Investigation into the murder of a Jelgava resident completed

Following a thorough pre-trial investigation into the murder committed in September 2018, officers of the Criminal Police Bureau of the Zemgale Regional Administration of the State Police transferred the criminal case to the Zemgale District Prosecutor’s Office for the commencement of criminal prosecution. The pre-trial investigation established evidence against the suspect—a man born in 1986.

The police had previously reported that, in October last year, officers of the Criminal Police Bureau initiated criminal proceedings over the murder of a man in Jelgava. The man had left his residence in Jelgava at the beginning of September and had not returned. A report concerning his disappearance was received by the police a few days later. Based on the information received, police officers immediately began searching for the missing man. The man’s remains were found in a forest in Platone Parish, Jelgava Municipality. During the pre-trial investigative proceedings, two men were initially detained on suspicion of murder. During the investigation, the police established evidence against a man born in 1986, whom the court remanded in custody.

The investigation established that the crime was domestic in nature and was committed while alcohol was being consumed at the suspect’s residence. A conflict broke out while alcohol was being consumed, during which bodily injuries were inflicted on a man born in 1973. To conceal the crime, the victim was moved to a nearby forest.

Article 116 of the Criminal Law stipulates: “For the intentional and unlawful killing of another person (murder), a person shall be punished by life imprisonment or imprisonment for a term of between five and twenty years, together with probationary supervision for a term of up to three years.”