More than 18 years of imprisonment. This decision was made on Tuesday by the Latgale District Court in Daugavpils in the case of the murder of Andris Lubka, committed in November 2023 in Rezekne near the building materials store. The reason for the crime turned out to be extremely absurd — a verbal conflict over a domestic situation that occurred on the same day between Lubka and Igor Khait's wife in the parking lot of another store, reports the show Degpunktā (TV3).
The shooting near the "KSenukai" store occurred in broad daylight. Shots were fired at entrepreneur Andris Lubka, which turned out to be fatal. The man died on the spot, and the attacker, who was with his son-in-law, got into a car and fled, as reported by TV3.
Soon, both the accomplice Konstantin Belokurov and the main accused — 48-year-old Igor Khait — were identified. More than two years later, the first-instance court issued a verdict: he will spend 18 years behind bars.
On that fateful day, Lubka, along with his employee, encountered Khait's wife in another parking lot. A verbal altercation occurred over a wrongly parked car. The woman called her husband, complained, and sent a photograph of Lubka's car license plate.
Khait, along with his son-in-law, headed towards his wife, but on the way, he noticed the car in question, and their path led to the building materials store. There, Lubka planned to meet his wife and granddaughter. The video recordings show Khait approaching Lubka's car, and a conversation lasting about half a minute takes place between them.
"In the video, it can be seen that he turns around, approaches his 'Volkswagen Touareg,' which he arrived in, and retrieves a bag from the front passenger seat, inside which is some object. He holds it with one hand. The object looks like a firearm. He reloads his weapon (...), approaches the victim, directing the bag towards him. The victim grabs the weapon by the edge of the bag, and a struggle ensues between them," described the events on the recording by Ivars Kabulis, prosecutor of the Latgale District Prosecutor's Office.
While Lubka and Khait were fighting, a conflict also occurred between Belokurov and Lubka's employee. Lubka's wife witnessed her husband's murder.
"At one point, she sees sparks appearing in his chest, he falls backward, and essentially remains lying there," noted the prosecutor.
The murder weapon has still not been found. The defense is likely to appeal the verdict. Meanwhile, Belokurov, who drove Khait away from the crime scene, is charged as an accomplice to murder under aggravating circumstances, as well as for stealing a bag from Lubka's car. His case has been separated into a separate criminal proceeding, and the trial continues.
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