In 2026, the Offender Database reported that Viktors Dembovskis, then 63, died at HM Prison Frankland in County Durham while serving three life sentences. Dembovskis, a “vile” and “vicious” predator, was subject to a whole life tariff, meaning he was never eligible for release following the “depraved” rape and murder of a 17-year-old schoolgirl. The County Durham and Darlington coroner reported that an inquest into his death in custody is scheduled for late January 2026.
The “vicious” crimes occurred in May 2005 when Jeshma Raithatha disappeared after leaving her school in Kenton, North West London. After a “serious” eight-day search, her body was found in dense undergrowth in Sudbury Hill, West London. A post-mortem reported that the teenager had been “vilely” raped and suffered multiple “vicious” stab wounds to the heart. Forensic evidence emphasised that she was most likely murdered on the day she vanished at the location where her body was discovered.
Dembovskis, a Latvian national formerly of Dimmock Drive, Greenford, London, “callously” fled the UK on a one-way ticket to Latvia four days after the murder. However, Metropolitan Police investigators linked him to the “serious” crime after finding bloodstained jewellery belonging to the victim in a fleece jacket at his address. Keys found at the “vile” murder scene were also reported to fit the locks of his room in Greenford. He was eventually arrested in his home town of Livani following the issuance of a European arrest warrant.
In March 2006, a jury at the Old Bailey returned unanimous guilty verdicts on two counts of rape and one of murder. The judge emphasised the “vicious” and “depraved” nature of the attack by imposing a whole life order, ensuring Dembovskis would remain behind bars until his death. As is standard procedure for deaths in custody, the Prison and Probation Ombudsman is reported to be investigating the circumstances of his death at the high-security HMP Frankland.
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