"I have been found not guilty & acquitted of all charges against me," Blythe posted on Instagram. "I am a free man." He also asked his fans to pray for the family of the man who died in the incident, 19-year-old Daniel Nosek.
Blythe was accused of pushing Nosek from the stage during a LOG concert in Prague on March 24, 2010. Nosek fell and hit his head on the concrete floor and later died of his injuries. Blythe was arrested at the Prague airport last summer and indicted on manslaughter charges in December in the incident. He spent five weeks in custody before being released in August and was facing five-to-10 years in prison in the case. The state attorney immediately appealed the decision.
According to reports, concertgoers testified that Blythe violently pushed Nosek off the stage using both hands, but glaring discrepancies emerged about how Nosek got over the security barrier and which way he was facing when he was pushed, which the defense used to plant seeks of reasonable doubt.
Before the verdict, Blythe released a statement about why he chose to return to the Czech Republic to fight the charges. "It would be absolutely intolerable for me to hide from this situation," he said. "I am an innocent man, but a family suffers the loss of a son, a fan of my band. That is what this whole thing is truly about, not prison, not money, not politics, not ME - it is about a young man who lost his life at just 19 years of age. He will never come back, & it breaks my heart."
Following the acquittal a number of Blythe's metal brethren tweeted their support. "Congrats to our friend Randy Blythe!" wrote the members of Pantera. Similar notes came from the bands In Flame, Heaven Shall Burn, Norma Jean, Unearth, Gwar and Disturbed.
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