Murderer fell asleep after ‘brutally’ killing man in Harrogate

Police have revealed they found murderer Vitalijus Koreiva asleep in the same flat as his victim when they went to investigate.

Gracijus Balciauskas, 41, was killed on Mayfield Grove on December 20, 2021.

Vitalijus Koreiva, 37, and Jaroslaw Rutowicz, 39, were jailed for murder and manslaughter respectively at Leeds Crown Court this morning.

After the sentencing, North Yorkshire Police described how the shocking incident unfolded.

Supermarket staff dialled 999 after being approached by a man who told them “someone is dead”.

Rutowicz took officers to the flat on Mayfield Grove where they found the body of a man wrapped in a large rug in a bedroom. A post mortem later showed he had suffered severe injuries to his head and torso.

Koreiva, who was asleep on the sofa, was arrested along with Rutowicz.

The crime scene at the flat on Mayfield Grove in December 2021. Picture: the Stray Ferret.

The crime scene at the flat on Mayfield Grove in December 2021. 

Police analysed Rutowicz’s phone and found “disturbing and graphic videos” showing assaults on the victim on the day of his death.

In one clip, filmed at 5.52am, the victim was kicked in the head and in the ribs, and cried out in pain.

In another clip, filmed at 7.02am, Rutowicz, who was holding the phone, tried to roll the victim over and give him a cigarette. A clip filmed at 7.21am showed the victim lying on the floor with his eyes closed.

In interview, Koreiva told police he had gone to sleep and when he woke up he found Mr Balciauskas dead on the floor, and got a rug to put over him.

Separately, Rutowicz told officers that Koreiva had assaulted him before attacking the victim. But both Koreiva and Rutowicz were charged in connection with his death.

North Yorkshire Police today released CCTV showing Koreiva and Rutowicz buying alcohol hours before the attack happened.

 

Read more on the case:

Jailing Koreiva for life this morning, Judge Rodney Jameson KC told him the attack need not have been fatal “had you not tried to drunkenly cover up what you had done”.

Rutowicz was jailed for 12 years for the manslaughter of Mr Balciauskas.

Jaroslaw Rutowicz and Vitalijus Koreiva.

Guilty: Jaroslaw Rutowicz (left) and Vitalijus Koreiva.

DCI Jonathan Sygrove, from North Yorkshire Police’s major investigation team, said: 

“The level of violence used against Gracijus Balciauskas was nothing short of brutal. The victim was subjected to a horrific assault, which led to his death. And shockingly, Mr Balciauskas was filmed with a mobile phone while he lay dying.

“When they were interviewed, Koreiva and Rutowicz blamed each other, but ultimately the evidence showed their involvement. It is right that they have now been brought to justice, and must face the consequences of their actions.”

‘A friendly and jovial person’

In a statement issued following today’s sentencing, Mr Balciauskas’ family said:

“As a family we have been deeply affected by Gracijus’ death. We will always remember him as a friendly and jovial person. Even as the months pass, the pain of his loss still remains.

“We want to deeply thank the officers and investigators at North Yorkshire Police with the investigation and doing everything they could to bring justice for him and for all of us too. We also give thanks to Victim Support for supporting us through something that no family should ever go through.

“We also thank everyone at the Harrogate Homeless Unit for supporting Gracijus any way they could when he was still alive.”

Man sentenced to life in prison for Harrogate Mayfield Grove murder

A man has been sentenced to life in prison after brutally murdering Gracijus Balciauskas at a flat on Mayfield Grove in Harrogate last year.

Vitalijus Koreiva, 37, was jailed at Leeds Crown Court this morning after being found guilty of murder by a jury in July.

Polish national Jaroslaw Rutowicz, 39, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for manslaughter for his part in the crime.

Mr Balciauskas, from Lithuania, was just 41 years old when he was killed.

Wrapped in a rug

The sentencing comes as a trial in July heard that Mr Balciauskas’s body was found wrapped in a rug after a lengthy drinking binge involving the three friends turned violent on December 20, 2021.

CCTV footage was shown of the men leaving the flat to buy more alcohol on several occasions in the hours leading to the murder.

Rutowicz told the court how Koreiva, who is Lithuanian, erupted during a drunken game of chess with Mr Balciauskas at 5am, which led to Koreiva punching and then kicking him.

Read more on the trial:

Harrowing video footage taken on Rutowicz’s phone of a bloodied and bruised Mr Balciauskas was shown in court. The clips showed him being kicked by Koreiva whilst he was laying defenceless on the floor pleading for help.

In one of the videos, Rutowicz was heard shouting at Mr Balciauskas in Polish:

“Why the f*** did you send us there? Now you look like this.”

During the trial, Rutowicz said he had been threatened by Koreiva with his life if he called 999 after Mr Balciauskas died. He said Koreiva’s nickname in Harrogate was the “crazy Russian” and he had an unpredictable character.

Gracijus Balciauskas

Murder victim Gracijus Balciauskas pictured in Knaresborough.

However, prosecuting barrister Peter Moulson QC poured scorn on his claim and accused Rutowicz of lying.

Mr Balciauskas died of internal bleeding after being kicked in the spleen and suffering multiple injuries to the torso.

‘Drunken cover up’

Judge Rodney Jameson KC told Koreiva this morning that Mr Balciauskas’ injuries would not have been fatal “had you not tried to drunkly cover up what you had done”.

Addressing Rutowicz, Judge Jameson described his actions as “calculating” and that he wanted to “avoid responsibility”.

He said:

“You could have prevented this from happening, but instead you chose to encourage it.

“You spent many hours considering how to avoid responsibility.”

Koreiva will serve a minimum of 13 years in prison before he is considered for parole. Should he be released, he will spend the rest of his life on licence.

Boroughbridge man faces jail after man dies

Two men are facing jail following the death of a man in “terrible” scenes of violence.

Thomas Cressey, of Church Lane, Boroughbridge, and Benjamin Calvert, 22, from Sowerby, appeared at Leeds Crown Court this morning when judge Tom Bayliss KC told them both to expect jail.

Calvert, of Kings Gardens, pleaded guilty to manslaughter or unlawful killing of Alan Barefoot in Thirsk Market Place.

Cressey had already admitted affray, or threatening unlawful violence towards Mr Barefoot, when he appeared at York Magistrates’ Court in August.

Read more:

The incident occurred in October last year.

Judge Bayliss adjourned the case for sentence in about five weeks’ time. He told the defendants:

“This is a terrible matter. You, Benjamin Calvert, pleaded guilty to unlawfully killing of Alan Barefoot.

“You must understand that inevitably there’s going to be a prison sentence and you must prepare yourself for that.”

He told Cressey that he too shouldn’t be “too optimistic” about his prospects because he was “part of this (violence)”, adding:

“This is a serious matter and you must prepare yourself for custody as well.”

Both men were granted bail until the sentence hearing on October 21.

Woman denies attempted murder in Bilton

A 44-year-old woman denied attempted murder in Bilton when she appeared in court today.

Clare Bailey, of The Riddings, Dudley, appeared before Leeds Crown Court this morning to face the charge.

Ms Bailey, who appeared by via video link from Low Newton Prison, near Durham, spoke only to confirm her name and date of birth before entering a plea of not guilty.

She is alleged to have attempted to murder the named woman at a house on Byland Road, Bilton, on Thursday, June 23, this year.

The court set a trial date of December 12, 2022, which is scheduled to last for five days.

Read more:

 

Ex-Harrogate guest house owner Yoko Banks given court ultimatum

Former Harrogate guest house owner Yoko Banks was told today she would not be allowed to change solicitors again after the latest attempt to recover any gains from her crime was adjourned.

Banks, 74, of Scargill Road, was jailed for three-and-a-half years in August 2021 for renting out her properties to an Albanian drug gang for “industrial” cannabis production “in the expectation of significant profit”.

She appeared at Leeds Crown Court today via a link from New Hall Prison in West Yorkshire for a confiscation hearing.

It was the latest in a series of attempts to recover any financial gain under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

A previous hearing in May was postponed when the court heard Banks intended to appeal her conviction and wanted to leave her legal team in favour of another firm of solicitors.

At the hearing before that in January, the Crown said it was not yet in a position to make a financial confiscation ruling because Banks’ defence team needed more time to delve into her “complicated” accounts and extensive “property empire”.

The court heard today she intended to change solicitors again but Judge Christopher Batty told her there was “absolutely no way” he would permit this.

He told her she either had to stick with current solicitor Sian Barber or “deal with it by yourself”.

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Ms Barber said she had spoken with Banks, who has been granted legal aid, for the first time this morning and had 600 pages of notes to go through.

She added she was due to meet Banks again next month and therefore requested an adjournment.

In adjourning the case until November 4, Judge Batty said it had been a “wretched hearing”.

Michael Bosomworth, prosecuting, said:

“Her case has been dreadfully complicated. Frankly, she has messed everyone around for months.”

London gang

Banks was sentenced in August 2021, after the court heard that a London gang had invested tens of thousands of pounds into three cannabis factories at Banks’ properties on Alexandra Road, Woodlands Road and Somerset Road near Harrogate town centre.

The criminals had even dug a trench outside the three-storey Edwardian villa on Alexandra Road through which they fed electricity cables to the house to power the “highly sophisticated” cultivation system and bypass the electricity grid.

Their plot unravelled when police were called to the five-bedroom villa on September 26, 2020, after reports of a “disturbance” in the street involving what appeared to be two rival gangs vying for the cannabis farm.

‘Crazy Russian’ found guilty of murder at Harrogate’s Mayfield Grove

A man nicknamed the ‘crazy Russian’ has been found guilty of brutally murdering Gracijus Balciauskas at a flat on Mayfield Grove, Harrogate in December last year.

After two days of deliberation, the jury at Leeds Crown Court found Vitalijus Koreiva guilty by a majority verdict of 11-1.

Polish national Jaroslaw Rutowicz was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter by a majority of 11-1. Judge Rodney Jameson QC told him he will also receive a “substantial custodial sentence”.

Mr Balciauskas, from Lithuania, was just 41 years old when he was killed.

Body wrapped in a rug

The trial began last month with the court hearing how Mr Balciauskas’s body was found wrapped in a rug after a lengthy drinking binge involving the three friends turned violent.

CCTV footage was shown of the men leaving the flat to buy more alcohol on several occasions in the hours leading to the murder.

Rutowicz told the court how Koreiva, who is Lithuanian, erupted during a drunken game of chess with Mr Balciauskas at 5am, which led to Koreiva punching and then kicking him.

Read more on the trial:

Harrowing video footage taken on Rutowicz’s phone of a bloodied and bruised Mr Balciauskas was shown in court. The clips showed him being kicked by Koreiva whilst he was laying defenceless on the floor pleading for help.

In one of the videos, Rutowicz was heard shouting at Mr Balciauskas in Polish, “Why the f*** did you send us there? Now you look like this”.

‘The crazy Russian’

During the trial, Rutowicz said he had been threatened by Koreiva with his life if he called 999 after Mr Balciauskas died. He said Koreiva’s nickname in Harrogate was the “crazy Russian” and he had an unpredictable character.

However, prosecuting barrister Peter Moulson QC poured scorn on his claim and accused Rutowicz of lying.

Last week, Koreiva pleaded guilty to manslaughter after telling the court he had been an alcoholic since he was 13. He argued he was not in control of his actions on the night Mr Balciauskas died, which the jury ultimately rejected.

Mr Balciauskas died of internal bleeding after being kicked in the spleen. The prosecution told the jury he could have been saved if either man had called an ambulance sooner.

Instead, the pair carried on their drinking session.

Koreiva and Rutowicz will be sentenced next month.

Harrogate man ‘out of his mind’ on alcohol admits attacking friend

Vitalijus Koreiva has admitted punching and kicking Gracijus Balciauskas during a drunken argument but that he was “out of his mind” on alcohol during the weekend he died.

Mr Koreiva, 36, and Jaroslaw Rutowicz, 39, are accused of murdering Mr Balciauskas at a flat on Mayfield Grove in Harrogate on December 20 last year.

Yesterday afternoon and today at Leeds Crown Court, Mr Koreiva was cross-examined by defence barrister Simon Kealey QC and prosecuting barrister Peter Moulson QC.

The court heard how Mr Koreiva, who is Lithuanian, had abused alcohol since he was 13 and there were periods during his life when he was drinking a litre of vodka a day or “until I get knocked out”.

He moved to Harrogate in 2017 to move in with his sister in a failed attempt to get sober and had previously been in prison in Germany for drug offences.

Mr Koreiva said he was working at the Morrison’s factory in Flaxby packing onions and carrots and had developed a friendship with both Mr Rutowicz and Mr Balciauskas whilst living in Harrogate.

Read previous articles on the trial below:

Game of chess

Mr Koreiva disputed Mr Rutowicz previous claim that the argument took place over a game of chess but said he could not remember how it began.

The court heard how on in the early hours of December 20, Mr Koreiva erupted after Mr Balciauskas told him to “go f*** himself”.

Mr Koreiva then said he raised his fists in aggression and punched Mr Balciauskas four times in the face.

A video was again shown in court, taken on Mr Rutowicz’s phone, that showed Mr Koreiva kicking him whilst Mr Balciauskas was laying bloody on the floor and semi-conscious.

When asked why he kicked a defenceless man, Mr Koreiva said:

“I was in such a state I didn’t know what I was thinking or doing.”

He then said he “did not remember” what happened after he kicked Mr Balciauskas.

‘I was in shock’

After several hours passed without either man calling an ambulance, Mr Rutowicz felt his pulse and told Mr Koreiva that he was dead. Mr Koreiva said he attempted CPR to try and save him.

“I had two hands on his chest and I was doing CPR. I saw the blood in his mouth at that moment Rutowicz said, ‘It’s too late, leave it, leave it.

“I was in shock. I couldn’t believe it. It was unexpected really.”

Mr Koreiva then said the pair had a drink of alcohol together “to give our last respect for Gracijus, a drink for our friend.”

Speaking about the assault on Mr Balciauskas, he added:

“If I was sober it would never have happened. I was out of control.”

‘Out of our minds’

Mr Koreiva also admitted to putting Mr Balciauskas’s dead body in a rug after he died. He said both himself and Mr Rutowicz were “absolutely out of our minds and in madness”.

He added:

“We didn’t know what we were doing. You can’t imagine me and Rutowicz carrying a dead body through Harrogate town centre? It was a situation when you are drunk, lost and don’t know to do.”

During cross-examination, Mr Rutowicz claimed that Mr Koreiva threatened him with his life he called 999, which he denied.

He said:

“He is trying to get out of prison. I wasn’t holding him or threatening him. He was free to go. He’s lying. He’s a good actor.”

Police interview

In Mr Koreiva’s original statement given in the days after the incident took place, he told police that he saw Mr Rutowicz strike Mr Balciauskas twice.

However, in court, he admitted this was not true and he initially tried to “create another version” of events because he feared Rutowitc would pin the murder on him.

Mr Koreiva confirmed that he did not see Mr Rutowicz be violent towards Mr Balciauskas on the night that he died.

He told the court, “I’m taking my responsibility for the death of Gracijus” who he called a “good man”.

Mr Koreiva added:

“I want to apologise to Gracijus’ family for everything that happened. He did nothing wrong and he didn’t deserve this”.

The trial will continue tomorrow.

Doubt cast on Harrogate murder suspect’s claim

Doubt has been cast on a murder suspect’s claim that he was not involved in the death of Gracijus Balciauskas at a flat on Mayfield Grove in Harrogate last year.

Jaroslaw Rutowicz, 39, and Vitalijus Koreiva, 36, are accused of murdering Mr Balciauskas at a flat on Mayfield Grove in Harrogate on December 20 last year.

The trial at Leeds Crown Court began two weeks ago with the prosecution giving evidence.  The court heard how Mr Balciauskas’s body was found wrapped in a rug.

Mr Rutowicz took the stand last week to begin his defence. He claimed Mr Koreiva violently killed Gracijus Balciauskas after a drunken game of chess turned ugly — and then threatened to do the same to him if he dialled 999 for help.

Today Mr Rutowicz was cross-examined by Mr Koreiva’s barrister, Peter Moulson QC, who suggested his version of events was “simply a lie”.

‘In shock’

Much of Mr Moulson’s questioning focused on why Mr Rutowicz did not call the police until almost 18 hours after the alleged murder took place.

The court had previously been shown CCTV footage of Mr Rutowicz leaving the flat and returning several times to buy alcohol in the hours after Mr Balciauskas died.

Mr Moulson QC said:

“For almost 18 hours after your friend sustained his injuries, you went backwards and forwards to the flat voluntarily. You were never being threatened by Mr Koreiva, that is simply a lie.”

Read more:

During today’s hearing, Mr Rutowicz repeatedly said that he was in shock after witnessing the death of Mr Balciauskas.

Mr Rutowicz repeated his previous claim that he had been threatened by Mr Koreiva with his life if he called the police. He said Mr Koreiva’s nickname in Harrogate was the “crazy Russian” and he had an unpredictable character.

He said:

“It was that fear. Nobody had threatened me before in my life like that, that he would find me and kill me. As long as that aggression was there I kept coming back.”

Harrowing images

The court was again shown harrowing video images, filmed on Mr Rutowicz’s phone, of Mr Balciauskas bloodied and barely conscious after being assaulted at the flat on Mayfield Grove.

Mr Moulson QC suggested the reason he filmed the encounter was to use it as a threat against Mr Balciauskas if he “crossed” the pair again, which Mr Rutowicz denied.

He said:

“[I filmed it] so I could report to police what Vitalijus had done. I didn’t kill him. I didn’t beat him.”

The afternoon finished with Mr Koreiva on the stand beginning his evidence. The trial continues tomorrow.

Harrogate murder trial adjourned until next week

The murder trial of Vitalijus Koreiva and Jaroslaw Rutowicz has been adjourned until Monday due to problems finding a Lithuanian translator.

Mr Koreiva, 36, and Mr Rutowicz, 39, are accused of murdering Gracijus Balciauskas at a flat on Mayfield Grove in Harrogate on December 20 last year.

The trial began on Monday last week at Leeds Crown Court and was set to continue until at least the end of this week.

Mr Koreiva, who is Lithuanian, was due to take the stand this week but his translator is unavailable until Friday and the court has been unable to find another one.

One of the 12 jurors has also caught covid, so Judge Rodney Jameson QC today adjourned the trial until Monday morning.

Read more:

The trial began last week with the prosecution giving evidence.

The court heard how Mr Balciauskas’ body was found wrapped in a rug and CCTV footage was shown of the three men buying alcohol in the hours leading up to his death.

This week, the defence began with Mr Rutowicz claiming Mr Koreiva violently killed Mr Balciauskas after a drunken game of chess turned ugly — and then threatened to do the same to him if he dialled 999 for help.

Woman charged with Harrogate attempted murder enters no plea

A 44-year-old woman will appear at crown court next month charged with attempted murder in Harrogate.

Clare Bailey, of Dudley, was arrested following an incident on Byland Road in Bilton on Thursday evening last week.

She was later charged with attempted murder and appeared before York Magistrates Court yesterday, where she entered no plea to the charge.

Read more:

The case was referred to Leeds Crown Court on July 25.

A man in his 40s has been bailed after being arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder following the same incident.

North Yorkshire Police said yesterday that the man was bailed while its investigation continues.