Courts / Dublin / Report

'Like the movie Carrie': 12 years for mentally ill man who killed partner in 'sexual game'

Date
2022-01-18

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

A 25‑year‑old Latvian man, Valerijs Leitons, was sentenced to 13 years in prison with the final year suspended for five years, after a jury found him guilty of manslaughter with substantially diminished responsibility for the stabbing death of 34‑year‑old Latvian translator Valdgeima at the Binary Hub aparthotel in Dublin on 26 June 2019. Leitons, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and had stopped taking his medication, told investigators that he and Valdgeima were "playing a sexual game" and that he believed she was an enemy agent. He stabbed her more than 50 times, killing her. The judge noted that the mental disorder could diminish but not eliminate his culpability, and set a headline sentence of 15 years, reduced to 13 years with a suspended year. The case was heard at the Central Criminal Court, with witnesses describing the attack as brutal and pre‑meditated, and the victim's family delivering impact statements. The unnamed 25-year-old pleaded not guilty.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: 'Like the movie Carrie': 12 years for mentally ill man who killed partner in 'sexual game'. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

June 2019 Other
26 June 2019 Other
May 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
June 27, 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
Tuesday 25 June Other
February 2018 Incident
February 2019 Incident
2022-01-18 Publication

Why: Ms Valdgeima was stabbed over 50 times at an aparthotel in Dublin in June 2019 because her killer believed she was an enemy agent with a weapon sent to harm him. CNI source report

Case subjects

Unnamed 25-year-old

Accused

Plea: Not guilty

Outcome: A man with paranoid schizophrenia who stabbed a woman he was having an affair with to death during what he described as "a sexual game" has been jailed for 12 years. Leitons was sentenced to 13 years in prison with the final year suspended for a period of five years.