Mr. and Mrs. Stodol are among the worst criminals in modern Czech history. With eight murders, he holds an unflattering lead in crime encyclopedias. Their murders were cold-blooded, thoughtful, and had a single purpose – profit. Literally calling to heaven were also the mistakes of investigators, who overlooked the absolutely obvious irregularities in the cases of murders, which they initially evaluated as accidents or suicides. But behind it was the already divorced couple – Jaroslav and Dana Stodol. In our series on the worst crimes in history, we start with them.
–
Eight murders and a total of seventeen crimes. This is the most frightening balance of Czech criminology and also the result of the Stodols’ rampage. Their rampage was cold-blooded and motivated by a single goal – simply come up with money and not have to work. They chose infirm retirees as their victims to make murders easier and the victims not to resist. When the money ran out, they just set out to kill again. Although the relatives of the victims urged the police that their loved ones had died under suspicious circumstances, they overlooked the absolutely crucial evidence for a long time. Eventually, however, a breakthrough occurred and forensic scientists began to unravel one of the most cruel criminal cases today.
Their first meeting took place long before their rage began. Jaroslav Stodola he met his future wife on New Year’s Eve in 1988, but then they didn’t see each other for a very long time. They met by chance at the doctor’s office about ten years later and began a relationship. Dana she has lived in Canada, been divorced twice, and has lived a lot in her life. Her husband was supposed to torture and rape her in Canada, and she was addicted to antidepressants. She was behind her, too career dancer in a nightclub.
They had no plans to kill
Jaroslav was already punished several times for theft and violent crime. They planned their first assault when the two of them were thrown out of the hostel where they lived together. At first, they looked around Slavošov in Central Bohemia near Zruč nad Sázavou. A pensioner from nearby Chabeřice became their first victim. They brutally attacked the old man, robbed him of one hundred and sixty thousand crowns, tied them up and left them to their fate. The next day, the old man was found by a neighbor tied to a bed. He never recovered from the assault and died a few months later.
When one reads about the details of the case, it is surprising how many coincidences have led to the Stodles killing for so long without any police suspicion. They didn’t plan the murders in any way. They often killed their nearest neighbors and they were often among the crowd of onlookers when the abominable act occurred. Ideas on how to set up crime scenes came quite often after the murder.
When all the acts were reversed, it was very busy even in the police ranks. With our series you will be able to see the places where Barns murdered. We will also offer you exclusive testimony about the crimes that shook the Czech Republic at the beginning of the third millennium. Coming soon on eXtra.cz.
–
