With Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blythe’s manslaughter trial now taking a break until March, today’s proceedings lasted just 45 minutes. Richmond TV station WTVR, who have been the only mainstream media outlet regularly covering the trial, reports that just one witness was called to the stand today. Lukas Havlena contacted Blythe’s defense team after reading accounts of witnesses during the trial. He said that the other witnesses didn’t accurately describe what happened at the band’s 2010 concert, in which 19 year-old Danel Novek attended and died two weeks later from head injuries.
While Havlena is admittedly a fan of the band, he testified that Blythe wasn’t acting aggressively onstage, and that each time someone was onstage, Blythe “demonstrated they weren’t allowed there.” Like the witness who spoke yesterday, Havlena said that any aggression onstage is just part of the band’s show. It was also disclosed that the trial was postponed not just because of one witness that was ill, but two criminal psychologists that were unable to testify this week.
While it’s very premature to speak about an ongoing trial, it seems like there’s enough of a shadow of a doubt for the court to rule that Blythe intentionally threw anyone off stage. If even a fan that was onstage says that Blythe wasn’t acting aggressively, things seem a little more optimistic than they did at the beginning of the week. Add to that the fact that Blythe is contrite about the situation and appeared in court well-spoken and respectful, it sure seems like he’s subverting the typical “metalhead” stereotype to the court. Hopefully Blythe is heading back to America feeling like he’s done everything he can for this to end to the satisfaction of both parties.
