Jēkabpils residents continue their normal daily life, while the murdered woman's mother and children continue to receive the help provided by specialists in order to recover from the ordeal.
Meanwhile, President Rinkēvičs has strongly suggested to the government to grant compensation to each child worth at least 50 thousand euros, but it the matter is still to be decided.
On April 16, according to eyewitnesses, Leons Rusiņš killed his former spouse with an ax in front of her mother and child, after months of stalking and harassment. The victim's pleas for help in the weeks and months before her murder were to no avail, and the killing initially prompted shock, then a long-running debate about how the harassed can be better protected from psychological and physical threats.
But still the most wanted man in the country has not been found. In the interests of the investigation, the State Police refrained from further comments to Latvian Radio, only stating in writing that the search for the man is still in full swing and that a team of professionals from the State Police Zemgale Regional Office, the Main Criminal Police Office of the State Police and the Prosecutor's Office are working on this case.
A common assumption is that Rusiņš might have killed himself after committing the murder, but no evidence in support of this hypothesis has been provided.
Meanwhile in Jēkabpils, everyday life continues, and residents do not show any particular concern that the murder suspect still has not been found, according to opinions canvassed by Latvian Radio.
Latvian Radio: Do you feel safe?
Resident of Jēkabpils: "Yes. I didn't walk anywhere at night, I don't know. I think that maybe he ran away somewhere to Russia or somewhere else. [He] is not in Latvia at all."
Resident of Jēkabpils: "I think he is definitely somewhere in Germany or somewhere away. He won't be here. Then we would have seen it. Similar people are walking around, but it's not them, of course. We feel safe. What are we going to be afraid of? I think that he will hide in the same way."
Resident of Jēkabpils: "At least I feel safe. Let's hope there won't be anything to say."
Jēkabpils visitor: "I've only come to visit, I've followed what's happening on the Internet, the situation, but I don't feel threatened, because, as I already mentioned, I'm only here for a couple of weeks."
Meanwhile, the murdered woman's mother and children are trying to recover from the ordeal. The mother of the victim has suffered serious health problems, and the children are also having to deal with difficult emotions.
Inita Gādmane, a social worker of the Jēkabpils Region Social Service, explained that the family is being provided with all kinds of support.
"Even before this tragic event, the family was the recipient of social assistance and services. After the tragic event, which shocked the whole society, the services continue. They are mainly in the form of psychological consultations. As well as consultations of social workers on various situations, how to improve the children's daily life, how to form new routines," Gādmane said.
The social service added that the children live in a family environment, but refrained from providing more information in order to protect the family from intrusion, not only from wider society but potentially even from Rusiņš himself as he is still at large.
"For these children, this family has a private space, it must be respected. It would not be desirable for society to discuss publicly everything that happened, why it happened, how to continue living now," Gādmane said.
Anyone with information about the possible whereabouts of Leons Rusiņš should contact the State Police on telephone number 110 or, if calling from another country, +371 67014002.
