Man Dumped in River Witham in Brutal Murder
Igors Petrovs, 45, was dumped “unceremoniously” into the River Witham in Lincoln just after midnight on 21 August 2022. His lifeless body was found three days later at 8am by a passer-by.
Killer Caught After Jury Deliberation
Andrejs Servutas, 44, from Monks Road, Lincoln, was convicted of murder at Lincoln Crown Court on 17 March after two days of jury deliberations. Servutas had initially denied the charge.
Another man, Kaspars Spiridonovs, 41, of Stamp End, Lincoln, was cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter. Both men had been charged following a lengthy investigation.
Chilling CCTV Shows Attack and Body Dump
The court heard how on the night of the killing, Igors had been drinking with Spiridonovs, who walked off after an argument with his partner. Phone calls between Igors and Spiridonovs took place just before 12.30am, when all three men met at Waterside North.
- CCTV captured Igors’ bike being thrown into the river.
- An attack lasting two minutes showed Igors being repeatedly punched while on the ground.
- Servutas then pushed Igors over the railings into the water.
The footage showed Igors sinking unresponsive as soon as he hit the water. A post-mortem revealed he was dead or near-death before being pushed in. The exact cause of death remains unknown.
Cold-Blooded Aftermath Caught on Audio
Servutas and Spiridonovs lingered nearby for 45 minutes after the attack. Nearby audio picked up their conversation—chillingly, they talked about removing Igors’ body from the river and trying to align their stories. Servutas admitted to pushing Igors into the water and his death, while Spiridonovs confirmed the violent assault.
No clear motive was established, but it emerged that Igors had a past conflict with Servutas, who had assaulted him in summer 2021. Igors had also been in a relationship with Servutas’ partner.
Forensics and Police Work Seal the Case
Lincolnshire Police and the East Midlands Special Operations Unit’s Major Crime Unit led the probe. They recovered Igors’ bike and belongings from the river. DNA evidence linked both defendants to the victim.
DCI Jennifer Lovatt said:
“This was a senseless act of violence. The defendants took deliberate steps to see Igors come to serious harm. The audio captured Servutas saying he pushed Igors into the water, and that he died. Spiridonovs replied, ‘you hit him to his face and the rest.’This was not two people regretting their actions. They planned how to remove the body and talked about the cameras capturing their crime. We have worked tirelessly to bring justice for Igors’ family. Today’s verdict achieves that.”
Spiridonovs had earlier pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice after lying about seeing Igors and being with Servutas on the night of the murder.
Both men are due to be sentenced on 18 May.
