Former Czech Us Out owner sentenced to prison for murder

SBJ file

Pavel Samsinak was convicted in February.

The former owner of a Springfield gym has been sentenced to prison for murder.

Pavel Samsinak, who owned Czech Us Out LLC, on May 11 was ordered to spend life in prison, plus 26 years, for second-degree murder, armed criminal action, second-degree arson and tampering with physical evidence, according to Greene County Circuit Court records.

Samsinak was convicted by a Greene County jury in February of murdering his neighbor, Alice Hale, a retired elementary school janitor, according to past reporting.

At trial, evidence was presented indicating Samsinak beat Hale to death with a dangerous instrument after an argument about a fence the defendant was building between his vacant lot and the victim's home, prosecutors said. Samsinak then set her house on fire to destroy evidence and watched the residence burn from the parking lot of a nearby convenience store, Springfield Business Journal previously reported.

Samsinak moved to the United States from the Czech Republic and opened Czech Us Out in 2002 in Springfield, providing fitness and nutrition classes, according to past reporting. Information from the office of Dan Patterson, Greene County's prosecuting attorney, indicates the gym closed in 2020.