Man charged with couple’s murder

Avtar Kolar, 62, and his wife Carole, 58, were discovered at their home in Handsworth Wood, Birmingham, last Wednesday.

West Midlands police said that the Lithuanian national, Rimvydas Liorancas, has been charged and will appear before magistrates in Birmingham on Thursday morning.

Mr and Mrs Kolar, who had been married for 40 years, were found at their Friary Road home by their policeman son Jason.

The motive for the murders was nothing to do with their son’s job, police work with gangs, or the theft of gold, West Midlands Police said on Thursday.

Post-mortem examinations found that both died as a result of blunt-force trauma to the head and that each sustained a number of blows.

Their four children made a public appeal for information and said that the light had been “switched out” in their lives following the murder.

Mr Liorancas was arrested in Birmingham on Monday and is the third person to be arrested on suspicion of the double murder. A 41-year-old man who was questioned at the weekend was released without charge, and a 24-year-old man is on police bail.

West Midlands Police said that a team of 60 police officers had been assigned to the case.

Crimestoppers described the double murder as a “vile crime” and offered a reward of up to £10,000 for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators.