A court heard today how a suspected murder victim in Harrogate was found wrapped up in a rug in a flat on Mayfield Grove after one of his alleged killers told somebody nearby, “I killed a man”.
Vitalijus Koreiva, 36, and Jaroslaw Rutowicz, 38, are accused of murdering Gracijus Balciauskas on December 20 last year.
The trial at Leeds Crown Court, which began today and is due to last for 10 days, tracked the movements of the three men on CCTV.
The court heard a witness statement from an employee at Asda on Bower Road, who found an agitated Mr Rutowicz sitting on a wall by the supermarket on the evening when Mr Balciauskas died.
The employee said Mr Rutowicz appeared to have been drinking and told her “I think I’ve killed a man.”
The court was also played a recording of a 999 call from Mr Rutowicz that took place when he was outside Asda that evening. He told a call handler: “The guy, he’s dead. No, it was an accident. We drink something.”
Two police officers then met Mr Rutowicz at Asda who then walked with him to Mayfield Grove.
Inside, they found Mr Balciauskas wrapped in a rug dead. Mr Rutowicz, of no fixed address, and Mr Koreiva, of Mayfield Grove, were then arrested on suspicion of murder.
Timeline of events
Detective Constable Christopher Williams, from North Yorkshire Police, was cross-examined by prosecuting solicitor Katherine Robinson who went through a timeline of events that led to the arrest.
CCTV captured the last time Mr Balciauskas was seen alive when he went to the Polish shop next door to the flat at 1pm on December 19.
Mr Rutowicz was seen later that evening collecting a pizza takeaway and returning to the property.
In the early hours of the following morning, Mr Koreiva was seen on CCTV pacing around the property before going back inside. At around 3am the pair were seen buying bottles of alcohol and returning.
The next day, Mr Koreiva was filmed visiting the Polish shop next door in his dressing gown and Mr Rutowicz was seen buying more alcohol using the bank card of the suspected victim.
Videos on phone
This morning the court were shown films retrieved from Mr Rutowicz’s phone, timestamped at 5am and 7am on December 20.
They showed Mr Balciauskas still alive but beaten with bruises all over his hands and face whilst inside the Mayfield Grove flat.
The videos showed the two men attempting to give Mr Balciauskas cigarettes and something to drink.
Police later retrieved a photo of the victim taken at 12.04pm that day where he was apparently dead and wrapped in a rug.
More alcohol
An hour before the videos of Mr Balciauskas beaten but still alive were filmed, Mr Rutowicz and Mr Koreiva were seen on CCTV ordering a taxi to Pannal’s BP petrol station to buy more alcohol before returning to the property.
Mr Rutowicz was seen leaving Mayfield Grove at around 10am the next day to buy more alcohol. He was again seen using Mr Balciauskas’s bank card to buy more alcohol at 2pm.
At around 11pm, Mr Rutowicz was captured on CCTV leaving the flat to go to Asda on Bower Street when the 999 call took place.
Arresting officer PC Joseph Horne gave a statement to the court that said Mr Rutowicz was crying and talking on the way to the police station.
PC Horne said:
“I couldn’t understand what he was saying because of his thick accent. When in custody he said ‘It was an accident, my brother is dead I will show you how he did it’.”
The trial continues tomorrow.
