Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe has been indicted on the charge of manslaughter in the Czech Republic. In June of this year Blythe was charged with manslaughter over the accidental death of Daniel Nosek during a Lamb of God show in Prague on May 24, 2010.
After spending over a month in a Czech prison, Blythe was released on bail and returned home to the US in August. After his release, Blythe issued an official statement explaining that he is willing to return to Prague to stand trial if necessary.
Now it turns out that Blythe will indeed have to travel back to Prague to prove his innocence. Lamb of God’s manager Larry Mazer has released a statement addressing the recently announced indictment. As noted in Mazer’s statement, Blythe will stand before the court “on the charge of manslaughter with intent to cause bodily harm”.
Read: Lamb of God’s Manager Larry Mazer’s Statement on Randy Blythe Indictment
After a three month investigation, the prosecutor in the Czech Republic has decided to move forward with an indictment of Randy Blythe on the charge of manslaughter with intent to cause bodily harm. Obviously, we intend to fight vigorously against these charges as we feel that in no way did Randy intend to cause bodily harm on the young fan who subsequently died from injuries sustained at the show. As he has stated previously, Randy intends to go to Prague to defend himself at trial.
While it is a tragedy that a Lamb of God fan died following a performance by the group, in no way do I feel that Randy did anything improper that led to the young man’s injuries and subsequent death. The price of a ticket to a show does not entitle audience members access to a band’s stage. In the years since the murder on stage of Dimebag Darrell Abbott, performers of all genres have had to become more guarded while performing in response to the dangers presented by fans trying to become part of the performance. We believe that Randy responded professionally to the numerous amount of fans rushing the stage that day, a number of them captured on videos that have been posted on the internet. We have testimony from the venue operator that acknowledges lax security and an improper barricade being used that evening. Numerous testimonies from fans also were contradictory as to the actions of the multiple fans that tried to access the stage.
At this point, all that the band, myself, and our lawyers can do is to present a defense and try to convince the panel of judges who will hear the case that Randy is innocent of all charges and that his name and reputation need to be cleared and that he be permitted to carry on with his life and career always mindful that a fan passed away after a Lamb of God performance.
