Kaunas double murder suspect faces harsher charge, detention extended

A court has extended Benas Mikutavičius’s pretrial detention for three months and prosecutors have upgraded one of the charges in the case involving the killings of two women in Kaunas, LRT reported.

The Kaunas Regional Court issued the detention ruling on Wednesday. Mikutavičius is now suspected of killing one of the women by torture or in another particularly cruel manner. He has been in detention since December 7, 2025.

According to the Kaunas Regional Prosecutor’s Office, investigators have grounds to suspect that Mikutavičius fatally wounded a woman born in 2003 with a stabbing and cutting implement on December 4, 2025. A woman born in 2001 was fatally wounded shortly afterwards.

Initially, Mikutavičius was charged with two counts of murder under Article 129, Paragraph 1 of Lithuania’s Criminal Code. The qualification of one charge has remained unchanged, while the other has been reclassified under Article 129, Paragraph 2, Point 6, which covers murder by torture or in another particularly cruel manner.

The pretrial investigation is being organised and supervised by the First Criminal Prosecution Division of the Kaunas Regional Prosecutor’s Office. It is being conducted by the second division of the Serious Crimes Investigation Board at the Kaunas County Chief Police Commissariat. The investigation has not yet been completed.

The two bodies were found in Kaunas on December 4. Police received a report at 1:02 p.m. about the body of the 2003-born woman on V. Krėvės Avenue, with a slash wound. That evening, relatives reported that they could not contact a 2001-born woman who worked as a real estate broker, and her body was later found nearby.

Investigators initially believed the killings might be unrelated, but soon determined that the same person may have been responsible. The first victim was Mikutavičius’s relative, while the second worked for a company that rented housing.

A search was launched for Mikutavičius after he went into hiding and changed his appearance. He was detained the following night after residents of Kaunas spotted him in Kalniečiai Park and prevented him from escaping.

A court later ordered a psychiatric assessment. It found that Mikutavičius understood his actions and would have to stand trial. The public will be informed when the investigation is completed and the case is sent to court.