A gay Latvian man who was killed earlier this year in an alleged anti-gay attack died of suicide, police said Monday.
Normunds Kindzulis, a 29-year-old medical assistant, died after suffering burns on 85% of his body in late April. The incident, which took place in the town of Tukums, about 40 miles east of the capital Riga, was denounced as an anti-gay killing by LGBTQ activists.
But after a “thorough investigation” — which included expert examinations, the questioning of 45 people, experiments, as well as checking of video and sound footage — local police said that evidence shows that no criminal offense has occurred.
“A final decision was taken in criminal proceedings and the criminal proceedings have been terminated because no criminal offense has been identified which would be a homophobic attack or related to intolerance or bringing someone to suicide,” the police said in a statement, according to Latvian news agency LETA.
In April, police confirmed that two men had been injured in a fire in Tukums.
One of the alleged victims, who was burned while trying to put out the fire, said that the two had been targeted by a man who lived nearby, who expressed homophobic sentiments, and who had made repeated threats against them.
The threats had been reported to the police, according to local media.
“We reported these threats to both the police and the neighbor’s workplace, but there was no reaction… We had to wait for someone to be mutilated or killed,” the surviving victim told the local newspaper Tukums Independent News.
They were reportedly attacked on April 22, when Kindzulis was allegedly drenched in flammable liquid and then set on fire, LETA reported.
He was taken to the Burns Center in Riga, where he died a few days later.
On April 28, the organization behind Europe’s LGBTI Pride events, EuroPride, confirmed that Kindzulis, “a victim of the homophobic arson attack in Latvia last week, has succumbed to his injuries. Our deepest condolences to his partner and family, and to all our community in Latvia.”
On Monday, however, police said in a statement that Kindzulis had died of suicide, which was “caused by personal motives in the context of domestic relations.” It also said that the victim was under the influence of alcohol at the time.
Chief of State Police Armands Ruks told Latvian Television that the investigation was now officially closed.
“When there are cases that shake the public, everyone expects a quick and immediate result. At the same time, it seems incomprehensible to many why details are not being disclosed. I would like to remind you that investigating criminal proceedings is precise and specific work and cannot be public,” Ruks said.
“Only when the investigation is completed or there are no circumstances preventing it from speaking publicly are the police prepared to reveal details,” he added.
