Appeal court upholds brothers’ convictions for killing their father

Lithuania’s Court of Appeal has upheld the convictions of Donatas Bareika and his brother Domas for killing their father, leaving their 10-year prison sentences in place, LRT reported.

The court amended the first-instance ruling to recognise that the brothers had compensated for the harm caused as a mitigating circumstance. The rest of the ruling, including their convictions for the intentional killing of their father, was unchanged.

The appellate court rejected prosecutors’ request to increase the sentences to 14 years and a lawyer’s request on behalf of the victim’s partner and daughter to raise the amount of non-pecuniary damages. The decision takes effect immediately, but can be appealed to the Supreme Court of Lithuania.

The brothers have paid the full €20,000 in damages awarded. The Vilnius Regional Court sentenced them last October.

The brothers were convicted over the killing of their 49-year-old father, Tomas Bareika, on the evening of March 2, 2023. They struck him at least six times with a shovel and an axe in the yard of a house on Karaimų Street in Trakai. The conflict stemmed from personal relations, a dispute over property and their father’s behaviour towards them.

They then put his body in a van, drove to Užutrakis Manor, doused it with petrol and set it on fire. Tomas Bareika was one of the owners of the Karališkas sodas cafe in Trakai. According to the case file, he had allegedly threatened his sons and the relative who had recently gifted part of the cafe premises to Donatas.