Mikutavičius told court he planned to kill six people

A man accused of murdering his cousin told a court he had planned to kill six people, while the victim’s mother said he had always seemed strange to her, LRT reported.

Benas Mikutavičius is charged with murdering his cousin, identified as S. S. Her mother, who is recognised as a victim in the case, told reporters at court that she had little contact with his family and regarded his testimony as “fairytales”. She said neither Mikutavičius nor his family had apologised after the crime.

The mother has filed a claim for more than 109,000 euros in compensation for financial and non-financial damages. Her lawyer, Aleksandras Pocius, said the defence account had changed several times and that Mikutavičius had given a third version of events at the hearing. Pocius said the family might later ask the court to change the charge to aggravated murder. The current charge is murder under Article 129(1) of the Criminal Code, which carries a prison sentence of seven to 15 years.

During questioning, Mikutavičius said he had intended to kill six people, including his cousin, a real estate broker, people in nearby apartments and a former colleague from a pizzeria. He said some other people he had planned to kill were away or on holiday. Prosecutors said he had not mentioned these plans during the pre-trial investigation.

Asked whether he regretted the crimes, Mikutavičius reportedly replied that the opposite was true and that things could have been worse. He admitted committing the crimes and said he found it difficult to explain why he had planned to kill people.

Pocius said he saw no reason to question Mikutavičius’s mental state or order another psychiatric examination, noting that an earlier assessment had been comprehensive.