Lithuanian national Algimantas Stankevicius fatally stabbed co-worker Arunas Petrauskas with a poultry-factory filleting knife. A jury first convicted him of murder and life imprisonment followed—but the appeal court overturned that verdict. The final adjudicated outcome was manslaughter and seven effective years.
From a workplace fight to a fatal stabbing
Stankevicius came to Ireland in 2000 and worked at Cootehill Poultry Products in Dyan, Co Monaghan. On 23 February 2002 he argued with fellow Lithuanian worker Arunas Petrauskas about work practices and pay. The dispute became a fist fight in which Petrauskas gained the upper hand.
Stankevicius went into the factory, returned with a filleting knife and stabbed Petrauskas once in the chest. The wound punctured a major blood vessel. Petrauskas initially did not realise he had been stabbed but later died in hospital.
The murder verdict that did not stand
A jury convicted Stankevicius of murder in April 2003 and he received mandatory life imprisonment. That is not the final legal position. The Court of Criminal Appeal overturned the conviction and ordered a retrial.
Stankevicius offered to plead guilty to manslaughter before the retrial. The State did not resolve the case on that offer, and the new jury ultimately acquitted him of murder and convicted him of manslaughter.
Seven effective years
In January 2006 Mr Justice Barry White selected ten years and suspended the final three, leaving seven years to serve. The sentence was backdated to account for roughly four years already spent in custody.
The court heard evidence of genuine remorse, an otherwise good work record and a prison-governor assessment that Stankevicius was unlikely to reoffend. Those mitigating findings sit alongside the deliberate decision to retrieve a knife and return to the fight.
The public record reviewed does not establish a later appeal, exact release date, immigration order or whether he remained in Ireland after custody.
Chronology
- 2000: comes to Ireland and begins factory work.
- 23 February 2002: fatally stabs Arunas Petrauskas.
- 1 April 2003: convicted of murder and sentenced to life.
- Later: Court of Criminal Appeal overturns murder conviction.
- 2005: retrial jury returns manslaughter verdict.
- 11 January 2006: ten years imposed with three suspended.
- Latest located record: no published immigration outcome or later appeal identified.
Cost benchmark
The seven-year effective sentence represents a static staffed-prison-space comparison of €693,504 at the Irish Prison Service’s 2024 average of €99,072 a year.
Questions the record leaves
- What was the legal basis for overturning the first murder conviction?
- What did the first trial, successful appeal and retrial cost?
- When was Stankevicius released after backdating and remission?
- Did any removal, departure or exclusion assessment follow?