Born in 1965 in Děčín, Czechoslovakia, Jaroslava Fabianova experienced a difficult childhood

Born in 1965 in Děčín, Czechoslovakia, Jaroslava Fabianova experienced a difficult childhood and was repeatedly raped as a minor. As a teenager, her parents divorced, and the family dynamic that once was ceased to exist. She discovered same-sex love as a way to satisfy her desires without involving herself with men and began prostituting at the age of 16.On 20 October, 1981, at the young age of 17, Jaroslava violently murdered her first victim, 78-year-old Vladimir Z, by beating him with a stone hammer. In addition to the hammer blows, she also inflicted around 20 stab wounds to his face with a knife. Jaroslava was apprehended the next day for this act and other property crimes. She was sentenced as a juvenile to 7 years in prison. However, on the basis of her appeal, her sentence was reduced to 4 years and 6 months, and she was released on parole in 1986. After her release, Jaroslava went to live with her mother but could not find a stable job, so she decided to travel around the Czech Republic and visit her relatives. Her travels often led her to Prague, where she would eventually stay and continue committing crimes. There, she continued engaging in prostitution, later drugging and robbing her clients for their money and belongings. To drug her clients, she would crush up sleeping pills and mix them with their drinks and soups. For Jaroslava, this new way of living was beneficial not only because she earned a lot of money, but she also avoided having sex with men she felt disgusted with. Her disgust with men stemmed mainly from her lesbian orientation. However, in 1996, Jaroslava’s world came crashing down when she was arrested for the death of a 60-year-old tourist who happened to die of an apparent overdose as a result of her concoction of beer and sleeping pills. Jaroslava was sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by a 5-year ban on visiting Prague. In 2001, she was released on parole and, despite her banishment from the capital, she continued to visit and commit crimes. 

On 29 May, 2003, Jaroslava arrived back in Prague and bumped into a man, 84-year-old Augustin Kura, a former circus performer, who invited her out to dinner. The restaurant happened to be located close to Augustin’s apartment, so it is no surprise that the meeting ended with an invitation back to his home. There, Jarsoslava would strike again, increasing her victim count to 3. She hacked Augustin to death with a meat cleaver, then pulled his corpse to the living room and put a blanket over him. Afterwards, she then ransacked his apartment, stealing three expensive paintings and various electrical tools. Jarsoslava managed to sell two of the paintings, one to a buyer and one to a museum, and the third was discarded. Augustin’s son found his father deceased on 29 May and so a murder investigation was launched. Traces of Jarsoslava‘s DNA were found at the scene, and a witness came forward to say that they had seen Augustin with a woman in a restaurant prior to his death. A warrant for her arrest was issued. 

Unfortunately, before she was apprehended, Jarsoslava managed to commit another brutal murder. At the beginning of August 2003, she was hospitalised in Prague for three days, and after she was formally discharged, she decided to stay in the city and wander around. On August 8, Jarsoslava was approached by 31-year-old Richard S. on a tram. Richard later invited her to a disco and then to his home. There, at Richard’s apartment, she stabbed him a total of 38 times in the bathroom with a knife. On 10 August, 2003, Richard’s girlfriend received a phone call from his boss, explaining how Richard had not come to work and that he was worried as this was out of character. Concerned by this unusual phone call, Richard’s girlfriend contacted her daughter and sent her to his apartment to check on him. There, she found his slain corpse in the bathroom. He had been repeatedly stabbed in the chest. Upon further inspection of the crime scene, money, a video recorder, and other items were missing from the apartment. A murder investigation was launched. Again, traces of Jarsoslava‘s DNA were found, but this time, the DNA was found under Richard’s fingernails. 

On August 22, 2003, Jaroslava Fabianova was arrested and charged with the murder of both Augustin and Richard. During the investigation, she claimed that Augustin willingly gave her the paintings, and because he did not feel well at that time, she left the apartment and had nothing to do with his death. In the case of Richard, she admitted that she stole from him, but denied ever hurting him or ending his life. Between 1981 and 2003, Jaroslava killed a total of four men. In 2005, she was found guilty and became the third woman in the history of the Czech Republic to be sentenced to life imprisonment. A forensic psychiatrist claims she has an above-average IQ but suffers from a personality disorder: “She is egocentric and murders for money. She deserves nothing but life.”