Gracijus Balciauskas: Two men jailed after brutally beating Harrogate man to death and filming attacks on mobile phone

Gracijus Balciauskas, 41, was killed in a flat in Harrogate in December 2021.

On Monday December 20, 2021, North Yorkshire Police received a 999 call from supermarket staff, who had been approached by a man who told them that “someone is dead”.

Officers attended immediately and the man, Jaroslaw Rutowicz, took them to a property on Mayfield Grove.

Inside, the officers found the body of a man wrapped in a large rug in a bedroom.

A post mortem later showed he had suffered severe injuries to his head and torso.

Vitalijus Koreiva, 37, was also found in the room where the body was found. He had been asleep on the sofa.

Both he and Rutowicz were both arrested.

Police analysed Rutowicz’s phone and found disturbing and graphic videos showing assaults on the victim on the day of his death.

In one clip, filmed at 5.52am, the victim is kicked in the head and in the ribs, and cries out in pain.

In another clip, filmed at 7.02am, Rutowicz, who is holding the phone, tries to roll the victim over and give him a cigarette.

A clip filmed at 7.21am shows the victim lying on the floor with his eyes closed.

In interview, Koreiva told police he had gone to sleep and when he woke up he found Gracijus Balciauskas dead on the floor, and got a rug to put over him.

Separately, Rutowicz told officers that Koreiva had assaulted him before attacking the victim.

DCI Jonathan Sygrove, from North Yorkshire Police’s Major Investigation Team, said: “The level of violence used against Gracijus Balciauskas was nothing short of brutal.

"The victim was subjected to a horrific assault, which led to his death.

"And shockingly, Mr Balciauskas was filmed with a mobile phone while he lay dying.

“When they were interviewed, Koreiva and Rutowicz blamed each other, but ultimately the evidence showed their involvement. It is right that they have now been brought to justice, and must face the consequences of their actions.”

Two men have been jailed after the shocking and brutal death of a man in Harrogate.

Koreiva, 37, was found guilty of murder.

Rutowicz, 39, was found guilty of his manslaughter.

At Leeds Crown Court on Thursday, September 22 Koreiva was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Rutowicz was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment.

In a statement, Gracijus’ family said: “As a family we have been deeply affected by Gracijus’ death. We will always remember him as a friendly and jovial person. Even as the months pass, the pain of his loss still remains.

“We want to deeply thank the officers and investigators at North Yorkshire Police with the investigation and doing everything they could to bring justice for him and for all of us too.

"We also give thanks to Victim Support for supporting us through something that no family should ever go through. We also thank everyone at the Harrogate Homeless Unit for supporting Gracijus any way they could when he was still alive.”