Fisherman who killed and threw man overboard awaits sentencing

A 36 year-old Latvian fisherman who killed a fellow countryman in a fight and threw his body over the side of a fishing trawler into Howth Harbour will be sentenced for manslaughter next week.

Mr Justice Paul Carney heard that Sergejs Lavrinovics choked 35-year-old Igors Bondarenko in a “fight to the death” and threw his body overboard with the help of two co accused, Andrijans Ubelis (aged 32) and Freddy Grenzman (aged 36).

Mr Lavrinovics pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the deceased and the two co-accused admitted aiding and abetting him on the ‘Miraculous’ trawler at Howth Harbour on a date between September 18 and October 4, 2006. The three men had been living on the trawler at the time of the killing.

Detective Sergeant Gary Kelly told Denis Vaughan Buckley SC, prosecuting, that the three men had no previous convictions but said the deceased had spent “most of his adult life in prison in Latvia”.

Mr Bondarenko was jailed in July 1990 for the rape of an underage female and for charges of theft and hooliganism. He was released in 1994 but returned to prison the next year to serve 11 years for robbery.

Det. Sgt. Kelly told the court that the victim then came to Ireland and worked on trawlers but he did not last and began to target Eastern European men for extortion purposes.

His body was found floating in Howth Harbour in late 2006 with a rope and chain tied to his ankle. Dr. Michael Curtis carried out a post mortem and found high levels of alcohol in his blood. Dr. Curtis initially thought he had drowned but later determined the victim had been choked to death.

Det. Sgt. Kelly said the dead man had attempted and failed to get money from Lavrinovics and had become very angry. They then met at friend’s a birthday party in September 2006 where they fought over a watch. The deceased told Lavrinovics that he had had sex with his mother and made threats against his family.

Lavrinovics, who admitted his involvement when arrested for questioning, told gardaí that after the party the deceased had been looking for an opportunity to beat him up and arrived at his trawler on the night he died.

Erwin Mill Arden SC, defending, said the deceased arrived at his client’s cabin armed with a metal fishing implement. Lavrinovics got up and scuffled with the deceased, throwing the implement overboard. Mr Mill Arden said his client felt it was, "either going to be him or the deceased" and they began a “fight to the death”.

Lavrinovics told gardaí the victim repeated threats against his family and said he would break his sister’s legs. Lavrinovics said he choked the deceased as he sat on top of him. He then smoked a cigarette to calm down and checked for a pulse. When he realised the victim was dead he decided to throw his body overboard as he was afraid he would be sent to prison in Latvia.

The two co-accused were downstairs in their bunks during the fight. Ubleis told gardaí that he heard the deceased threaten to kill Lavrinovics. The two men left after the fight but returned to help Lavrinovics when he realised he needed help to throw the body into the water.

He told gardaí: “I was lucky, otherwise I would have been dead”. Gardaí approached the three defendants after another Eastern European man provided them with information following an arrest for drunk driving.

Luan O Braonain SC said Grenzman was relieved when the truth came out and was glad the deceased would get a proper burial.

Mr Vaughan Buckley told the court that the deceased man’s father was dead and that his mother had declined to come to Ireland or provide a victim impact statement.

Mr Justice Carney said he would sentence the men next Monday.