Funeral for beach remains woman

A woman whose severed head and hands were found on a Scottish beach has been laid to rest in Lithuania.

About 100 mourners attended the church in Balbieriskis for the funeral of Jolanta Bledaite, 35, who had been working in Angus before she died.

Her head was found on the beach in Arbroath on 1 April and her hands were discovered nearby shortly afterwards.

Ms Bledaite's father Sarunas, 60, did not attend the service after collapsing at the sight of her coffin.

Her remains were flown to Lithuania on Tuesday and her body was taken to her grandmother's house for a traditional wake.

Scottish woman Sue Smith, who acts on behalf of the Bledaite family, accompanied the body to Lithuania.

"After that he just collapsed because of the emotion"
Sue Smith

She said: "The family set aside one of the rooms in the house and the coffin was there and all the flowers were there.

"They got a lot of comfort from the fact that the people of Scotland had raised the money to allow them to bring the body back.

"Her father was brought to the house and I had made a book of photos of the memorial service in Arbroath and a film of the service which I showed him.

"After that he just collapsed because of the emotion."

Ms Bledaite's mother Ona, 58 and grandmother Albina, who is in her 80s, attended the funeral service which took place on Thursday.

She was then laid to rest in the nearby graveyard next to her great grandmother.

Ms Bledaite, from Alytus in Lithuania, had been in the UK for around 18 months when she died.

Two men have been charged with Ms Bledaite's murder and committed for trial.

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