A British father of three was tragically killed during a stag do in the Czech Republic, leading to a man being imprisoned for the fatal altercation. David ‘Dai’ Richards, aged 31, met with a fatal incident while celebrating a stag party in Prague on September 21 last year when a casual encounter with fellow revellers turned deadly.
Czech Police spokesperson Jan Daněk recounted the initial calm interactions, stating: “At first, everything was calm and the tourists were chatting normally.” The situation abruptly escalated, as Daněk described: “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.”
Joel Hoppe, a 27 year old national from Germany, was sentenced to seven years in prison by a Prague court this week after Wales Online disclosed his conviction for causing grievous bodily harm (GBH), reports the Manchester Evening News. As reported by Czech media outlet Odkryto, Hoppe admitted guilt for the lethal assault and for disorderly behaviour, having lashed out in a moment fuelled by anger, alcohol, and drugs.
In a heart-wrenching admission in court, he expressed remorse, saying: “Not a day goes by that I don’t think about the late David and his children,” and taking full responsibility with: “I will accept whatever sentence you give me.” Gazing upon Richards’ family members in attendance at the sentencing, Hoppe lamented: “It breaks my heart to see these people here today.” The prosecution had pushed for at least eight years behind bars and a decade-long banishment from the Czech Republic for Hoppe.
Judge Daniella Sarah Sotolářová handed down a seven-year sentence to Hoppe, recognising his remorse and prior law-abiding life. “We also believed that you did not want to cause the death of the victim,” she commented. She ordered Hoppe to pay a compensatory sum of 4.7 million crowns (£158,758) to Mr Richards’ bereaved family and barred him from setting foot in the Czech Republic for ten years.
Mr Richards, who was from Mountain Ash in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, leaves behind three young children – Aurora, four, Bear, two, and Vienna, aged one. His family praised him as an “absolutely amazing father, partner, son, brother, and friend” who was the very “glue of the family”. In September, the deceased’s sister-in-law Tammy Sheehan, cousin Gemma Thomas, and his partner Jola Simms issued a joint statement clarifying: “It wasn’t a fight like what I think some people are thinking – it was a blind attack.”
Describing the fatal incident, they said: “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.” According to a preliminary autopsy report by a Prague medical practitioner, brain injuries encompassing cerebral swelling and bleeding were tentatively identified as the cause of death.
An inquiry into Mr Richards’ untimely demise was initiated by Pontypridd coroner Patricia Morgan last October, with its continuation subject to the outcomes of a “full investigation.”
