A 15-year-old boy suspected of murdering another teenager in Vilnius has been placed in custody for one month by court order, prosecutors said Monday.
Authorities provided no further details, citing efforts to protect the identities of both the victim and the juvenile suspect. However, the media reported on Tuesday that the victim and the suspect went to the same school.
Prosecutors had requested the detention, and legal experts say such custody measures are applied only in exceptional cases involving minors.
Over the weekend, the body of a missing teenager was discovered in a dumpster in the city’s Žvėrynas district. Additional body parts were later found in another part of the same neighbourhood. The suspect, also a minor, was apprehended shortly afterward.
“Detention of minors is considered only in extraordinary circumstances involving serious or particularly grave crimes,” attorney Dovilė Murauskienė told Lithuanian media. “While the prosecutor’s arguments are not disclosed, this measure could also serve as a preventative step, including protection from self-harm.”
Lithuanian law allows minors as young as 14 to be held criminally responsible for severe offences, including murder, aggravated assault, and armed robbery. The maximum sentence a juvenile can face is 10 years in prison.
“In cases like this, where the act is homicide and no additional mitigating circumstances are identified, imprisonment is typically the outcome," Murauskienė said, emphasising that minors cannot be sentenced to life imprisonment under Lithuanian law.
Authorities said neither the suspect’s family nor the victim’s had previously been flagged for welfare concerns.
“We had no prior reports suggesting these minors’ rights were being violated,” said Gedas Batulevičius, head of Vilnius’ Child Rights Protection Division.
While violent crime among minors remains relatively rare, police say public awareness is growing due to increased sharing of videos depicting assaults on social media.
“Statistically, juvenile crime is decreasing,” said Police Department spokesperson Ramūnas Matonis. “But visibility is rising, especially with more cases of teens filming and sharing violent acts. That affects public perception.”
Police data shows that 400 crimes involving minors were registered so far this year – slightly fewer than the 434 reported over the same period last year. About 90% of juvenile offenders are boys, with the most common crimes involving theft, drug use, and distribution.
Experts point to family conditions as the primary driver behind youth violence.
“Each year, we receive around 800 reports involving minors as perpetrators of violence,” Batulevičius said. “The underlying factors often trace back to the family environment. That’s usually the biggest influence.”
He added that prevention hinges not only on parents but also on other adults who regularly interact with children – such as teachers or extracurricular activity leaders – who may be the first to notice troubling changes in behaviour.
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