A horrifying secret uncovered in the Czechia | Forensic Files

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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website today's episode involves crimes against
children and won't be suitable for all listeners edward lived in the czech republic town of
korem on monday may 7 2007 edouard was home alone making some last minute preparations
his partner had recently given birth and eduard was trying to set up a baby monitor before she and their baby
daughter were discharged from hospital at around 11am eduard connected the device to his television
he scanned the channel selector waiting for the live feed from the monitor's video camera to show on the screen
an image did appear but it wasn't coming from inside eduard's home the baby monitor had intercepted another
camera's signal the black and white feed on the television showed a young boy who eduard
didn't know he appeared content as he sat naked on a concrete floor playing with a roll of
duct tape believing the baby monitor had a technical fault edouard set it aside and
carried on with his day he returned to it later to try again but it intercepted the same feed from
earlier this time the naked boy was being fed torn pieces of bread by a woman whose
face was out of view edouard heard her say here you go but didn't recognize her voice
it dawned on eduard that the boy's hands were tied behind his back edouard told his partner what he'd seen
and they decided that they should notify the authorities before doing so eduard switched on the
baby monitor and tv to assess the situation one last time this time the boy was clearly hog tired
and licking what appeared to be vomit from the floor [Music] in the summer of 2005 28 year old clara
maurova was working at a youth center in the czech city of brunei the center was run by her older sister
katarina who approached clara one day to discuss a child who had just arrived from norway
her name was anitchka she was around 12 years old sickly and in need of special foster care
katarina believed her sister would make an ideal foster mother for the girl it wasn't an unusual thought
clara melrova was successfully raising her sons seven-year-old jakub and five-year-old andre as a single mother
the boys attended the same youth center where their mother worked participating in games sporting activities and a
language studies energetic and sporty andre loved hockey his older brother jacob played
basketball as well as the flute he was an avid reader who was especially fond of dinosaurs
[Music] clara's other sister gabriella spent time with the family at least twice a
week she described her nephews as sweethearts and clara as a great mother and a role
model working at the youth centre had fostered clara's interest in child education and
she was in the process of gaining professional teaching qualifications balancing studies with everyday life
wasn't easy jakub and andre often had to accompany their mother on her class field trips
they'd also hang around campus quietly entertaining themselves while clara completed her assignments
it was chaotic but life was good and the boys were happy clara's university supervisor who had
met jakub and andre many times noted that clara was raising her boys beautifully
[Music] after clara's sister told her about anitchka clara went to meet the girl
she found her painting in the woods by the youth center anichika was short and very thin with
mousy brown hair and glasses she spoke quietly and nervously in a mixture of czech and norwegian
while she didn't reveal much about herself clara could tell that the girl was severely traumatized
[Music] clara spent the next few weeks building a rapport with anitchka who eventually
opened up about her past following the death of her parents anichika was placed in an orphanage
where she was mistreated by those who ran the facility eventually anecho along with some other
children had been sold into a pedophile ring and endured horrendous acts of sexual abuse and torture
she had also been forced to participate in the torture of the other children when the pedophile ring was finally
exposed a nietzsche was sent to katarina mauerova's center for children as she had no parents or guardians to claim her
anecho was being treated by andrei zanalov a psychiatric doctor from azerbaijan who specialised in helping
children with traumatic histories he allowed clara to take a look at anitchka's medical file
dr zainalov explained that in addition to her psychological traumas anichka also had leukemia
in his opinion she would be lucky if she lived to the age of 16. from around september 2005 anitchka
began living with clara full time as part of this new arrangement clara's sister katarina took anitchka to the
hospital for chemotherapy sessions dr zainalov continued to treat her nietzsche remotely sending therapy and
care instructions to clara via email and text messages it wasn't long before clara wanted to
formally adopt a niche car 12 months later in october 2006 clara and katarina mauerova sat in the office
of brunei's deputy ombudsman katarina had used her standing as the director of a youth center to arrange
the meeting sisters explained that they had spent the previous year doing everything they
could to have a nietzsche adopted by clara unfortunately their efforts were hindered due to the fact that a niche
car didn't possess a birth certificate or passport without legal identification it was
almost impossible for clara to adopt an her the sisters had approached multiple institutions seeking help but no one was
willing or able to assist them one was the endangered children fund a non-government non-profit organization
that provided social and legal protection to children in the czech republic in order to receive their help anichka
needed to stay at the fund's children's shelter while her case progressed given anecha's traumatic history and ill
health clara and katarina expressed to their concern that such an upheaval could have devastating effects
from a procedural standpoint the deputy ombudsman should have referred anechois case to departmental social workers
however she agreed that removing anecho from her foster family was not in her best interests
the deputy ombudsman provided the maura rover with a device on how to proceed the first step was for a nietzsche's age
to be verified over the course of several weeks katarina accompanied an aneeshkar to
university hospital in brene where she was subjected to various medical examinations
x-rays of her forearm and hands were taken and her dna was also tested it was determined that a niche car was
between the ages of 13 and 14. armed with a medical certificate confirming aneechka's age the maura
rover sisters applied to bironas municipal court they sought a judicial ruling on whether
anecho could remain with clara and be legally adopted by her the hearing was scheduled for march the
following year of 2007. as part of the court process social workers inspected clara's small flat in
bernare they found everything to be in order by january clara had moved her family
into a larger two-story terrorist house on a quiet street in kurim 15 kilometers
north of brene the house was arranged and paid for by inejka's doctor andrei zanalov with the
help of clara's sister katarina clara made sure that an each girl felt at home painting her room bright yellow
and filling it with toys anitchika's case was heard in the municipal court on march 26
the presiding judge reviewed all the relevant medical and social work documents as well as some additional
reports katarina had commissioned in support of clara's application both sisters provided statements and
anecho was interviewed by the judge in reaching her decision the judge concluded that aneechka's biological
mother was likely a drug addict who had given birth to anecho at home as aneechka had never attended school it
was unlikely there were any formal records in her name the judge granted anecho the legal birth
date of december 2 1993 making her 13 years 3 months and 24 days old a birth certificate would be created and
anecho finally had legal recognition [Music] clara's application for adoption was
also approved anitchka was given clara's surname maurova [Music] six weeks later on monday may 7 2007 a
call was placed to the kurim police the caller was a local man named eduard trudy
he had been attempting to connect a baby monitor to his television when it intercepted another camera
its footage showed a naked boy hogtied on a concrete floor edouard had started recording the live
feed to preserve evidence which he then showed police when they arrived at his house
given the operating range of the baby monitor was only about 30 to 50 meters police believed that the boy must be in
a neighboring house as one officer focused on the footage he recognized the song playing in the
background realising that if they knew which house the music was coming from they might
find the boy the officers turned down the television's audio they then pressed their ears to cups
they held against the walls the cups amplified sound allowing them to hear noises from the houses that
shared a wall with eduard's home emanating from behind one wall was the same song that was captured in the
footage edouard wasn't familiar with the neighbors on that side and had never seen any boys coming in or out of their
house [Music] officers attended the property and two women aged in their 30s answered the
front door [Music] they refused police requests to enter the premises although the officers didn't have a
search warrant the situation was exceptional ignoring the women's protests the police
forced their way in and came across a storage cupboard beneath a staircase it was padlocked
the women insisted that no one was in there but refused to hand over a key they had to be pulled away from the
cupboard as police began trying to remove the padlock suddenly a young girl in pyjamas ran
into the room screaming mama mama after hugging one of the women the girl started holding onto the officer's legs
hindering their efforts to access the locked cupboard the padlock was eventually removed and
the cupboard opened inside was a dark room about two meters by two meters in size
it had no ventilation and an odor of vomit and feces wafted out a bucket sat in one corner
there was little else aside from a high-tech security camera that was actively recording the space
next door edward tradie's eyes were glued to his television when police had begun knocking at his
neighbor's door the footage of the little boy had abruptly gone dark someone had suddenly turned off a light
within the confined space now that a door had been opened light filtered back in
edouard watched alive as it illuminated the naked restrained boy police scooped him up removed his
restraints and took him to a waiting ambulance the boy's name was andre and he was seven years old
he told officers that he was kept in the cupboard under the stairs while his mother clara maurarova and his sister
anitchka maurova lived freely in the rest of their house the other woman at the home when police
arrived was andre's aunt katarina maura rover she visited often [Music] neither clara nor katarina inquired
about andre's welfare following his rescue clara maurova was placed under arrest
for child abuse and was remanded in custody as an investigation commenced clara's other son nine-year-old yakub
wasn't at the family home when police stormed the premises concerns for his welfare grew even more
so upon the discovery of a locked garden shed in the yard gaps in its frame were covered by the
same type of duct tape that had been used to bind andre's hands and feet the police broke in but jakub was not
inside he was soon located and deemed safe as their home life was investigated jakub andrei and anitchka were sent to a
children's shelter in brene run by the endangered children fund during their first day aneeshka remained
with the drawn and fearful of social interactions while her brothers played together and appeared to be adjusting
by the following afternoon andre began exhibiting post-traumatic stress and high levels of anxiety
he was returned to hospital where he was stabilized and held for further observation
that evening staff at the shelter commenced their nightly rounds as the children slept
they found jakub sound asleep in the room he shared with a niece car but her bed was empty
a search of the facility failed to locate her it was soon realised that one of the
windows in inejka's room was open it was not possible for a child to open the window on their own
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hundreds of police officers searched for a niche camara rover she was known to feel comfortable in the
wilderness so a helicopter with heat-seeking capabilities scoured nearby wooded areas
a spokesperson for the children's shelter publicly voiced concern that anecho had been kidnapped and said they
were worried about her fragile health meanwhile with his brother hospitalized and sister missing nine-year-old jakub
remained at the children's shelter alone none of his relatives were permitted to
visit him so he was mostly left to his own devices he watched television one day jakub saw
the footage of his brother's imprisonment it had been leaked to the media along with a statement andre gave
police that detailed his ordeal in his statement andre said he'd been abused for a long time in a number of
locations and by more people than just his mother eventually jacob revealed to police that
he too had been treated the same way it all began shortly after a niche car was brought into their home in the
autumn of 2005. clara maura rover cared for inejka on the instruction and guidance of inejka's
doctor andrei zanalov he said that in order for her nietker to heal from her past trauma she would need
to feel completely safe and welcome in clara's home clara had to lavish a niche car with
attention praise and reassurance dr zanalov also diagnosed the nietzsche with a condition that caused spinal
fluid to build up but could be treated with massage therapy clara was instructed to regularly
massage anechoi's entire body the doctor explained that massaging inejka's intimate areas would also
desensitise and reprogram her past sexual trauma over time aneecha began to improve
but clara's efforts to help the young girl had become an obsession she began neglecting her sons often
sending them to stay with their grandparents [Music] by the summer of 2006 clara had been
trying to adopt a niche car without success for almost nine months meanwhile dr zanalov was growing
concerned about the family's situation anecha had told him that andre and jakub were being mean to her and he felt that
she would never truly be a part of the family if they didn't accept her he recommended that clara use corporal
punishment against her sons to make them behave starting in july 2006 clara dutifully
began to beat andre and jacob with a wooden spoon and a metal belt buckle the boys were also made to kneel for
hours at a time or else be locked in a cupboard with no food water or toilet access
at night they had to sleep on a mat on the floor they were completely isolated from
family and friends this abuse continued for around five weeks then dr zanalov advised clara to bring
the boys to a cottage in viverska batiska a town about 20 kilometers northwest of brener
there the re-education would begin andre and jacob arrived at the cottage in late august 2006
it was an isolated property at the end of a small country lane on the outskirts of town
trees concealed the residents from view boy's aunt katarina mauerova was already
there when they arrived she'd brought with her two dog cages one for each brother
[Music] they were locked in the cages which forced them to remain bent or kneeling
and unable to move they were only fed scraps of food and were not released to use the bathroom
if they tried to communicate with one another they were beaten that night the first re-education
session began the boys were bound blindfolded and beaten clara scratched and stabbed her sons
with a fork and forced their heads underwater while katarina held them in place andre and jakub had to memorize vulgar
passages and were hurt if they failed to recount them word for word the torture continued into the next day
as well as being victimized andre was also made to hurt his brother but when anecho accused andre of
physically harming her he bore the brunt of the abuse at one point aneetka even joined in
while dr andrei zanalov wasn't present at the cottage he kept in touch with clara via text messages and emails
when clara informed him that andre's re-education was not working dr zanalov devised a plan
as per the doctor's orders clara handed andre a glass of water and told him to give it to jacob who was thirsty
andre did as instructed and yakuba drank from the glass he was then taken away andre was then informed that the water
he had just given his older brother was actually poison he was led outside to the back of the
cottage where jacob's lifeless body lay in a freshly dug grave andre was told that if he behaved
himself and obeyed all instructions then jacob would come back to life andre promised to be good and jakub
who'd been forced to play dead by the adults got up dr zanalov reassured clara that these
re-education practices were scientifically proven to be effective in modifying bad behavior and insisted that
the program was nearly complete his next demand was for clara to burn andre's buttocks cut off a piece of the
wounded flesh and forced the young boy to weed it this was too far for clara who couldn't
carry out the order disappointed in her dr zanalov decided to send out reinforcements
two men and a woman soon arrived at the cottage twenty-nine-year-old yan turak was a
scout leader at katarina maurova's center for children his friend twenty-three-year-old yan
shklar occasionally worked there as an assistant the woman was 26 year old hannah bashova
she too was a scout leader at the center andre and jakub knew her as aunt nancy clara maura rover handed her sons over
to turak shekla and bashova she thanked them for the work they were about to do then left
turret and schla proceeded to gag strip restrain mutilate and torture the boys as per dr zanalov's instructions
meanwhile hannah bashova made lots of noise in the background to give the boys the impression more people were present
when clara returned she knelt beside andre and jakub and said that if they ever told anyone what had happened at
the cottage she would bring them back there [Music] clara took an ichiga back to their
bernair flat and continued trying to adopt the girl while andre and jakub were left with
their aunt katarina as well as hannah bashova and ian shklar they took the boys to an after-school
clubhouse in baranas south where katarina bashova and shekla sometimes worked as group leaders
andre and jacob were kept separate and their abuse continued their mother never visited and the boys
were not allowed to see or speak to other family members on september 10 andre turned seven
almost a month later on october 6 jakub had his ninth birthday then four months into the brother's
imprisonment at the clubhouse things changed in december andre was allowed to live
with his mother and anecho in their new house in kurem jakub remained at the clubhouse
as time wore on he was sometimes permitted to attend school but was threatened into remaining silent about
the abuse meanwhile 15 kilometers away in korean andre was kept naked and bound in a
small windowless storage cupboard under the stairs no one suspected anything was wrong in
the maura rover household until may 2007 when neighbor edward 3d connected his baby monitor to his television
andre and jakub's bodies were riddled with burns scratches and scars both boys exhibited symptoms of
post-traumatic stress as well as phobias and other developmental mood and sleep disorders
their ability to concentrate was impaired and they grappled with feelings of loneliness isolation guilt and
abandonment psychologists determined that andre and jakub would require long-term if not lifelong psychological
care despite what they had endured the brothers were remarkably resilient they started school within days of their
rescue andre was home schooled at the children's shelter while jakub attended in-person classes
their older sister anitchka didn't cope as well while she hadn't endured any of the
abuse instigated by dr andrei zanalov she was very unsettled in the shelter that was supposed to be their refuge
then she vanished all together nine days later three identical envelopes arrived at the berenai
ombudsman's office the malada frontal dense newspaper and to the office of the czech republic's president
each contained a photocopy of the same nine page handwritten letter dated six days earlier and signed with the name
and maurova it read my mother is not at all bad as shown on television and in the newspapers
i don't understand everything but i will write the truth as i know it please forgive my mother
i know that the police and everyone are looking for me but i'm afraid of everyone
nobody wants to hear how it really was the letter detailed inejka's time living with clara andre and jacob
she insisted that andre was not abused or locked away she accused andre of lashing out at her
mostly at night when there was no one around to witness it he had threatened anecha to stay quiet
saying that she would be taken away if she spoke up the letter explained that clara
desperately wanted andre to treat anecho nicely she feared that his misbehaviour would
compromise anecha's adoption upon learning that her adoptive mother could be imprisoned for eight years
anitchka fled the children's shelter her letter didn't shed any light on where she was currently
however postage marks indicated the envelopes were sent from a town just north of brunei
the country's president expressed skepticism that the letter was penned by a 13 year old
psychologists agreed that an adult had likely helped denise go ride it then deliver it to the post office
[Music] anecha's former room at the children's shelter in brene was thoroughly inspected by forensic investigators in
an effort to identify the person who had facilitated her escape they swabbed surfaces and were able to
detect foreign dna which was cross-checked against everyone embroiled in the case
while it wasn't a direct match to anybody involved it was a familial match to jan schla
he had joined in the abuse of andre and jakub at the viverska batishka cottage the dna belonged to his older sister 32
year old babora shglova like her brother baborosh glover worked at katarina maurova's youth center
the amount of barbora's dna found throughout anecho's room indicated she must have lived there for a number of
days though barbora's current whereabouts were unknown investigators were certain
that she was with anecho maurova [Music] anichika maurova's disappearance was covered extensively in czech newspapers
articles featured a photo of a smiling clara maura rover with an arm around anecha's shoulders
anecho's brown hair was parted down the middle with each half woven into thin braids
she looked nervous with an emotionless face and a downward gaze [Music] upon seeing this photograph a staff
member at katarina mauerova's youth center phoned the police she reported that the person next to
clara maurova was not a teenage girl named anitchka she was actually a woman who had worked
at the center for the last seven years her name was barbora shklova [Music] case file will be back shortly thank you
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you support case file to continue to deliver quality content [Music] barbara shklova was the oldest of three
children her mother was a doctor who had a severe drinking problem and her father was
mostly absent choosing to prioritize his work as a boy's youth group leader barbora found solace in nature as she
generally felt uncomfortable around people growing up she was treated for neurological and cardiac conditions as
well as epilepsy she also had an underactive thyroid which inhibited her physical growth
no matter her age barbara had a tendency to form child-like attachments to others
when barbora was in her early twenties she met katarina mauerova the young women became friends and
eventually moved in together at 26 barbora started work as an educator at the youth center katarina
ran barbora's younger brother yarn was also hired sometime later in 2005 with the assistance of katarina
mauerova barbora began creating a new identity for herself as a 13 year old named anitchka
they invented a backstory for the fictional anecho one so traumatic it would elicit compassion from others and
be difficult to disprove barbara spent months starving herself until she lost half her weight and had
the appearance of a sickly teen she wore children's clothing hats and colorful eyeglasses and styled her hair
in ways popular with teens then in the summer of 2005 katarina introduced danica to her younger sister
clara for the next two years barbora played the role of anecho to perfection the stories about her deceased parents
time spent in an orphanage and the abuse by a pedophile ring were all made up as was her leukemia diagnosis
[Music] katarina gave clara fake medical documentation to support aneechka's cancer diagnosis
she would regularly collect barbora from clara's home claiming she was taking nanichka to chemotherapy
although she never attended the hospital barbora would return looking weak wrapped in a blanket with the tube
sticking out of her anecho's psychiatrist dr andrei zanalov from azerbaijan didn't exist either
while never conclusively established it was thought that barbora's younger brother yan shklar played this role
he had disguised himself and produced fraudulent credentials when meeting clara anitchka's medical file that he let her
read was also fake the deputy ombudsman who assisted the maura rover sisters the doctors who
examined aneeshka and submitted reports to the court and the judge who gave anitchka a legal identity and formalised
her adoption were all deceived as well the judge had made her decision based on false medical reports
the doctors who examined anitchka took x-rays and samples of her dna and had correctly determined that their patient
was between the ages of 13 and 14. however their patient had not been barbora shklova masquerading as a
nietzsche katarina had duped a friend and used his thirteen-year-old daughter to
impersonate an age guard during the assessment clara was aware of this specific con and
went along with it based on the guidance of dr andrei zanalov he explained that if the real inej girl
attended the examination then doctors would discover her leukemia and the adoption application would be
immediately rejected all of the emails and text messages from dr zanalov to clara were later found to
have originated from accounts belonging to katarina mauerova every instruction to abuse andre and
jacob had come from their own aunt barbara shklova as a nietzsche abetted the abuse by saying their brothers were
harming her clara maurova insisted that she was completely oblivious to the web of
deceit woven by her sister she was unaware that her cancer-stricken teenage daughter was in fact a woman in
her early 30s in a media statement clara said all my actions of which i am accused
were led and directed by other persons whose identity was kept secret from me and who at the same time took advantage
of my very bad mental state into which they brought me and in which they kept me
clara was supported by her parents and other sister gabriela who condemned katarina
they claimed that katarina both directly and via the fictional doctor had kept clara in a constant state of fear
clara was led to believe that if she didn't follow the orders of those she trusted aneechka would die
clara mourarova quote until the last moment i believed that the doctor would show up and everything
would be explained that i was just helping a niche car and that it made sense i have nothing now i just hurt my kids
terribly and ruined their lives [Music] in the weeks and months after andre and jakub were rescued those responsible for
their suffering were located and arrested the boy's mother and their aunt faced abuse and torture charges as did center
for children's staff members yan turak yan shekla and hannah bashova [Music] however barbora
was still missing the last anyone had heard of her was the letter she'd sent to the country's
president deputy ombudsman and a national newspaper while still masquerading as a nature
[Music] on friday june 15 nearly five weeks after she had fled the shelter barbora
shklova showed up at the czech embassy in the danish capital of copenhagen [Music]
was accompanied by her father their lawyer and two journalists barbora had been laying low in the city
for about a month at the embassy she provided id and requested that hair and saliva samples
be taken in order to prove that she was barbora shlovar after barbora and her entourage left
embassy staff contacted the authorities in the czech republic despite her stated fear of people and
the media barbora arranged an interview with the lidova novena newspaper she admitted to her fictitious life as a
nietzsche she felt happier and more comfortable being a nietzsche and preferred the way
people treated her when they thought she was young barbora said that the original intention
behind the con was to supervise the children at katarina mauerova's youth center while blending in with them
the situation then quote evolved to her inserting herself into clara mourinho's life and family
she didn't elaborate any further [Music] barbora denied that clara abused her sons
she claimed that andre had only been locked up for a short time on the day he was discovered and was disciplined on
just one other occasion barbora held little sympathy for andre implying that his punishment was rightly
deserved [Music] pressed on that point barbora claimed that the then six-year-old andre had
beaten both her and jakub she couldn't explain what prompted the attack only that andre had suddenly
started shouting kill yakub kill aneechka barbora remarked andre has such power that no one would
believe it he has enormous power barbora had no plans to return to the czech republic saying that she would
provide the authorities with a statement through her lawyer when asked if she would continue being a
nietzsche barbora said no anech is gone after this interview barbora shklova disappeared again
five months later in december 2007 a 13 year old boy named adam farner who lived
in oslo norway approached his school teachers and confided that he had been abused
believing the perpetrator was adam's father adam was sent to a children's shelter
then on sunday december 16 adam vanished police were contacted and a nationwide search began
adam barna was eventually located in the czech republic where he was found safe and well with his mother
adam had never attended school in norway teachers 600 kilometers away in oslo had
no idea that the 13 year old boy they thought was adam fauna was in fact 33 year old barbora shklova
she had stolen adam's identity and had been masquerading as him for several months
to appear more masculine barbora had gained weight shaved her head and dressed in loose fitting oversized
clothes favored by teenage boys according to the school's principal some teachers thought adam looked more like a
girl but they attributed this to 13 being a tricky age barbora was eventually tracked down
north of oslo and arrested she was transported back to the czech republic where she was photographed
being led into a police station clutching a children's book and teddy bear barbora was charged for the abuse of
andre and jakub the prosecution and defense had barbora examined by their own experts
the prosecution's expert concluded that barbora didn't suffer from any psychological conditions
rather she was an expert at manipulating the people around her the defense's expert disagreed claiming
that barbara was mentally ill and in need of treatment to resolve the matter the court ordered
its own evaluation their panel of eight independent psychologists and psychiatrists assessed
barbora and found she had no signs of mental illness barbora was declared competent to stand
trial as were her co-accused clara maurova katarina mauerova hannah bashova yan turak and yan shkla
they had all been charged with the abuse of andre and jacob clara katarina hannah bashova and yan
shklar were charged with deprivation of liberty and yan turak faced an additional charge of causing bodily harm
katarina also faced charges for perjury and providing false expert testimony to court when helping clara adopt a nature
the trial opened with a full read of the indictment which detailed all of the abuse allegedly perpetrated against
andre and jacob at the conclusion of the reading a noticeably thinner clara maurova took to
the stand sobbing clara agreed with everything that had been read from the indictment
she claimed that she had put complete faith and trust in dr andrei zanalov and her sister katarina
quote i tried to help anitchka then the problems with the boy's behavior towards
anejga began i believed that they were serious and i was convinced that i had spoiled them
with my education and actions that andre was behaviorally sick and would not have a normal life
i was grateful to the doctor for offering to help me with my boys i wanted very much to help a nietzsche
too so that we could be like a family i believed that if i did everything right and well i would say venetka and
andre would not have to go to an institution for his bad behavior and that jacob would be a good person
despite claims previously made by barbora shklova clara admitted that andre was almost always locked inside
the cupboard under the stairs at their kurim house he was only let out on rare occasions as
a reward for good behaviour clara's maternal focus was so warped that by the time police banged on her
front door to rescue andre she actually feared they were there to take anecho away
trying to explain her actions clara stated i hurt my children but i didn't want to
hurt them i tried to be a good mother i never liked violence terrible things happened
i am aware of it and i cannot understand how i could have allowed it psychological experts testified that
clara maurova had a tendency to make decisions based on emotions and feelings alone
they acknowledged that the constant and increasing pressure placed on her caused
a quote kind of brainwashing although they conceded that clara did not suffer from any disorders and was
able to control her actions they agreed that she had been deceived abused and manipulated
clara was the only defendant who admitted to her actions the others fully denied the allegations
against them barbarosh glover testified briefly in person and the rest of her statement was
read out by the judge she stated that she was not a perpetrator of deception or abuse but a
victim of it [Music] she claimed that she had been repeatedly locked up beaten tied to tables sexually
abused and cut with knives by the mauer rover sisters and hannah bashova other strangers took part as well
barbara also claimed that sometimes andre would stab her and beat her with a stick
barbora's brother yan shikla said that he had seen evidence of injuries and abuse on barbora's body
however the eight independent psychologists and psychiatrists who assessed barbara had concluded quote
barbour glover suffers from histrionic personality disorder which is accompanied by theatricality
dramatization exaggerated expression of emotions and manipulative behavior to achieve one's
own needs [Music] the panel also believed barbora's supposed history of seizures had been
caused by convulsions associated with a disassociative disorder not epilepsy they determined that barbora did not
have multiple personality disorder as she consciously and purposefully played the role of a nietzsche and later adam
it was their opinion that for the purpose of the trial barbora was once again playing the role of a victim
as the trial drew to a close katarina maurova told the court that she could no longer sit quietly while accusations
were made against barbora katarina admitted that in 2005 she introduced barbora to her sister
she said that she had mistakenly called barbora a nachka and referred to her as being younger
it was then katarina helped barbora develop the anecho identity katarina encouraged clara to bond with
the though claimed that clara allowed herself to be convinced by anecho's story katarina denied barbora ever
participated in or influenced the abuse of andre and jakub she told the court that in the summer of
2006 she and clara devised the punishments used against the boys based on instructions from a person she
described as someone whom we trusted without limit she wouldn't admit to writing the emails
and text messages sent by dr andre zanalov katarina claimed that the goal was to
simply educate the boys but the things got out of hand during katarina's testimony clara
shouted at her sister accusing her of lying and demanding to know why she had done this
clara then collapsed and was removed from the courtroom [Music] after katarina finished her statement
she refused to answer any questions from the prosecution or the judge in late october 2008 the six defendants
were found guilty of all charges for their role in the abuse yan turek yan shkla and hannah bashova was
sentenced to five seven and seven years in prison respectively the boy's mother clara maurova was given
nine years reflecting the leadership role she played the boy's aunt katarina mauerova
was sentenced to ten years barbora shlovar was given a five-year sentence all of the defendants except clara
appealed and all were rejected this crime which has since come to be known as the kurim case remains
surrounded by rumors and speculation despite messages from dr andrei zanalov encouraging acts of cannibalism there is
no evidence that the abuse escalated that far although andre was filmed naked while in
captivity investigators believe this was purely for surveillance and not for sexual purposes
there was also speculation that joseph shla the father of barbora and yarn was involved in his children's crimes
joseph was once the leader of a boy scout group and according to one former member he turned the group into an
extremist sect under the guise of spiritual teachings joseph invented violent methods for
breaking the scouts down in order to build them back up despite there being a similar motive in
the treatment of andre and jakub josef shklar hasn't been found to have any involvement in the kurim case
following the trial andre and jacob continued to be cared for at the berenat children's shelter
a court decision in december 2008 lifted the ban on visiting family members and over time the boys began to spend more
and more time with their biological father and to their maternal grandparents by 2010 the boys lived with their
grandparents full time and were both doing well at school all of the defendants served their
minimum terms of imprisonment and were released on parole none were permitted to work with the
children barbora shklova was set free in february 2012 and changed her name soon after
news outlets reported she was living off a disability pension in an undisclosed location and was in the care of
psychologists katarina maurova was released in july 2014 and has kept a low profile since
andre and jakub's mother clara maurova left prison nine months before her sister
according to the court's psychiatrist clara made impressive psychological progress during her incarceration and
was not considered a danger to her children or the community while she no longer had any custodial
riots over her sons clara had worked on rebuilding her relationship with them while in prison
after some hesitation on jakub's part both he and andre wrote letters to her and visited regularly
by the time clara was released in october 2013 fifteen-year-old jakub and thirteen-year-old andre were reportedly
happy to have their mother back case file presents a new spotify exclusive podcast maddie no one is ever
prepared for a loved one to suddenly disappear that's the thing about missingness
when someone you love vanishes into thin air every family that experiences it has to
figure it out for themselves we started ringing around matt's friends what the hell is he not doing at work
and why hasn't he even called them i just sat there oh my god oh my god something wasn't right the levesons grew
more worried by the minute he's walking up and down like a cage line and he's sweating and he's clammy the man has no
emotions at all towards the end he wouldn't let matt out of his sight narrated by lauren o'keefe the founder
of the missing persons advocacy network and host of case file presents podcast what's missing the police informed mark
and faye leveson that they're no longer considered matt a missing person they told fayna that the case had been
transferred to homicide and he said i've called the police i found a grave there's a mattock in the bush the
receipt showed that two items had been purchased duct tape and a garden master brand matic i think we were in shock for
ages after that the world just seemed to stand still hear how a family took on the system to try and find justice for
their son for the very first time made us feel like the police and us were no longer on the same side and then he
sat there and said to me it was matt's lifestyle that had him murdered no i just said the [ __ ] stops now that's
that's ridiculous some people in this world never take no for an answer especially when they're fighting for
someone they love nothing is perfect we thought you know with the chance of finding that's probably one in a million
one in 10 million but it wasn't zero so we got to give it a go he was never going to win against us
not for finding maddie maddie the latest podcast from case file presents available september 19th only on spotify
it's not a justice system it's just a system

Case 223: The Kuřim Case

*** Warning: This case involves a child victim *** When Czech Republic man Eduard Trdý inadvertently intercepted the video feed of his neighbour’s security camera in May 2007, he was so alarmed by the footage that he contacted the police...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Holly Boyd Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

Website https://www.casefilepodcast.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/casefile Twitter https://twitter.com/case_file Instagram https://www.instagram.com/casefilepodcast Patreon https://www.patreon.com/casefile Casefile Presents https://casefilepresents.com

RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-223-the-kurim-case

Brief Summary

A baby monitor reveals child abuse, leading to a shocking rescue and uncovering a web of deceit and manipulation.

Key points

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Eduard's Disturbing Discovery. Eduard intercepts a baby monitor feed revealing a naked boy in distress.
Clara's Troubling Obsession. Clara's attempts to help Anitchka lead to neglecting her own children.
The Dark Reality of Re-Education. Clara begins a brutal regime of punishment against her sons, following Dr. Zanalov's advice.
A Shocking Revelation. Andre is led to believe he poisoned his brother Jacob, who is actually dead.
The Web of Deceit. Clara was unaware of the manipulation by her sister and the fake identities involved.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

It dawned on Eduard that the boy's hands were tied behind his back.

A shocking realization about the boy's situation.

3:56WatchSep 17, 2022

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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