Carole and Avtar Kolar

London, Jan. 31: The Lithuanian man accused of bludgeoning a 62-year-old Indian grandfather to death with a heavy blunt instrument during a burglary gone wrong has been found hanged in his cell, police said today.

Rimvydas Liorancas, 37, was charged with the double murders of Avtar Kolar and his 58-year-old wife Carole at their home in Handsworth Wood, Birmingham, earlier this month.

West Midlands police said the Lithuanian national was found dead in his cell at Woodhill Prison in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, on Saturday.

A Prison Service statement read: “HMP Woodhill prisoner Rimvydas Liorancas was found hanging in his cell at 8.52am on Saturday January 28. Staff attempted resuscitation and paramedics attended but he was pronounced dead at 9.30am. As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will conduct an investigation.”

Kolar and his wife had been married for 40 years and had four children. The couple were found dead at their home on January 11, having suffered blunt force trauma to the head. Their bodies were discovered by their policeman son, Jason, although detectives later said their deaths were not connected to his occupation.

At an emotional news conference the day after the couple were found dead, their daughter, Michelle Kirwan, 39, and her brother, Avtar Kolar, 32, held hands and sobbed as they said their hearts had been “broken forever”.

Their parents were believed to have been killed in a bungled burglary and a number of items that had been stolen from the property were later recovered.

Liorancas was arrested at an address in Birmingham on January 16 following a manhunt. He appeared at Birmingham Crown Court on January 23, where he listened to proceedings via an interpreter and spoke only to confirm his name. He was supposed to appear before the court again for a plea hearing on May 25 and a trial date was fixed for August 28.

It is understood Liorancas was not considered at risk of suicide or self-harm. His apparent suicide will be taken an admission of guilt and that the accused could not countenance having to spend the rest of his life in prison.

Nationals of Lithuania and other East European states that have joined the European Union enjoy free movement within member states. But this allowed criminals and gangsters from eastern Europe to enter the UK in significant numbers.