Man who struck Boston bartender to the head with baseball bat found guilty of murder

Maksim Iliev, 36, of Union Street, Boston, had been in an altercation with his partner moments before the attack, the force said.

The attack, the force continued, was carried out with a baseball bat pulled from the hands of Iliev’s victim, 35-year-old Adrian Whiting.

Iliev told Lincoln Crown Court he was acting in self-defence, but on hearing the evidence and viewing CCTV which showed him carry out the fatal blow, the jury rejected that claim, police said.

Following the conclusion of the case, Lincolnshire Police published an account of the incident.

It reads: “This case started with a 999 call to our Force Control Room to report that a fight was taking place outside the Carpenters Arms, in Witham Street, Boston, just before 11pm on Sunday, 14 January. Officers found Adrian – known as Adi to his family – with serious injuries and he was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital.

“Adi, who worked at the pub and had been waiting for his partner to finish work, had gone to investigate a disturbance between a man and a woman. He went to the door to challenge them, before retrieving a baseball bat which he stretched in front of him in the direction of the arguing pair, who were stood outside in the street. The pair’s argument was over whether a shop would be open to buy some soft drinks.”

Footage showed Iliev striding across the street and gripping the bat, and overpowering Adi causing him to fall to the floor, the account continued.

“[Iliev] then landed two blows with the baseball bat to the back of Adi as he attempted to get back into the pub. The second struck his head, causing him to immediately lose consciousness and fall backwards into the middle of the road,” the account outlined.

“The suspect was quickly identified as Iliev, but he had left the scene before officers arrived, and couldn’t be located in the Boston area. The team of CID detectives initially leading the investigation tracked him down at Luton Airport with luggage, attempting to leave the country.”

Ilieve was arrested and charged with unlawfully and maliciously wounding another, with intent to do them grievous bodily harm.

However, after Adi died from his injuries – 10 days later on January 24 – the charge was changed to murder.

At this point, officers from the police’s Major Crime Unit became involved in the case, the account said.

Det Chief Inspector Jennifer Lovatt, who led the investigation, said: “This has been such a tragic and senseless case. There was no need for Iliev to approach Adi, take the bat from him, and then strike him twice. The second strike was with such force he was rendered unconscious. There is nothing in those actions which says ‘self defence’, and I am grateful to the jury whose difficult job it was to hear all of the evidence that they have reached the conclusion that he was guilty of murder.”

The investigation also led to the discovery that Iliev’s partner Katya Tsoneva, 32, had returned to their home address that night to retrieve items including jewellery, which was pawned to buy flight tickets to assist Iliev in leaving the UK, police said.

Tsoneva, of Red Lion Street, Boston, had pleaded not guilty to a charge of assisting an offender, but was convicted.

Det Chief Inspector Lovatt added: “I’m grateful to everyone who has helped find justice for Adi and his loved ones. The quick thinking by my CID colleagues who were initially investigating this case ensured that Iliev was arrested before he could flee the country, and gave us a head-start on the investigation as we turned our attention to gathering further evidence including witness statements, viewing CCTV footage, and examining phone data, forensic examination of the baseball bat, amongst other tasks.“I would like to thank Adi’s family and friends who have assisted the investigation and have carried themselves with tremendous dignity throughout their continuing ordeal. No sentence can bring Adi back, but this conviction has at least meant that Adi and they now have justice.”

The sentencing for both defendants will take place on August 30.

• A family pay tribute to Adi Whiting can be read here.