Two half brothers abducted a food factory worker and robbed him of his car and cash before leaving him to die in a field on Christmas Day, a jury heard.

Twenty-three-year-old Gediminas Kirstukas was found dead at about 10am on December 25, 2008, by a man walking his dogs at Hungarton, near Houghton-on-the-Hill.

Leicester Crown Court was told there were marks on his hands and ankles – indicating he had been tied up – and a designer drug similar to ecstasy had been placed in his mouth.

He was found lying under a blanket next to an almost empty litre bottle of brandy and a bag containing his passport, bank cards and driving licence, although his mobile phone and cash, apart from a few coins, were missing.

Gregory Dickinson, QC, for the prosecution, said that a local resident driving home shortly before midnight on Christmas Eve saw a car and a van parked in a field gateway near to where the body was found on the field side of a hedge.

He was suspicious enough to note the van's registration number. It led to the arrest of Lithuanian half -brothers Gintaras Kuzmarskis, 19, and Aurimas Zaremba, 23, of Anfield Road, Liverpool.

Both deny manslaughter, false imprisonment, robbing the alleged victim of his car, and two counts of fraudulently using his bank card.

The cause of death was alcohol toxicity and he was thought to have died between two and six hours before being found.

The amount of alcohol consumed caused his brain and bodily functions to shut down, suppressing his ability to breathe.

Mr Dickinson said that Mr Kirstukas came to the UK from Lithuania to work at a meat processing factory – Tulip Pork Products, in Sleaford, Lincolnshire – in September 2008. On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, Mr Kirstukas, who lodged in Sir Isaac Newton Drive, Boston, received a phone call and then told his landlady he was going to Asda, in Boston, because someone was going to introduce him to some girls.

Mr Dickinson said it was believed Zaremba, who formerly worked at a car wash in Loughborough, was given Mr Kirstukas' number by a Lithuanian friend.

It was thought Mr Kirstukas was considering selling his Audi A6 car and Zaremba may have been interested in buying it.

The half-brothers travelled to Boston, where they had associates, on December 23. They allegedly met the defendant the following day and held him captive, forcing him to hand over his bank card and PIN number.

Mobile phone site records indicated the alleged victim was taken to Wisbech, Lincolnshire, and stayed there with Zaremba, while his brother and another person went to Peterborough, cleaning out his bank account of all his cash – £300.

The phone records, which was said to have revealed their movements around the country, also allegedly put the pair in the area near Hungarton just before midnight on Christmas Eve.

On arrest, police found, in Zaremba's bedroom, a key to a lock-up garage where the missing Audi was stored.

He claimed he had paid the alleged victim £2,000 for it.

In interview, he admitted putting Mr Kirstukas in the field when he was barely conscious and leaving him there.

Mr Dickinson said: "He claimed he did it because he'd tried it on with a girl and was put there as some kind of punishment."

In Kuzmarskis' bedroom, police allegedly found a distinctive hat he had worn while withdrawing Mr Kirstukas' cash. He told police he was scared of his half-brother and had nothing to do with leaving the alleged victim in a field. He denied knowing anything about the Audi.

The trial continues.

Tweet