Blythe manslaughter trial postponed

The manslaughter trial of Lamb of God singer Randy Blythe will be adjourned until March 4 due to the illness of a witness called by the defense. Presiding Judge Tomáš Kubovec said one more witness would testify tomorrow before the case is put on hold for a month.

On hearing of the postponement, Blythe said he would definitely come back to Prague Municipal Court and see out the rest of his trial. The 41-year-old will be allowed to return to the United States, his homeland, under the terms of his bail.

The front man is accused of throwing a fan off the stage during a concert at Prague's Club Abaton in 2010. That fan, 19-year-old Daniel N., later died as a result of his fall.

Testifying on the first day of his trial Feb. 4, Blythe did admit to forcing one man off the stage, named as Milan Pořádek, but claimed he didn't, to the best of his knowledge, push Daniel N. away. "I never saw [Daniel N.] or came into contact with him," he said.

Blythe criticized the lack of security at the concert in question and said he had been worried there was no metal barrier in place to prevent fans from climbing onto the stage. He added Lamb of God would never allow fans to join them like that, citing safety concerns for both the band and the fans themselves.

On Wednesday, the court heard how Lamb of God had sent a list of security demands to the concert venue, notably that barriers should be placed 1.5 meters from the stage. Kubovec noted that this wasn't the case. Giving evidence, promoter Tomáš Fiala told the court the band hadn't expressed any concerns to him, either before or after the gig.

Also today, Michal Dogoši, an expert medical witness, said Daniel N.'s cause of death was pneumonia resulting from a blow to the brainstem, a part of the brain that sits on top of the spinal cord. He added the mortality rate for this kind of injury is around 40 percent, and that doctors couldn't have done more to save the patient.

Jonathan Crane can be reached at
jcrane@praguepost.com