Former NHL star Adam Johnson, playing for the Nottingham Panthers in England, was killed in October by another player who kicked him in the neck with a bladed boot. Weeks later, a man is being held by police under suspicion of manslaughter. Police haven't revealed who it is, but all assume it is Matt Petgrave, the Sheffield Steelers player who killed Johnson.
"Our investigation launched immediately following this tragedy and we have been carrying out extensive inquiries ever since to piece together the events which led to the loss of Adam in these unprecedented circumstances," Detective Chief Superintendent Becs Horsfall said. It would be rare, but not unprecedented, for a hockey player to be charged. Giacinto "Jim" Boni was charged in Italy with culpable homicide after he slashed Miran Schrott in the chest during a game on Jan. 14, 1992, and Schrott died as a result of a cardiac event.Boni pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Two NHL players in recent history have been charged with a crime in Canada for an on-ice action: Marty McSorley and Todd Bertuzzi.
The gap between what appears on the video and the placid rhetoric of a tragic accident was, quote, "crazifying," and the crazification grew over time. When a moment's silence for Adam Johnson was held two days ago, the man who killed him was given a standing ovation by fans. This unsettling moment demanded scrutiny and resolution, if only to confirm that the thin ice underfoot was something other than malice. An arrest came within hours.
