Woman says neighbour choked and beat her in Vilnius

A woman says her neighbour attacked her in their apartment building in Vilnius, leaving her with a fractured sacrum and other injuries. She spent 10 days in hospital and says she no longer feels safe at home, LRT reports.

Police have opened several pre-trial investigations into the incident, including the alleged assault on the woman, alleged violence by her against the neighbour, and the theft of her phone.

The woman, Deimantė, said the conflict began before the October 5 attack, after her neighbour complained about noise and people in her flat. She said she had asked her friends to keep their voices down, stopped repair work when he objected and apologised for any disturbance.

She said later disputes involved the neighbours’ adjoining apartment doors, which obstructed each other when opened. According to Deimantė, the neighbour insulted and filmed her, and once struck her in the chest with his door as she tried to close hers. She called police but did not file a complaint at the time, hoping the situation would improve.

Deimantė said that on October 5 she had just returned home after taking her daughter to nursery when she heard someone banging on her partly open door. She alleged that the neighbour entered, pulled her phone from her hand, grabbed her by the neck and began choking her, then dragged her into the stairwell and punched her several times.

She said the neighbour ran into his flat with her phone and locked the door. When he later came out and headed downstairs, she tried to get the phone back and call for help. She said they struggled, after which he punched her again and pushed her towards the stairs. She fell and hit her head, and later encountered him again on the fourth floor. The physical confrontation stopped when other neighbours appeared, she said.

Police officers arrived and Deimantė asked for medical help. She said doctors found a fractured sacrum and bruising to her head and ribs. She also said her phone was missing after the confrontation and that its location function showed it moving.