Igors Petrovs: Two men convicted after beating man and dumping body in Lincoln river

A man has been convicted of murder after a man was beaten and dumped in a Lincolnshire river.

The body of Igors Petrovs, was pulled from the River Witham in the Waterside North area of Lincoln on 24 August last year after being found by a passer-by.

Andrejs Servutas, 44, of Monks Road, in Lincoln was found guilty following a trial at Lincoln Crown Court.

His co-accused Kaspars Spiridonovs, 41, had also denied the murder but was convicted of a charge of manslaughter.

The court heard how on the night of his murder, Igors had been drinking with Spiridonovs, who had an argument with his partner and walked off.

Later that night there were then several phone calls between Igors and Spiridinovs between 12.09am and 12.26am, before all three men came together at Waterside North at around 12.30am.

A CCTV camera nearby recorded Igors’ bike being thrown into the water, before an attack lasting two minutes was carried out.

The footage showed him being repeatedly struck as he lay on the ground, before being lifted up and tipped over the railings by Servutas. He then climbed over the railings and pushed Igors into the river.

A post mortem concluded that he was either dead or nearly dead when he was tipped over the railings. The exact cause of death was never established.

No clear motive was ever found, but the jury was told how Igors knew both men, and that Servutas had previously assaulted him in summer 2021.

DCI Jennifer Lovatt led the investigation. She said: “This was a senseless act of violence, and one where the defendants took deliberate steps to see Igors come to serious harm.

The audio captured Servutas saying that he pushed Igors into the water and he died, before Spiridonovs replied, saying ‘you hit him to his face and the rest.’

"This audio did not tell the story of two people who regretted their actions; instead, they discussed removing the body from the water, which they said would be ‘heavy’, and acknowledged that the cameras in the local area would have captured the crime, and then discussed ensuring their version of events were the same.

"We have worked very hard on a challenging investigation to be able to bring justice for the family Igors leaves behind, and today’s verdict has done that.”

The two men will be sentenced on 18 May.

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