The prosecutor's office noted the particularly brutal nature of the killing and the degree of intent involved.

The victim was found deceased at his home in late August, and the suspects, aged 15 and 16 at the time, were apprehended shortly afterward.

The charges state that the suspects had ingested drugs and alcohol before brutally attacking the man, and recording portions of that attack on a device before sharing it on social media. The victim was reportedly known to them.

Western District Prosecutor Toomas Koitmäe said: "It was established during the pretrial investigation, that after ingesting narcotic substances and strong alcohol, the youths came up with the idea to go to the home of a 59-year-old man familiar to one of them, in order to assault him."

After that point at which the victim opened his front door, one of the defendants grabbed the man by the neck with both hands and pushed him to the floor, while the other closed the door.

"Subsequently, the defendants indiscriminately beat the victim over his entire body with, both with their hands and by kicking him. A large part of their actions were also filmed," Kotimäe went on, adding that while the minors initially left the house, they then returned to the scene and continued the assault, also damaging property.

Due to the severe level of brutality involved and their clear intent to inflict extreme suffering, they have been charged with murder.

Kotimäe added: "Upon returning to the house, they resumed the beating, further wrecked the 59-year-old man's home, and humiliated the victim, who was still alive at that point, in various ways, all while continuing to film the events."

"The video footage was then edited after the assault and sent to social media contacts, thanks to whom the video, depicting the extreme brutality and humiliation, reached a wider audience. Since the actions of the defendants were deliberately cruel and aimed at causing the victim significant pain, the youths have been charged with murder, committed in a cruel and torturous manner," Koitmäe added.

The case itself was an unusual one, the prosecutor added.

"It is not normal for such a complex case to reach indictment in less than two months. For this reason, I would like to commend the investigators and experts for their swift and thorough work during the pretrial investigation. Crimes of such a brutal nature committed by minors are extremely rare, hence it being important for the prosecution to bring this case to trial quickly," the district prosecutor added.

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