Throughout history and the centuries there were many people who were executed. Some of
the most infamous female killers who were executed were known for their cruelty and
evil. Some were considered more tragic figures, such as Ruth Ellis, the last woman executed
in Britain. Ruth Ellis would today be considered a victim of abuse who was mistreated by many
men throughout her life, but she would go to the gallows for the murder of her lover
David Blakely outside a pub. But the final woman executed in Czechoslovakia was a woman
who was greatly troubled, but she carried out a crazy and bizarre rampage and spree
which resulted in the deaths of 8 people inside of Prague. For her crimes, Olga Hepnarova
would go to the gallows, despite the fact she was just 23 when she was killed. Join
us today as we look at the brutal execution of the female Czech rampage killer, and remember
to support our channel please make sure to subscribe.
Olga Hepnaova was born on the 30th June 1951 inside of Prgue. Her father was a banker and
her mother worked as a dentist, and it’s believed that to begin with Olga had a normal
childhood upbringing. Her parents were not particularly poor, or neither did they experience
financial hardship. However at some point in her childhood, she began to have serious
psychiatric problems and issues. She was someone who struggled to speak to others, and in 1964
at the age of 13 she attempted to take her own life. She had been prescribed medication
and she tried to overdose, however because of this incident, she then spent a whole year
inside of a psychiatric hospital nearby. Following her release she worked at many different jobs,
but she could not hold anything down as she was let go a few weeks after getting the job.
She trained as a bookbinder, but remained in Prague and then she began to work as a
truck driver. Her employment history was unpredictable, and she may’ve got incredibly bored with
what she was doing rather quickly. She then began to cut off her family and her father,
and she then with her wages purchased a cabin that was moved to the village of Olesko. She
lived here for a while, and later sold the cabin and purchased a Trabant car with the
money. But her father would through one of his family members inherit a farm. But for
some reason Olga Hepnarova had a vendetta against her father at the time, and she clearly
tried to kill him. On the morning of the 7th August 1970, she used petrol to set fire to
the door in the living area of the farmhouse, and she wanted the fire to destroy the house.
At the time her sister and two tenants were asleep in the house, but they woke up to the
smell of smoke and put the fire out. Olga was not suspected of being involved, and she
later would confess to this in 1973, and she said that she did this because of money disputes
occurring between her parents, and she wanted to take action.
It was clear that Olga was not stable, and that she was willing to carry out serious
and dangerous acts to bring her family to it’s knees. She was willing to kill, but
this mindset would take her down a very dark path. She had developed this mentality that
everyone was trying to attack and hurt her, and she claimed that whilst on the street
in Prague one day she was set upon and was beaten badly. She also said that bystanders
did not get involved. She believed that her life was worth remembering however, and she
decided to take action and to try and go out in a blaze of glory. She had planned to derail
a train, or to plant a bomb in a busy room, however she claimed that she did not known
how to do this, and she then planned to carry out a mass shooting. She wanted to get hold
of a firearm, and then shoot people inside Wenceslas Square in the New Town of Prague.
But then she decided that she would be shot dead immediately, and she could not find a
suitable weapon. But as she had been a truck driver, she then decided that rather than
a firearm, she would be more deadly behind the wheel of her truck.
In January 1973, she had moved into room 502 in a hostel, and she lived here until the
10th July 1973. However on the 10th July she then test drove a truck that she wanted to
rent to use in the attack. Shortly after renting the truck, Olga would then commit her deadly
act. At 1:30pm, she drove a Praga RN truck from the Defender’s of Peace to Strossmayer
Square, which was found in the Prague 7 district. Whilst here she revved up her engine, and
she then drove her large truck onto the pavement, and she ploughed into 25 people who were waiting
for a tramp. The Vehicle then came to a stop, and witnesses thought she was a victim too,
but then Olga as soon as she got out the car claimed she had done this intentionally. In
the immediate aftermath, 3 people lay dead on the pavement, but many more were injured.
After receiving treatment, 3 more people died, and then a few days later 2 more would pass
away. 12 more were injured, however Olga had already admitted her attack in letters to
newspapers. She wrote, ‘I am a loner. A destroyed woman. A woman destroyed by people ...
I have a choice – to kill myself or to kill others. I choose TO PAY BACK MY HATERS.
It would be too easy to leave this world as an unknown suicide victim. Acta non verba.
Society is too indifferent, rightly so. My verdict is: I, Olga Hepnarová, the victim
of your bestiality, sentence you to death.’
It was quite clear that Olga was not a well woman, but in the eyes of the courts she was
seen as a callous and out of control serial killer, who had planned to kill as many people
as possible. At her trial, reports emerged that she was aware what she had done, and
she said she did not regret. As she had planned to kill, this was seen as evidence for intent
nd murder, and she knew that the tram stop she hit had a slope which led to her truck
getting more speed. She had previously driven the truck by the stop before, but she wanted
more victims. On the 6th April 1974 she was sentenced to death for murder, and she would
be the final woman executed inside Czechoslovakia, as she appealed for a pardon but this was
rejected.
On the 12th March 1975, Olga was taken from her cell to the execution chamber inside of
Pankrac Prison. This had been used during the Second World War as a place where the
guillotine took the lives of many people who were suspected of being involved in the Czech
resistance. Olga told reporters before her death that she was very afraid of dying when
it faced her. However the executioner who took her life would later say how whilst she
was on death row, Olga had been resigned and depressed, however when it came for her to
die, she became hysterical, and she begged for her life. She was literally dragged by
guards kicking and screaming into the execution chamber, and she was then led up to the gallows.
A trapdoor gallows had been installed in 1954 as pole hanging was replaced. Inside the execution
chamber, Olga was placed on a 18 inch square metal trap door. The executioner then placed
a simple noose over her neck, and it was tied to an iron bar which came out from the wall
above her. Final checks were made, and then when the hangman pulled the lever, Olga Hepnarova
fell just a few inches. Her neck was not snapped, and she instead strangled to death, struggling
for a few minutes before she was pronounced death.
Olga Hepnarova is remembered today in History as the last woman who was executed in Czechoslovakia
as she made her way to the gallows in 1975. She was quite clearly a young lady who suffered
a great deal throughout his life, and suffered with mental health conditions. But she turned
into a cold blooded murderer, who tried to kill her family but would then turn to making
a bigger statement, and inside of Prague she drove a truck into a group of people to kill
as many people as possible. She was just 23 when she was executed.
Thanks for watching
To support our channel, please make sure to subscribe
Thanks again for watching