Three juveniles convicted of murdering Jõgeva man, sentences up to 9.5 years
Tartu District Court convicted three juveniles of the killing of a Jõgeva man. Sentences range from eight to nine and a half years.
Tartu court sentences three juveniles to prison for murder of Jõgeva man
Tartu District Court sentenced three juveniles to eight to nine and a half years' imprisonment for a murder committed in Jõgevamaa in the summer of 2025, reported ERR News.
Among the convicted are two girls – currently aged 17 and 16 – and one 17-year-old boy. The court established their guilt with a first-instance court ruling.
Sentences and charges
The 17-year-old girl was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison, the 16-year-old girl to nine and a half years, and the 17-year-old boy to eight and a half years. Two girls – who were 16 and 15 years old at the time of the act and cannot be named under law – were charged with the deliberate killing of another person in a cruel and brutal manner. The boy, who was 16 years old at the time of the act, was charged with participation in violence committed by two or more persons which resulted in someone's death.
The act: alcohol, planning and nearly 18 minutes of violence
The incident took place in Jõgeva in the summer. According to the charge, the young people drank alcohol together and then planned to attack a man with a disability who was in the same group.
The boy started by spitting juice in the victim's face. Afterwards, the 16-year-old girl struck the victim in the face and knocked him down. The girls then repeatedly hit the man lying on the ground in the head and body area with their feet, hands and metal crutches belonging to the victim. The victim was kicked repeatedly over an extended period; one of the defendants also jumped on his chest. The man died as a result of the assault.
The boy filmed part of the events on his mobile phone.
The court found that the young people used physical violence against the victim almost continuously over approximately 18 minutes and agreed with the prosecution that the killing was exceptionally brutal in character.
Court: boy is accomplice to murder
The court found that the boy should be regarded as an accomplice to the murder. He initiated the conflict and the ill-treatment, and only after his actions did the girls join in. In the court's assessment, it would be unfair to treat his acts of violence separately from those of the other defendants.
The court did not rule out the possibility that the intoxicated victim may have made sexually suggestive remarks to the girls and touched one of them. However, the investigation established that there was no basis for a self-defence argument.
The court ruling has not yet become final.
Source: ERR News