Prosecutors seek extended detention in Lithuanian paramedic murder case

Lithuania’s Panevėžys Regional Prosecutor’s Office has asked a court to extend the pre-trial detention of Justina Sadauskienė, also known as Gaigalaitė, and Vilius Solkanas in the murder case involving paramedic Mantas Sadauskas, LRT reported.

The prosecutor leading the investigation at the office’s Organised Crime and Corruption Investigation Division applied to the Panevėžys division of the Panevėžys District Court to extend the detention, prosecutors said on Monday.

Sadauskienė and Solkanas have been charged with murder and unlawful deprivation of liberty. They are currently being held until September 21.

Solkanas’s father, Ilja Solkanas, is also suspected of unlawful possession of a firearm and has been released on bail of 5,000 euros. In early August, prosecutor released Sadauskienė’s father, Egidijus Gaigalas, from detention and imposed less restrictive measures. He is suspected of unlawful possession of ammunition and unlawful possession of narcotic or psychotropic substances.

Sadauskas disappeared on the morning of April 20 after travelling to Paliukai village in the Panevėžys district to install a trampoline. The following day, a man’s buried body was found at a homestead in the village, along with a firearm. Prosecutors have said the crime may have resulted from personal disagreements. At the time of the murder, Sadauskas and Sadauskienė were undergoing divorce proceedings, which ended after one of the spouses died.