Prosecutors send Mikutavičius case over two killings to court

LRT reports that prosecutors have completed their investigation into the deaths of two young women and sent the case against 30-year-old Benas Mikutavičius to the Kaunas Regional Court for trial.

Kaunas Regional Chief Prosecutor Rimas Bradūnas said the investigation involved numerous procedural steps. Prosecutor Darius Jakutis said one of the women was killed with particular cruelty, an offence that can carry a life sentence.

Bradūnas said Mikutavičius partly admits guilt. His statements about the second killing are fragmentary, prosecutors said, and he had not communicated with that victim before her death. Prosecutors also described a prolonged conflict between Mikutavičius and the first victim, who was his relative.

Jakutis said investigators identified the weapon and traced its purchase. It was a tourist knife listed as a tactical knife in the seller’s catalogue, and had been bought well before the killings. He said investigators had found no evidence that anyone helped Mikutavičius hide.

According to prosecutors, Mikutavičius spent the first night in Kleboniškis Forest, took extra clothes and food, and discarded one phone, which was later found in a rubbish container. He also had another phone.

The two women were found dead in Kaunas on December 4, 2025. Police first received a report about the body of a woman born in 2003, found with a cut wound on V. Krėvės Avenue. Later that evening, relatives reported that they could not reach a woman born in 2001 who worked as a real estate broker. Her body was found nearby.

Investigators came to suspect that the same man was responsible for both deaths. Mikutavičius was arrested the following night at Kalniečių Park after local residents spotted him and prevented him from escaping. A psychiatric assessment found that he understood his actions and could stand trial. He has been in custody since December 7 and faces charges of murder and murder by torture or another particularly cruel method.