London: A Lithuanian national arrested in
the UK for the twin murders of Indian-origin Avtar Singh Kolar
and his British wife in Birmingham earlier this month, was
found hanging in jail, the police said on Tuesday.
"HMP Woodhill prisoner Rimvydas Liorancas was found
hanging in his cell at 8.52am on Saturday 28 January," a
Prison Service spokesman said.
He said the staff attempted resuscitation and paramedics
attended but he was pronounced dead at 9.30am. "As with all
deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will
conduct an investigation," he said.
A West Midlands Police spokesman said they were informed
by the Ministry of Justice of the death of Liorancas on
Saturday January 28 at Woodhill Prison in Thames Valley.
The sensational murders of Kolar, 62, and Carole, 58,
sparked off a major investigation called `Operation Tiler` by
the West Midlands Police.
Their bodies were found by their police detective son
Jason Kolar in their house on 10 January.
Liorancas, 37, was arrested on January 16, and charged
with the two murders.
The West Midlands Police said the investigation would
continue into the murders. The couple`s four children have
been informed of the latest development.
"The investigation into the deaths of Avtar and Carole
will continue and the completed findings will now be presented
to the Coroner at the Inquest," the police spokesman said.
"The family of Carole and Avtar were informed at the
earliest possible stage of the news and we are continuing to
support them," he said.
Forensic postmortem examinations confirmed that
Kolar and Carole died as a result of blunt force trauma to the
head.
Both had been struck a number of times.
Two others arrested in connection with the case were
earlier released without charge.
The police had ruled out theft of gold as a motive for
the murder, and said a number of items that were stolen from
the Kolars house had been recovered.
There was also no link to the fact that the couple`s son,
Jason Kolar, is a serving officer in the West Midlands Police.
PTI
