Man charged with murder in Kettering dead-for-weeks case

Image source, Northamptonshire Police

Image caption, Police believe Juozas Meilunas had lived in Kettering for about a year

A man has been charged with the murder of a Lithuanian national whose body lay undiscovered for weeks.

Juozas Meilunas, 51, was found in his flat in Woodlands Court, Kettering, on 26 December after flooding in the property was reported.

Mindaugas Kaminskas, 28, of no fixed abode, is due to appear at Northampton Magistrates' Court on Monday.

Detectives said Mr Meilunas died from a head injury.

It is believed he was killed between September and November

Det Ch Insp Joe Banfield, from Northamptonshire Police, said Mr Meilunas had been working for a number of employment agencies, had previously lived in the area in 2013 and had returned to live in Kettering for about a year.

Image caption, Police believe Mr Meilunas' body might have been at the property in Kettering for several months

Mr Meilunas' body was found after a neighbour called the fire brigade reporting the flat was flooded.

Det Ch Insp Banfield said "his body was showing signs of decomposition and he was identified via his post-mortem [examination]".

Police said Mr Meilunas' family were "very distressed" and that the force was supporting them, including his elderly mother, who lives in the Baltic state.