The latter stole the Chrysler Grand Voyager SUV belonging to the murdered pensioner’s family and hid his body in the forest.
In her closing speech on Tuesday, prosecutor Jurgita Patalavičienė proposed to imprison S. Kuras for 15 years for the murder of the pensioner.
An unemployed man previously convicted of rape admitted his guilt.
The heinous crime was committed in the gardens in the village of Greičiai on May 12, 2022.
The 71-year-old man from Jurbarka used to move to the family’s garden house in the village of Greičiai during the warm months, where he usually lived alone until autumn.
On May 13, the relatives missed the man – the wife, who did not answer the phone, came to the garden, but did not find him there.
The woman also missed the SUV used by her husband.
Alarmed, she reported the disappearance of her husband to law enforcement, who started a search.
Caught following a week
A week later, officers found the stolen SUV in the village of Lumpėnai (Pagėgii municipality), 45 kilometers from Greičiai.
It turned out that S. Kuras came to Lumpėni to clarify his relationship with an acquaintance of the village, towards whom he was angry.
When an argument broke out between the men, the police were urgently called.
When he learned that the officers were coming, the abuser quickly left.
Not only Jurbarkas, but also officers of the Lithuanian Criminal Police Office, Kaunas Police, border guard canine experts from Viešvilės and Kudirkas Naumiestis were involved in the pursuit of the fugitive.
Hit 11 times
During the investigation of the murder case, it was revealed that S. Kuras had recently been released from prison.
After serving his sentence, he settled in the same community of gardeners where his future victim was also located.
It is believed that the former prisoner planned the new crime in advance.
Criminalists managed to find the pensioner’s body – it was hidden in the forest not far from the garden house.
It was established that the man’s heart stopped from multiple punches, kicks to the head and chest.
According to experts, the pensioner was hit at least 11 times.
According to the investigators, following beating the victim to death, S. Kuras got into her car and fled.
He faces 8 to 20 years in prison for self-inflicted murder.
