Boxer who beat friend to death after vodka binge jailed

An enraged former kickboxer who beat his friend to death with his bare hands after a night of drinking vodka just days before Christmas has been jailed.

Arvydas Maliusis, of Recorder Road, Norwich, murdered Ilja Akatjevas, 39, inside a flat in Mill House on College Street, Ipswich, on the night of 22 December.

The 38-year-old delivered a barrage of "hard and fast" punches to Akatjevas in a fit of rage, causing him to suffer fatal head, neck and facial injuries before leaving the scene.

At Ipswich Crown Court on Thursday, the Lithuanian national was given a life sentence and told he would serve a minimum of 17 years and 142 days, having previously been found guilty following a two-week trial.

During the trial, the court heard how Maliusis, Akatjevas and a 41-year-old woman had spent the night drinking litre-bottles of vodka in the flat.

But, following a disagreement, the woman was reportedly pushed by Akatjevas before Maliusis retaliated and violently attacked him.

Jurors were told how he punched him to the ground before repeatedly punching him in the face for around five minutes.

The woman said she saw blood spitting out of the victim's mouth during the assault, but she "didn't think he was going to die".

After the attack, they both left the scene, returning the next morning to find Akatjevas dead.

Maliusis called Suffolk Police, and officers arrived at 11:37 GMT on 23 December, before arresting him and the woman on suspicion of murder.

Jurors heard how Maliusis told officers he had punched Akatjevas after being attacked by him but stated, "there was no way my punches could have killed him".

The woman, now 42, was released and told she would face no further action.

But, during the trial, Stephen Rose KC, for the defendant, queried whether the woman may actually have attacked and killed Akatjevas with a model of Big Ben.

"Did you hit Ilja with that Big Ben statue?" he asked.

The woman answered "No".

Det Supt Matt Adams said Akatjevas had "lost his life as the result of an exceptionally violent and sustained attack".

"The ferocity of that assault was shocking and ultimately proved fatal," he said.

"While no conviction or sentence can bring Ilja back, we welcome today's sentence and the fact that the person responsible for taking his life has been held accountable for his actions."

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