Viktor Kalivoda (11 September 1977 in Slaný – 26 September 2010 in Valdice Prison), also known as the "Forest Killer", was a Czech spree killer who shot three people.

Youth

Kalivoda was born in Slaný, where he studied at the local grammar school, excelling in mathematics and physics. His classmates described him as a silent, introverted loner.[1]

In 1996, he passed his matura. He then studied at the Faculty of Informatics of the Masaryk University in Brno and the Faculty of Education of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, before working as a policeman for Prague 6. He attempted suicide several times, once even longing to jump off from the Nusle Bridge.

In 2004, he appeared on the 333rd and 334th episodes of the Czech version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, where he won 320,000 Czech koruna. He was eliminated after incorrectly guessing the name of the father of the Brothers Čapek.[2]

Murders

On 13 October 2005, an older couple were shot dead by Kalivoda in the forest near Nedvědice, after being hit in the chest and head. Three days later, on 16 October, he shot a Malíkovice man who was on a walk with his dog.

On 20 October, he was arrested on the basis of eyewitness testimonies in Slaný in front of his house, where a Glock 34 was found inside.

Trial and death

The trial began in 2006. Kalivoda did not admit his motive during the hearing but said that he wanted to shoot up the Prague Metro, in particular the Line C, before the triple murder. Several times he hid a pistol in a newspaper in the metro but did not find courage to go through with his plan.[3]

He did not show regret for his actions. On 27 June 2006, he was sentenced to life imprisonment; the possibility of resocialization was, according to psychologists, zero.

In prison letters, he admitted to being inspired by mass murderer Olga Hepnarová.

On 26 September 2010, Kalivoda killed himself in Valdice Prison by cutting his wrists.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Lesní vrah" [Forest Killer]. Czech Radio (in Czech). 14 March 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  2. ↑ "Forest killer Kalivoda: Former policeman, star of the television show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, shot people at random in the woods. Tried it first on cows" [Forest Killer]. SECURITY MAGAZÍN (in Czech). Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  3. ↑ "Případy, na kterých se KÚP podílel". Police of the Czech Republic (in Czech). n.d. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  4. ↑ "Lesní vrah Kalivoda spáchal ve vězení sebevraždu" [Forest killer Kalivoda committed suicide in prison]. Novinky.cz (in Czech). 27 September 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
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