The chairman of the Icelandic Lithuanian community says that it is not yet clear whether the murdered man also worked in construction together with the suspects.
More about this in TV3 news.
Five Lithuanians were at the epicenter of the crime committed in the southern region of Iceland’s Sudurland.
“This is called a murder,” says Neringa Eidukienė, the president of the Icelandic Lithuanian community.
According to Icelandic officials, our compatriots were working on construction there, but the work was overshadowed by the murder of one man.
“All that is known is that on Saturday, at 2 p.m. during the day, an ambulance was called. It was claimed that the person was unconscious. And since the police arrived together with the ambulance, it was clear that the person had died a violent death,” says N. Eidukienė.
Two Lithuanians are already free
Icelandic authorities immediately arrested all four workers at the scene of the murder and took them away for questioning.
“When the officers arrived at the bungalow, they immediately realized that something suspicious had happened there. It was obvious that the man did not die his own death. Both the injuries and the way the crime scene looked gave it away. The officers arrested the people at the scene and started collecting evidence,” says police inspector Jón Gunnar.
However, two detainees are already at large. The other two Lithuanians suspected of murder remain behind bars for at least a week.
“Two men were released. That’s two left, two to go. The deceased is said to be around 40 years old. We don’t really know anything else, because, as I mentioned, the police are avoiding talking for the time being,” assures the president of the Icelandic Lithuanian community.
“About 20 officers are participating in the investigation. The first hours of gathering information were critical. Now we will see how far the investigation will expand and whether the prosecutor will extend the detention of the suspects,” says Jón Gunnar.
In Iceland, the news spread quickly
The officers found the body of the murdered Lithuanian with obvious signs of violence in a workers’ cottage, in a picturesque area near the summer house they were repairing. True, it is not yet clear whether the murdered person was also a construction worker.
“As far as people are known to have worked in that place. A summer house was just being built, the roof was being covered, and there were workers. And it is not known whether that fifth person died, or whether he was working together with the rest of the men,” comments Neringa, who lives in Iceland.
The president of the Icelandic Lithuanian community regrets the accident and the fact that now the name of Lithuania is heard in Iceland in such a context.
“It was the very first report on the Sunday evening news. Of course, it is very sad to hear such news. I will repeat that Iceland is a small community in general and such events are shocking,” N. Eidukienė expresses her disappointment.
Icelandic officials do not comment to local journalists whether the detained Lithuanians were under the influence of alcohol or drugs. It also does not reveal whether there was a conflict between them before the man was killed. At that time, the construction company “Reir verk”, where the Lithuanians worked, does not share information about them and says that it learned about the murder from the media.
Learn more about it in the video report at the top of the article.
