A TOURIST has been jailed for seven years after killing a Brit dad on a stag do in the Czech Republic.
Joel Hoppe, a 27-year-old from Germany, was sentenced this week at a Prague court for the murder of David ‘Dai’ Richards in September last year.
David, a father of three, tragically died in September 2024WALES NEWS SERVICE
David Richards with his partner Jola SimmsWALES NEWS SERVICE
David was a 31-year-old dad-of-three from Mountain Ash in Rhondda Cynon Taf.
He was in central Prague when he and his friends met another group of tourists.
Czech Police spokesperson Jan Daněk said: “At first, everything was calm and the tourists were chatting normally.
“Then there was a rift between them and one of them hit the other in the head with a vodka bottle.
“The blow was so strong that the injured person immediately fell to the ground and unfortunately died in hospital.”
Hoppe pleaded guilty to fatal grievous bodily harm and disorderly conduct, according to Czech news outlet Odkryto.
He claimed he acted in a fit of rage and under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
Hoppe said in court: “Not a day goes by that I don’t think about the late David and his children.
“I will accept whatever sentence you give me.”
Hoppe added: “It breaks my heart to see these people here today”, referring to David’s relatives who were present at the sentencing.
The state prosecutor recommended a sentence of at least eight years in prison and a 10-year expulsion from the Czech Republic.
But Judge Daniella Sarah Sotolářová sentenced Hoppe to seven years, considering his remorse and track record of good behaviour.
She said: “We also believed that you did not want to cause the death of the victim.”
She also ordered Hoppe to pay 4.7 million crowns (£158,758) to David’s family and banned him from the Czech Republic for 10 years.
David was a partner to Jola Simms and dad to three young kids – Aurora, four, Bear, two, and Vienna, one.
His family described him as an “absolutely amazing father, partner, son, brother, and friend” who was the “glue of the family”.
After the attack in September, his sister-in-law Tammy Sheehan, cousin Gemma Thomas and partner Miss Simms said: “It wasn’t a fight like what I think some people are thinking – it was a blind attack.
“From the attack he actually passed away from blunt force trauma.
“David was talking to locals in the street when he took a blow to the back of the head.”
Jola and Gemma both received a horror call from David’s friend Nathan, who informed them he was in a critical condition.
Family members flew to Prague, hoping David would regain consciousness.
But in the afternoon of the following day, a decision was made to switch off the life support machines.
A post-mortem examination by a Prague doctor gave a provisional cause of death as brain trauma, swelling, and haemorrhaging.
Pontypridd coroner Patricia Morgan opened an inquest last October and postponed it for a “full investigation” to be conducted.
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