Lamb of God frontman, Randy Blythe, returned to the Czech Republic this past Monday, March 4, for the continuation on his trial where he faced charges of fourth degree manslaughter. In less than 48 hours, he was found not guilty and all charges were acquitted. Read on for more details.

Blythe was charged with fourth degree manslaughter in regards to the death of fan, Daniel Nosek, who sustained head injuries two weeks after attending a Lamb of God concert in Prague in May of 2010. The trial date set for January 4, continued for a few days and was requested to be postponed, for a key witness called by the defense could not testify in person.

Prior to the trial, Blythe took a few moments to speak with KROQ on the matter:

“I said that I would come back to court today and I did. I do not shy away from responsibility. I’m not a person who runs away from problems. But I do not want to be punished for something I did not do.”

When the trial resumed, testimonies were collected from other individuals who had attended the concert. An individual had claimed that they saw Blythe push Nosek himself. However, their recollections were considered “foggy” enough for state attorney Vladimir Muzik to re-enact what was being said. Upon failed attempt of recreating the described situation, the testimony of the fan was discounted. Video footage also leaked shortly after the initial word of Blythe’s indictment of a fan being physically forced off the stage. However, that video was not of Nosek himself, but of another fan, Milan Poradek that was described as “drunk and out of control.”

The defense counsel brought in an expert on biomechanics, who measured the impact of a human skull by recreating the situation in the fall season of 2012 with human cadavers. His findings concluded that had Nosek fallen forward, as some other concert-goers had testified, his head would have not suffered any injuries. However, if he fell backwards, the impact would be much greater.

The latter served as the truth, as it was made clear that even though Nosek was not inebriated by any substance, he had still hit his head. He momentarily appeared to be fine, but was rushed to the hospital later that night after complaints of a headache and an episode of violent vomiting. An emergency brain surgery was called for but Nosek slipped into a coma and died weeks later.

The presiding judge Tomas Kubec ruled as follows:

“We did not find criminal responsibility in the actions of the defendant. We found moral responsibility. There has been the death of a young man who had not been guilty of anything. We reached the conclusion that there was a serious fault on the side of the promoter and organizer of the concert.”

Ultimately, more could have been done by the concert promoters themselves to ensure that adequate barriers surrounded the stage and that there was enough security to accompany the band as well. Due to easy access, fans such as Nosek were able to attempt time and time again to rush the stage. As stated from the beginning, stage diving and being on stage with the band members themselves was clearly prohibited.

Blythe posted on his Instagram the good news for his fans and an expression of sympathy for the victim’s family: