A Lithuanian who stabbed a fellow countryman to death at the West London house they shared during a heavy drinking-session – then fled to France – has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
Eineris Olsevicius, 27, (pic.bottom) was convicted of murdering 21 year-old Tomas Lapsevic (pic.top) at 12 Hyde Way, Hayes in the early hours of August 30, 2009.
Olsevicius, who headed north to Scotland then caught ferry to France after the stabbing, will serve a minimum of fourteen years after his Old Bailey conviction.
Police were called at 3:00am and found the lifeless body of the victim slumped in the hallway.
He had been stabbed in the chest with a six-inch kitchen knife.
Olsevicius and Lapsevic had been out drinking with friends on Saturday night and continued boozing “heavily” when they returned home.
Suddenly a fight broke out between the victim and the defendant, and Lapsevic was fatally stabbed with a knife taken from the kitchen.
Another man received a serious stab wound to his arm as he attempted to break up the fight.
The defendant was driven north by a friend and despite being stopped on the M6 for no car insurance he was able to continue his journey to Glenrothes and on to Frances.
In October 2009 a BBC ‘Crimewatch’ appeal led detectives to Nice, where French officers arrested Olsevicius on a European Arrest Warrant on August 31, last year as he sat in an internet café.
He was extradited on September 16 and officers met him at Gatwick Airport and charged him with murder.
Detective Inspector Tony Bishop of the Homicide and Serious Crime Command said: “Once again we have seen the appalling consequences of young men going out, consuming vast quantities of alcohol and then becoming involved in violent, meaningless arguments, where the use of a knife has produced the death of one young man and a serious injury to another.
“Tomas Lapsevic was an only child and no-one could have been unmoved by his Mother's impact statement in which she described not only losing her son but also the fact that she now faced a very uncertain and lonely future in Lithuania where, by tradition, children bear the responsibility of looking after their elderly parents.
“I would also like to pay tribute to my team who used their specialist skills and knowledge to track and ultimately arrest the suspect, despite him fleeing initially to Scotland and then onto France”
Olsevicius’s friend who helped him escape, 26 year-old Viktoras Shecharas, admitted perverting the course of justice and was jailed for two-and-a-half years.
He will be deported to Lithuania on his release.
The victim’s mother Leokadija Lapsevic, 52, said: “The death of my only son Tomas has changed my life, both, mentally, emotionally and financially.
“The sudden and brutal death of my son left me unable to realize and believe what had happened until his remains reached Lithuania.
“It took about a month and half and during that time I was not myself, living unconscious of what I was doing and how I was doing things.
“During that period, I was so baffled that friends and acquaintances had to help me with all the solemnities.
“I did not know how to get the money for transportation of my son’s remains to Lithuania and for the funeral.
“I have borrowed some money from friends and have taken a bank loan. I have still been in debt.
“It has ruined my health. I became insomniac and depressed. After the funeral, spells of depression have occured again and again, I have started losing my hair and have been suffering from high blood pressure.
“I have to take sedatives and medicine against hypertension all the time. I have been seeing a counselling psychologist. I have not been able to put up with the loss of my son yet.
“I have been preoccupied with ideas about him only. Whatever I do, it seems to me he is still around. I rush home but when I open the door I can see only an empty space, just a speechless picture of Tomas meets and greets me.
“Tomas would take care of me in all ways, he helped with the housework, supported me emotionally and financially as his income was higher.
“I am worried about my future. I had brought up my son by myself and now, having lost him, I am alone.
“I do not have anyone to support me now and in the future either. My life is no longer meaningful. I am not going to hear my son’s voice. I am not going to have growing grandchildren.
“I am afraid to look ahead. I do not know what may happen in future years and whether I will be able to survive on my pension.
“Our social services have not been developed yet. In our country, children traditionally support their aging parents and take care of them. I took care of my ill and ageing mother as my father died many years ago. Pityingly, I am not going to have such care at the end of my days.
“It took a month to screw myself up to write this letter. Recollections and the experience hindered me. Only someone who lost their only child themselves might be able to understand how I felt then, how I am feeling now and how I see my future.
“It is against nature. Parents are not supposed to bury their children.”
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