River Witham Lincoln: One man found guilty of murder
One man has been convicted of manslaughter
Last updated 17th Mar 2023
A man's been found guilty of the murder of a man who was beaten and tipped into the river Witham in Lincoln.
The jury at Lincoln Crown Court heard how 45-year-old Igors Petrovs was “unceremoniously” dumped in the River Witham in Lincoln at around 12.30am on 21 August 2022.
The body was discovered at 8am three days later by a passer-by.
44 year old Andrejs Servutas, from Monks Road in the city had pleaded not guilty to the crime, but was found guilty following two days of deliberations at Lincoln Crown Court.
Another man, Kaspars Spiridonovs, aged 41, of Stamp End, Lincoln, had also denied the murder and was cleared by the jury, but convicted of a charge of manslaughter.
The court heard how on the night of his murder, Igors had been drinking with Spiridonovs, who had an argument with his partner and walked off.
Later that night there were then several phone calls between Igors and Spiridinovs between 12.09am and 12.26am, before all three men came together at Waterside North at around 12.30am.
A CCTV camera nearby recorded Igors’ bike being thrown into the water, before an attack lasting two minutes was carried out
DCI Jennifer Lovatt led the investigation. She said:
“This was a senseless act of violence, and one where the defendants took deliberate steps to see Igors come to serious harm. The audio captured Servutas saying that he pushed Igors into the water and he died, before Spiridonovs replied, saying ‘you hit him to his face and the rest.’
"This audio did not tell the story of two people who regretted their actions; instead, they discussed removing the body from the water, which they said would be ‘heavy’, and acknowledged that the cameras in the local area would have captured the crime, and then discussed ensuring their version of events were the same.
"We have worked very hard on a challenging investigation to be able to bring justice for the family Igors leaves behind, and today’s verdict has done that.”
Spiridonovs had also previously pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice after lying to police that he had not seen the victim in two months, and had not been with Servutas that night.
They will be sentenced on 18 May.