Four women killed over three days
The victims were Lilija Galkauskienė, Eugenija Birgiolaitė, Kazimiera Labanauskienė and Jadvyga Grigulaitė. They lived in or were connected to Kražiai, a small town in Kelmė District. One victim was a social worker visiting an older resident.
The crimes occurred between 2 and 4 November 2015. The women were killed in separate homes, but investigators treated the deaths as one connected sequence rather than independent cases.
Multiple discoveries revealed a connected sequence
On 4 November, residents and authorities discovered four deaths in Kražiai. The concentration of victims, their locations and the short time window prompted a rapid investigation and community-wide search for a suspect.
Bekintis was detained and brought before court on 5 November. Early reports correctly described him as a suspect at that stage; this file uses the word convicted only for the status established by the 2017 judgment.
Prosecutors charged murder and robbery
After an extensive inquiry by Telšiai County police, the Šiauliai Regional Prosecutor's Office sent the case to court in August 2016. The indictment alleged that Bekintis, while intoxicated and seeking more alcohol, asked women he knew to lend him money and killed them when they refused or gave him too little.
Prosecutors charged him under aggravated-murder provisions addressing multiple victims, vulnerable victims, extreme cruelty and financial motive, together with robbery charges. The case was presented as one sequence involving four victims and was not fragmented into separate archive entries.
The court imposed life imprisonment
On 27 January 2017, the Šiauliai Regional Court found Rimantas Bekintis guilty of murdering and robbing the four women. It imposed life imprisonment, the sentence sought by the prosecution.
Reporting on the judgment emphasized the repeated targeting of women for small amounts of money and the defendant's prior criminal record. Those circumstances informed sentencing, but they do not diminish the individuality of the four victims.
The judgment became final without appeal
Bekintis did not appeal the life sentence. By March 2017, the time for challenging the judgment had passed, making the conviction and sentence final.
Bekintis died at Pravieniškės Correction House in November 2020 while serving the sentence. The current classification is solved and adjudicated: one defendant was convicted for all four murders, the judgment became final and no unresolved offender is asserted in the published record used here.
Timeline
- 2–4 November 2015 — The four murders and associated robberies occur in Kražiai.
- 4 November 2015 — The deaths are discovered and police connect the cases.
- 5 November 2015 — Bekintis is brought before court as a murder suspect.
- 24 August 2016 — Prosecutors announce that the completed case has been sent to the Šiauliai Regional Court.
- 27 January 2017 — Bekintis is convicted of four murders and robberies and sentenced to life imprisonment.
- March 2017 — The judgment becomes final after no appeal is filed.
- 2 November 2020 — Bekintis dies in prison while serving the life sentence.
Frequently asked questions
Who were the four victims?
Lilija Galkauskienė, Eugenija Birgiolaitė, Kazimiera Labanauskienė and Jadvyga Grigulaitė.
When did the crimes occur?
The prosecution placed them between 2 and 4 November 2015 in Kražiai.
Who was convicted?
The Šiauliai Regional Court convicted Rimantas Bekintis of murdering and robbing all four women.
What sentence became final?
Life imprisonment. Bekintis did not appeal the January 2017 judgment.
What is the present status?
The case is solved and adjudicated. Bekintis died in prison in November 2020.