Lithuanian teen charged with killing compatriots

A TEENAGE Lithuanian arrested in Lancashire was remanded in custody yesterday charged with murdering two fellow countrymen in Northern Ireland.

A court in Newry, Co Down, heard that when charged he replied: “I am innocent.”

Julius Aguonis, 19, was arrested by police at a house in Shuttleworth Road, Preston.

He was taken back to Northern Ireland to be questioned by detectives, who are investigating the murders, last May, of two Lithuanians whose semi-clothed, mutilated bodies were found in undergrowth close to a golf course at Warrenpoint, Co Down.

They are believed to have been living at a house in nearby Newry, where a number of Lithuanian immigrants had been living while illegally working on mushroom farms in the area.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said officers, led by Detective Superintendent Philip Aiken, arrested the 19-year-old in Lancashire on suspicion of murder and returned him to Northern Ireland on Tuesday for questioning.

The PSNI and Scotland Yard are working together in the search for a second suspect, whom they believe to be in London.

A police spokesman said they were seeking 21-year-old Vitalijus Sedovas, who is believed to be staying with fellow Lithuanian Renaldas Bulatovis, 21, somewhere in the British capital.

A Lithuanian woman was also arrested on suspicion of assisting offenders but has since been released without charge.

Aguonis has been remanded in custody until September 25.