NHL referee murder: Ladislav Scurko, who was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2004, has been convicted of stabbing a former referee, according to Yahoo News. The incident occurred in 2008 following a dispute between Scurko and Marek Liptaj, who once lived in the professional hockey player’s home. Upon learning that Liptaj did not have cancer, an argument promptly ensued. After attempting to get the referee to leave his home, Scurko admitted to stabbing the man 14 times and dumping his body in a shallow grave. His partially decomposed body was found about a year later in a nearby forest.

Despite admitting his crimes to authorities, Scurko claimed he was tricked by police into confessing to the murder. However, none of this seemed to matter in the long run, as the former NHL draft pick was convicted of murdering Marek Liptaj, and is currently staring down eight years in prison, which is the maximum sentence for this sort of behavior. Curiously, while he was awaiting trial for the stabbing, Scurko was still allowed to play hockey in Slovakia; since 2011, he has laced up for both HK Slovan Gelnica and HK Trebisov.

“After the final speech of evidence were presented. They gave the prosecutor, the injured party’s legal representative, advocate the defendant, substitute counsel and the defendant himself,” Slovakian authorities said in a statement. “The conclusions of the psychiatric examinations Ščurko act committed in a state of diminished sanity, the court considered a mitigating factor and therefore imposed a sentence at the lower rate. The court imposed a protective psychiatric outpatient treatment by a prisoner. The sentences him among the facilities for imprisonment with moderate surveillance.”

Following his stint with the Philadelphia Flyers, Scurko was drafted by the Seattle Thunderbirds. In 2007, Ladislav moved back to Slovakia to play professional hockey.

Image provided courtesy of CAS.SK