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Legal Top Stories
Lamb Of God manager says manslaughter case “full of holes”
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 6 July 2012
The manager of US metallers Lamb Of God, Larry Mazer, has told Rolling Stone that a manslaughter case against the band’s frontman Randy Blythe is “full of holes”.
As previously reported, Blythe was arrested and charged with manslaughter in the Czech Republic when the band arrived in the county to play a gig in Prague last week. The charge relates to the death of a fan following a performance in the Czech capital two years ago. According to reports, the fan, named only as Daniel N, climbed onto the stage several times during the show, and on the third occasion was pushed off by Blythe and fell onto his head, sustaining injuries which led to his death.
It was reported earlier this week that Blythe had posted bail of four million Czech koruna (approximately £130,000) but was still being held in a Czech prison. This is due to the prosecution contesting his release, despite making the payment, said Mazer. As previously reported, the judge agreed that Blythe may be a flight right and ruled that he should stay in jail for at least another ten days while the matter is assessed.
Saying that the “case is so full of holes”, the manager added that he had sent Blythe’s lawyer in the Czech Republic a video posted on YouTube (which you can watch below) following Blythe’s arrest which “100% show[s] Randy’s innocence”. Although he seemed sure this would put an end to the matter, the person who posted the video notes that they did not have a film of the entire show and couldn’t be sure that what is shown is actually the fall that led to the man’s death. If it does, however, Blythe does indeed seem to not be involved in the crucial fall.
Mazer also pointed to the length of time it had taken the man to go hospital (“at least an hour to two hours later”), and the time it then took the police to question the promoter of the show, as reasons to question the validity of the case. He said: “It wasn’t [until] a couple of months later that they contacted the promoter to ask his understanding of the events. He said the same thing – that the show went on fine, no nothing, no incidents. They told him that a person had been injured, which led to a death, which he had no knowledge of whatsoever. And then it went away. Two years go by, and Randy gets arrested”.
Expressing concern about how artists should now react to fans coming onto the stage, particularly in the wake of former Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell’s death in 2004, when he was shot by a man who climbed onto the stage during a gig, Mazer said: “This has got to be a wake-up call to every performer in the world, that what you thought was your safe haven is absolutely – as witnessed by the Dimebag Darrell thing and now this – no longer your safe haven”.
He continued: “For some reason, kids feel that the purchase of a ticket enables them to go up on stage. What’s Randy Blythe supposed to do? How does he know the guy’s not coming at him with a gun or a knife? Let’s not forget, a Lamb Of God fan did die, which is a tragedy. But having said that, every performer should look at this now and be very concerned about what their rights are on a stage, when someone comes running at you”.
