hearing, Samuel S. pleaded not guilty and refused to testify, saying he would do so only after all the evidence had been examined.
