A FORMER soldier has been found guilty of murdering his lodger at his Ipswich home and then dumping the body near Framlingham.

Jevgenijs Maksimovs killed 43-year-old Jurijs Baklasovs at his home in Hayhill Road, Ipswich, on December 20 last year.

The 37-year-old ex-soldier and bodyguard had denied murder, claiming he had reacted to an unprovoked attack by an aggressively drunk Mr Baklasovs, who had been renting a room in the house for two months.

Maksimovs dragged Mr Baklasovs’ body to the boot of his BMW, where it remained overnight, before driving to a farm near Framlingham and dumping it in a ditch.

Maksimovs had told the court the two had been drinking vodka alone when the incident happened in the garden of his house, which he also shared with his wife and son, and Mr Baklasovs’ stepdaughter Inga.

Mr Baklasovs, a Latvian who also spent 20 years as a soldier, is claimed by Maksimovs to have approached him from behind and hit him with a bucket.

“I put up my right arm but he continued to wave the bucket and struck me a second time,” said Maksimovs.

After pushing him to the ground and kneeling on his chest, Maksimovs said he directed two or three punches to his face before Mr Baklasovs’ arms stopped moving.

A jury this afternoon found him guilty of murder. He will be sentenced tomorrow.