Three men have been convicted of the murder of a Latvian man who they wrapped in a sleeping bag and dumped in the street, before going off to the shops to buy alcohol.
Sandris Abimeicevs, aged 55, was homeless and staying with three other men in a bedsit on Walford Road, Sparkbrook in November last year.
The bedsit was let to 60-year-old Russian national Olegas Borisovskis, but he had allowed Mr Abimeicevs to stay along with two other men – 44-year-old Saulius Lemezonas and 30-year-old Vytautus Medeckis, both Lithuanian born.
All four men had been drinking over a period of two to three days, but on the evening of Tuesday 6 November, a neighbour saw three men drag something down the stairs and dump it in the street before two of the men were captured on CCTV going to a local store to buy more alcohol.
Emergency services were called and the battered body of Mr Abimeicevs was found, sadly too late to save him. A post mortem examination revealed that he had been savagely beaten over the course of many hours resulting in over 50 visible injuries to his body, as well as a brain injury, broken ribs and a broken nose.
All three were arrested and in an interview, all sought to blame each other, but evidence at the scene, including bloodstains on clothing, indicated that each played a part in Mr Abimeicevs’ death.
Detective Inspector Michelle Allen, from the force’s homicide unit, said: “This was a brutal attack on a man outnumbered by the other three, who didn’t stand a chance to defend himself. He would have known extreme pain before his death and I am pleased the jury recognised that all three are culpable for his murder.
“My thoughts remain with Sandris’ family, I hope that this verdict brings them a sense of justice and allows them to start to come to terms with his tragic and senseless death.”
The defendants will be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court tomorrow (21/11).
