Man jailed for 15 years for Bolton murder killed himself

Ricardas Jonusas was told he would spend at least 15 years behind bars for the 2019 murder of Laurimas Ruzanov.

Jonusas plunged a kitchen knife into his friend’s side at a party to celebrate the birthday of Mr Ruzanov’s girlfriend, Asta Ainiene.

Mr Rusanov died on the floor of her Mornington Road flat as Jonusas fled the scene.

Jonusas was sentenced for the murder in October 2020.

The murder took place in a flat on Mornington Road in 2019

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In December 2022, Jonusas was found hanged in his cell just two years into his sentence, according to a fatal incident report published by the Prisons & Probation Ombudsman on Monday, April 22.

According to the report, the 34-year-old was the fifth prisoner to take his own life at HMP Swaleside in 2022, with the prison said to have a ‘high incidence of self-inflicted deaths’.

In its report, the Ombudsman criticised poor suicide and self-harm monitoring and highlighted the ‘detrimental impact’ of a shortage of staff at the high-security Kent prison.

A Lithuanian national, Ricardas Jonusas served some of his sentence at a prison in his home country before being transferred back to the UK in August 2021, the report says.

Staff monitored Jonusas after he self-harmed ‘numerous times’ – saying he did so only when under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Jonusas told staff that he self-harmed and consumed alcohol and drugs as he struggled with being locked in a cell for 22 hours per day.

In August, he said to an officer: “Imagine being locked in a cell all day, staring at the same four walls, all day for 22 hours a day and see if you don’t want to get high,” before asking for a job to keep busy.

The report went on to say that he often became violent towards staff and refused help to address his substance misuse.

The prisoner died in his cell at HMP Swaleside in 2022 (Image: PA)

In October, Jonusas threatened suicide, and staff saw him standing on a chair trying to attach a ligature to the light fitting. He was then placed under constant supervision until the following week.

After he was employed as a painter on the prison wing in November, Jonusas was said to have seemed more settled, with staff not suspecting he was using drugs or alcohol.

However, after a routine check on December 16, the 34-year-old was found dead in his cell.

Toxicology tests showed he was at three times the legal alcohol driving limit.

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In the report’s findings, the Ombudsman says there was ‘no indication’ that Jonusas’ risk of suicide and self-harm had increased again at the time of his death.

However, the management of suicide and self-harm procedures in the months leading up to his death was criticised.

The report went on to recommend that management of the procedures be improved and that delivery of ‘key work’ support meetings should be prioritised to the most vulnerable when staffing does not allow it to be routinely delivered to all prisoners.

Samaritans is available round the clock, every single day of the year, providing a safe place to talk for anyone who is struggling to cope.

Call 116 123 (this number is free to call and will not appear on your phone bill), 01204 521200 or email jo@samaritans.org.

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.