Tourist jailed after killing dad-of-three with vodka bottle on Prague stag do
A man who killed a dad-of-three in a "blind attack" with a vodka bottle has been jailed for seven years.
David 'Dai' Richards was in the centre of Prague for a stag do on September 21 last year when he and his friends came into contact with another group of tourists.
Joel Hoppe, a 27-year-old German, hit the 31-year-old dad with a blow so strong he fell to the floor and died in hospital from his injury.
David, from Mountain Ash in Rhondda Cynon Taf, was dad to Aurora, aged four, Bear, two, and one-year-old Vienna. His family described him as an "absolutely amazing father, partner, son, brother, and friend" who was the "glue of the family".
Hoppe was s entenced to seven years behind bars and was ordered to pay 4.7 million crowns (£158,758) to Mr Richards' family and banned him from the Czech Republic for 10 years.
The German reportedly told the 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.'
He also mentioned Mr Richards' relatives, who attended the hearing, saying: "It breaks my heart to see these people here today.
Czech news outlet Odkryto had reported that Hoppe pleaded guilty to the fatal GBH and disorderly conduct, admitting he acted in a fit of rage and under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
Judge Daniella Sarah Sotolářová imposed a sentence of seven years, saying: "We also believed that you did not want to cause the death of the victim."
Czech Police spokesman Jan Daněk said of the attack: "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 on 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."
A post-mortem examination by a doctor in Prague gave a provisional cause of death as brain trauma, swelling, and haemorrhaging, the Mirror reports.
Pontypridd coroner Patricia Morgan opened an inquest in the UK last October and adjourned it for a "full investigation" to take place.
In a statement last September, his sister-in-law Tammy Sheehan, cousin Gemma Thomas, and partner Jola 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."
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