Every third day, in our #EveryThreeDays campaign, I write about a woman killed by a man. Previously in this campaign, which started on May 2nd 2021, we have remembered 69 women, the last being Bianca Shepherd, who was stabbed seventeen times in November 2015 by her flatmate Emmanuel Willems.
Today we remember Dzilva Butiene, 48, originally from Lithuania, who was murdered by her boyfriend of four years, Kestutis Bauzys in April 2017 at their home in Wisbech Cambridgeshire. Dzilva’s death was particularly harrowing because she was encouraged to come and live in the UK by Bauzys with the promise of a “better life”. In reality, Dzilva struggled in this country. She had limited language skills and was incessantly bullied and controlled by Bauzys – with a report into her death saying:
“It is difficult to imagine how her life must have been, given that she seems to have had nowhere to turn to, or been aware of how she could have sought support.”
Particularly troubling is how Dzilva was murdered – in essence, she was stamped on and beaten like a rag doll – her injuries were consistent with that of a person being involved in a high-speed road traffic accident as a passenger and not wearing a seat belt.
Nor did Bauzys particularly care that Dzilva was so badly injured because of his attacks – going to a local shop buying booze and saying to a member of staff in the shop that his partner was at home but was not breathing.
Initially, he claimed Dzilva’s death was accidental but then went on the run only to be found in a tent on the outskirts of Wisbech.
Kestutis Bauzys, was found guilty of the murder of Dzilva at Cambridge Crown Court on October 17th 2017, following a three-week trial – he was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of seventeen and a half years.
Dzilva Butiene
#EveryThreeDays
